Rating: 
Summary: Good but beware the screen
Review: Pros:
-Hella fast
-Runs anything you throw at it
-Stable
-Nice keyboard design
-I read in a review..."unlike some with Win CE saying that they have something like a pc in the palm of their hand, the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 IS a PC.
-Bought from Amazon and box is clearly marked PXA255. Thats an intel 400mhz process....the best in the PDA business for under $300..are you kidding me!
-Will take CF I&II (which means you can buy a Creative Muvo2, rip out the microdrive and use it in this PDA...in fact Hitachi has already tested the 4gb MD with this unit).
-Will take SD (yeah, it'll take both).
-Memory it comes with is incredible.
-Software possibilities are enormous.Cons
-Screen (Poor quality)
-Screen (You will see a dark spot in the top right corner since the technology used for the TFT does not fully and properly illuminate the complete screen)
-Screen (did I say the screen is bad...oh yeah.
-Bulky (its light, but dont plan on putting this in your pants pocket unless you have cargo pants.
-Yeah - try using your stylus to close a program...for some reason it frequently takes more than 1 tap...... I'll try for a couple of weeks...if the cons outweigh the pros then its returnamundo...
Rating:
Summary: Good but beware the screen
Review: Pros:
-Hella fast
-Runs anything you throw at it
-Stable
-Nice keyboard design
-I read in a review..."unlike some with Win CE saying that they have something like a pc in the palm of their hand, the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 IS a PC.
-Bought from Amazon and box is clearly marked PXA255. Thats an intel 400mhz process....the best in the PDA business for under $300..are you kidding me!
-Will take CF I&II (which means you can buy a Creative Muvo2, rip out the microdrive and use it in this PDA...in fact Hitachi has already tested the 4gb MD with this unit).
-Will take SD (yeah, it'll take both).
-Memory it comes with is incredible.
-Software possibilities are enormous. Cons
-Screen (Poor quality)
-Screen (You will see a dark spot in the top right corner since the technology used for the TFT does not fully and properly illuminate the complete screen)
-Screen (did I say the screen is bad...oh yeah.
-Bulky (its light, but dont plan on putting this in your pants pocket unless you have cargo pants.
-Yeah - try using your stylus to close a program...for some reason it frequently takes more than 1 tap...... I'll try for a couple of weeks...if the cons outweigh the pros then its returnamundo...
Rating: 
Summary: Great little Linux box
Review: The SL-5600 comes with QTopia, an embedded version of Linux. It looks really good, and the software ROCKS! It can read and write Microsoft Word and Excel files, etc. Synchronization leaves a bit to be desired. It doesn't work flawlessly, and only works with Windows. HOWEVER, the Z's true strength is in Open Source softare. You can keep the included QTopia and install Linux apps. Or, you can replace QTopia with one of the OpenSource Linux distributions, and have a Linux workstation that gives you complete control. With the large amount of available RAM and two expansion slots (SD cards at least to 512 MB and CompactFlash cards), you have room to install anything you need. A huge amount of OpenSource Linux software is available for the Z, and most of it has been scaled down so that it takes a lot less space than it would on a full-sized machine. What this equates to, is that a 256 MB SD "hard drive" is equivalent to a 5-10 gigabyte hard drive on a full-sized computer. OpenEmbedded (www.OpenEmbedded.org) and now Debian Pocket Workstation (http://www.pocketworkstation.org/) are two of the available Linux distributions. What's exciting about Debian Pocket Workstation is that you can run QTopia and a complete Debian distribution on the same machine. Switch back and forth as you need to. You can also build a complete cross-compilation tree on your own Linux computer, and compile and/or modify available open-source software for the Z. If you want a simple, turn-key organizer, the Z probably isn't for you. But if you want a complete, powerful computer that fits in your pocket, the Z is the best machine you can get. Definitely worth its purchase price.
Rating:
Summary: Great little Linux box
Review: The SL-5600 comes with QTopia, an embedded version of Linux. It looks really good, and the software ROCKS! It can read and write Microsoft Word and Excel files, etc. Synchronization leaves a bit to be desired. It doesn't work flawlessly, and only works with Windows. HOWEVER, the Z's true strength is in Open Source softare. You can keep the included QTopia and install Linux apps. Or, you can replace QTopia with one of the OpenSource Linux distributions, and have a Linux workstation that gives you complete control. With the large amount of available RAM and two expansion slots (SD cards at least to 512 MB and CompactFlash cards), you have room to install anything you need. A huge amount of OpenSource Linux software is available for the Z, and most of it has been scaled down so that it takes a lot less space than it would on a full-sized machine. What this equates to, is that a 256 MB SD "hard drive" is equivalent to a 5-10 gigabyte hard drive on a full-sized computer. OpenEmbedded (www.OpenEmbedded.org) and now Debian Pocket Workstation (http://www.pocketworkstation.org/) are two of the available Linux distributions. What's exciting about Debian Pocket Workstation is that you can run QTopia and a complete Debian distribution on the same machine. Switch back and forth as you need to. You can also build a complete cross-compilation tree on your own Linux computer, and compile and/or modify available open-source software for the Z. If you want a simple, turn-key organizer, the Z probably isn't for you. But if you want a complete, powerful computer that fits in your pocket, the Z is the best machine you can get. Definitely worth its purchase price.
Rating:
Summary: Most powerful & useful PDA ever!
Review: The SL-5600 is an incredibly powerful PDA. With it's vastly updated software & OS (over the previous SL-5500 model), and the upgraded hardware.. its a much more practical and useful device than it's predecessor. The 1,700mA battery means long battery life, the screen is crisp and clear. The Web Browser is the best I've ever seen on any PDA! The e-mail client is awesome, allowing me to connect to multiple POP & IMAP mail boxes. The Office Suite is compatible with Word, Excel, Powerpoint. Throw in a pocketop (www.pocketop.com) portable keyboard and you can get rid of your laptop for good! This PDA is easier to use and more powerful than any PocketPC device out there.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome PDA
Review: The Zaurus does everything and more that I could do on my Handspring Visor...which is now retired. The greatest feature is using the infrared port with the infrared port on my cell phone. I can now surf the web from anywhere I get a cell phone signal, in full color and full screen (okay, you have to do a lot of scrolling), and just use regular minutes without having to pay for additional wifi/web access from my cellular phone service provider. The connection is not as fast as a wifi connection, but for pulling up email and just basic surfing, it works great!
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Pocket Tool
Review: The Zaurus SL-5600 is a network engineer's dream. I work with Cisco routers and used to lug a heavy laptop from customer to customer. The zaurus software forums offer many tools (FTP, SSH, VPN, sniffer..etc) FREE and the zaurus is so very easy to work with (I'm a unix geek, so anyone with a unix back ground will love it !!). Since I've started using the Zaurus, I now never need a laptop !! (saves going through security at airports with 50 pounds of gear). If you're looking for something that runs windows..forget the zaurus. If you're a network engineer like me that needs what unix can offer....the Zaurus can't be beat !!!!
Rating:
Summary: Reserved for the Geek
Review: This "Palm" isn't for everybody. I mean its linux so the UI has somewhat of a learning curve and i know people have complained about the last of software on other sites but the fact is I havn't seen a more open snappy pda yet. I put it on my wireless network and bam I found that my computer had little use anymore aside from building new software for my Zaurus. If you are a hacker/programmer you are probably allready aware of the power of linux. Now you can have Tux in the palm of your hand. But face the facts if you want tons of apps and other software then the Zaurus is still good but maybe you should go for one of the other brands of PDA as far as i am concerned this is a Pocket PC not a pda infact this "pda" can run the Pocket PC OS.
Rating:
Summary: Reserved for the Geek
Review: This "Palm" isn't for everybody. I mean its linux so the UI has somewhat of a learning curve and i know people have complained about the last of software on other sites but the fact is I havn't seen a more open snappy pda yet. I put it on my wireless network and bam I found that my computer had little use anymore aside from building new software for my Zaurus. If you are a hacker/programmer you are probably allready aware of the power of linux. Now you can have Tux in the palm of your hand. But face the facts if you want tons of apps and other software then the Zaurus is still good but maybe you should go for one of the other brands of PDA as far as i am concerned this is a Pocket PC not a pda infact this "pda" can run the Pocket PC OS.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the trouble
Review: This device is almost perfect for the linux user who wants something smaller than his\her laptop. In order to appreciate this device, you really have to like linux. If you have never used linux, dont bother, get yourself an M$ windows pda. If you're like me and love linux, you'll love the zaurus. You can get virtually all main stream linux apps for it (gcc, make, apache, mysql...the list goes on and on). I especially like that fact that it has a java runtime, and with the addition of compiler (try ibm's Jikes compiled for zaurus) you have a pocket java development environment. The fact that it has CF and SD slots means you can have your wifi and your extra storage in at the same time, which is a great plus. The fold out keyboard is slightly slower than a full size, but still light years ahead of stupid handwriting recognition on other devices (although the z has that too) There are tons of different roms availible, from sharp and others. One that fixes the pxa250 cache errata is definatly required, as you may have heard this is a bug which affects performance. But if you flash with a special kernel it fixes this bug and allows you to clock the device up to 471 mhz! NICE! The Only thing I would add to this device is a built in DOWNSTREAM usb port, so that you can plug in usb devices. A Compact flash Usb card is availible from ratoc (for $150). I bought that too and now i can connect external HD's, Gamepads, Keyboards, Extra Wifi's, and maybe even printers or cd burners. While Pocket PC Users can say things like "my Ipaq is LIKE a pc!" The zaurus user can say "my zaurus IS a PC".
There really isnt anything you cant do on the zaurus since its a full linux OS. I would whole heartedly reccomend this product to EVERY linux user
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