Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly Powerful and Flexible
Review: The Sharp Zaurus Linux-based PDA is both extremely powerful, and easy to use.The Zaurus's fast CPU, high quality full-color LCD, and excellent headphone sound output makes for an impressive photo viewer, MP3 and MOD music player, and video-clip displayer. The slide-out keyboard has completely weaned me from using the handwriting system, which is unfortunate, because a lot of work was obviously put into it. Not only does the handwriting system have a help mode where you can practice strokes, but you can actually train it new, or alternate strokes for each character. But when you can type so quickly, why bother writing? The dual expansion slots are great, allowing me to use an SD card for software installation, and still have my CF slot free for a RAM card full of MP3s or a network adapter. Honestly, I was impressed by the capabilities of the Java system. In my opinion, Java has always been too slow and cumbersome to use, and the thought of running it on a 206MHz PDA seemed ridiculous. But from what I've seen of Java applications (even games!) running on the Zaurus, I'm beginning to realize there's a lot of potential in Java. As a desktop Linux user, I'm also tickled to have the power and stability of my favorite OS underneath the hood. For the extremely geeky, you can get Java, C and C++ compilers that run ON the Zaurus! The "Qtopia" environment and applications are as intuitive as they are nice to look at. The PIM applications have all the functionality I'm used to from my Palm device, and then some. Until I can afford a wireless modem to stick in one of my Zaurus' two expansion slots, I've been using a Compact Flash ethernet dongle to get online while watching TV. After using offline browsers on the Palm, I was shocked to find a full-fledge, desktop-quality browser built right into my Zaurus: Opera. Opera's zoom-out feature can't be lived without. Frustratingly, most websites assume you have a screen capable of at least 800x600. On a small PDA screen, this would mean constantly scrolling left and right as you try to read. Under Opera, you can zoom out to get a better overview of the page, and still be able to read all of the text! I've only used the Sync software (Qtopiadesktop - I used the Linux version) a few times, since my pattern for PDA usage is to use them as stand-alone devices. It was quite intuitive, though, as it looked and felt just like a larger version of the PIM software built-into the Zaurus. Finally, while there's obviously very little 3rd party software for the Zaurus so far, since it just came out, there's been what seems to be exponential growth. I've already installed almost 20 new applications, including games, a streaming Internet radio player, and an embedded version of the popular Linux browser, "Konqueror." Software installation is usually a snap, too. Just as with Palm, all that's usually needed is one file downloaded off a website. Run the graphical installer, wait a few seconds, and the new app. is there, ready to run! All in all, it's a great system. Powerful and slick hardware, in a beautiful form-factor, running powerful and slick software.
Rating:
Summary: Pocket Laptop!! (SL-5500 users: Download the ROM v3.10 now!)
Review: First and foremost, if you are looking for purely Personal Information Management (PIM) functions and not generally inclined towards Linux, then do yourself a favor and buy yourself a Palm Pilot. The Zaurus is basically a mini Linux workstation with a lot of functionality you would normally find only on a desktop. With the Zaurus, you can:
* Browse the web with a scalable and full featured browser
* Read and edit MS-Office documents (Word, Excel and Powepoint)
* Write and execute scripts and programs (including Java)
* Play music and video
* Control your desktop Windows PC (using VNC software) It is so powerful that you can actually use it as a Web or file server (using Apache and Samba). I use my Zaurus to administrate my Linux server and Oracle database server when I am away from my desk. Plus there are tons of applications, utilities, games, etc., that you can download. Zaurus has a very active user community forum (check the links from the Sharp Zaurus official web sites) where you can get a lot of useful tips from. Having said all that, the PIM functions that came with the Zaurus were pretty poor compared with the Palm Pilot. This lead me to hang on to my Palm Vx for dear life. I even took the drastic step of downloading and installing a Palm Pilot emulator (called QPose) onto my Zaurus. The performance hit on the Zaurus was so bad that I had to delete QPose and instead carry both my Palm Vx and Zaurus with me. However, now that Sharp has released a new ROM (v3.10, as of May 15, 2003, see below) the PIM functions have vastly improved. So much that I am now inclined to keep my Palm at home and take only the Zaurus along. Upon getting your Zaurus, do yourself a favor and install the terminal and file manager applications that come in the CD. The terminal application enables you to do a lot of tweaking and is mandatory if you plan to use the Zaurus to its full capabilty. It actually comes with a basic Linux shell environment and comes with such neat utilities as vi editor, ftp and telnet clients, ping, and a large number of Linux/Unix tools. Another application I found very useful is called "rotation". It enables you to rotate the application screens by 90 degrees, making such things as web browsing, file editing and using the terminal appication a lot more pleasing and functional. You can download the "qpe-rotation" and "qt-embedded-rotation" files (ipks) from the ZaurusSoft website. Also, an important suggestion to existing SL-5500 users:
Sharp has just released the latest ROM (v3.10, May 15, 2003) which makes the SL-5500 look and behave like the newer SL-5600. I *strongly urge* SL-5500 users with the old ROM (v2.38) to download and install this new ROM. The user interface with the new ROM is a lot cleaner and neater and has more stable applications (including a vastly improved Opera browser and much better PIM applications).
Rating:
Summary: The best I've seen or used
Review: I have to admit, I was very skeptical about this PDA because of the Linux OS. I have been an avid user of Pocket PC since its inception. I've had an Ipaq and most recently, and Audiovox Maestro. Both machines were awesome however they were never for me because I am very input intensive and I hated the on screen keyboard and the graffiti. So I decided to take the plunge with the new Zaurus. I couldn't be happier. The screen is the best I've seen and Linux is easy to get used to. In my opinion the keyboard is perfect for my needs. Thumb typing is a snap and I now don't feel like I have to enter every new contact or new appointment on my desktop first, then sync with my PDA. The Opera Web browser is also very nice with the ability to shrink/enlarge the webpage as needed. Word, Excel and Powerpoint compatible programs round out my needs plus there are plenty of extras to boot. Sharp did a great job and I highly recommend this PDA over the others.
Rating: 
Summary: A good product with some rough edges...
Review: I've been trying to use the Zaurus for the last week or so. The product has turned out to be a mixed blessing. The Good:
1) This is without a doubt the ultimate programmer's PDA.
2) You can write code, compile, and execute on the Zaurus (hard to believe but it's true).
3) There is quite a bit of good free software, including neocalc, which is a great calculator.
4) Amazon.com had a stellar deal on it.
5) Contrary to some of the reviews I've seen, the screen is very nice looking. The not so good:
1) The software to sync with a PC (Win2K in this case) stinks. It crashes, hangs, intermittently refuses to connect, and requires special knowledge not included in the manual to get it to work. I've tried both Intellisync and Qtopia Desktop. Intellisync appears to be a hopeless basket case, but I was able to get Qtopia Desktop to work as long as I didn't have too many files on my CF (too many files causes a nasty crash on the PC side). Too bad I need to sync with Outlook.
2) I've managed to fry a 128Meg SD Flash by leaving it in during a hard reset of the Zaurus. That shouldn't happen, but it did.
3) The Hancom Suite (MS compatible Word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation viewer) is weak but usable.
4) The battery life is short (especially with a Wireless LAN adapter).
5) The MP3 software wouldn't play any of my variable bit rate files. I don't believe there is anything terribly unusual about them (other than they have been encoded using LAME).
6) The MP1 video is very slow and choppy at Video CD bit rates (like ~1 frame/sec). I've found it difficult to get a bit rate the works well for me when trying to take full advantage of the screen resolution. Perhaps the DiVX decoder that is being developed will solve this problem. Even with these serious problems, I'd still consider it a great tool for a programmer and will give it 4 stars. For non-programmer types, I'd give it 1 star.
Rating:
Summary: First of a kind
Review: This review is with reference to the Zaurus SL-5500 along with the Linksys wireless CF card First the pros...
(1) Screen is very easy to see and the colors are just gorgeous.
(2) Sound via the headphones is outstanding.
(3) Auto scaling of images is impressive.
(4) The web browser scaling is very good and the text is readable even at it's smallest setting.
(5) Keyboard is quite comfortable and I find myself using it more than handwriting.
(6) Transfer from Palm is very easy - just beam the entire category over and it takes care of the rest.
(7) Availability of software is quite good... have ssh, wap browser amd mysql running on it. Download the command tool and you get your hands on all the standard UNIX utilities, including tar, grep and vi. Now the cons:
(1) More memory would certainly help. Given that this thing has a built in mp3 player and a mpeg player - 64MB of usable memory would be good. Of the 64, only 32 is really available.
(2) I would have prefered a regular Type II PCMCIA slot over the CF slot, but then again this is a pet peeve of mine.
(3) The built in PIM applications do need some work. Overall impression... It's a really nice piece of engineering. The fact that it has a built in keyboard without sacrificing screen estate in my view makes it stand out from the Handspring, CE and Palm devices. That coupled with Linux makes it a winning combination in my book.
Rating:
Summary: Get a clue
Review: I love my Zaurus, and have a few words ...: 1.) There's ALWAYS room for another OS. Competition keeps the industry alive. Look at the consumer computer OS market (no competition) vs the console gaming market (TONS of competition). The consumer OS market seems stagnant compared to the lively and highly competative console gaming market.
2.) Sharp is targetting high end users (Business professionals are NOT high end users) who desire the complete customization that comes with having an open system, plus the ease of JAVA development for customized applications. IT directors who need to get into their system from anywhere at any time, businesses which need data access over a large area where terminals are impractical, etc.
3.) Yes, Java, but no, not a PDA. They never meant this Zaurus to be "just another PDA". See my previous point as to why Java on the Zaurus is a good thing, and why it's not "just another PDA".
4.) If they took any more time to develop Linux and OSX sync, the product would have been delayed even further-- a self-defeating plan. One of the advantages of appealing to the OSS community is if they didn't develop it, someone else defintely will. Yes, this is a cheesy easy way out, but it also ensures that the application will be written that is useful to those who use it.
5.) Yes, it's a first release. A ... good first release at that. There is a lack of software currently available for it, but it is growing at an astonishing rate. Even before official release, companies like The Kompany and Handango had software ready to go-- not to mention the entire OSS community who is hyped about the system creating free alternative software (and even a completely repackaged operating system) for it.
Rating:
Summary: The swiss army knife of palmtops
Review: After reading a variety of reviews on a number of palm devices, I decided to try the Zaurus. So far, I havn't been dissapointed with my decision. The Zaurus GUI is responsive and the applications appear to work well and intuitively. The text reader application did lock up on a huge file. Other than that, no problems. As stated previously, this product's greatest strength is the Linux OS that lies underneath rhe hood. I've downloaded a few UNIX shell based tools that have compiled and worked without a hitch. I love using Opera with a d-link cf wireless card. It required almost no tweaking and works great. The Zaurus is made of plastic but appears to be fairly durable. The battery is a bit underpowered on 5500 (The 5600 has a battery 2X larger.) If you plan on networking the 5500, read the security information regarding ftp weaknesses in early models. Overall, a great value for $200!
Rating: 
Summary: Zaurus 5500 PDA
Review: I was a Sharp Wizard user, so I was excited when they came out with a more sophisticated PDA. I was swayed by the price and the pull out keyboard unit. Since I purchased it in November 2003, I have not been able to sync anything but the address book and calendar. This is a waste to me. After several e-mails and phone calls to Sharp, I am considering chalking this up to a bad experience, and jumping out of the Sharp bandwagon and purchasing a Palm or IPAQ. I am truly disappointed with this product and pray that you do not make the same mistake.
Rating:
Summary: I love it!!!
Review: This is an absolutely great PDA. It runs linux and there is tons of free software available for download. It runs, Java and Python, my two favorite languages so I can easily write my own software for the Zaurus.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for experts
Review: I bought this based on a recommendation from a tech insider who said "your tech teams will love it", but even they were frustrated with the syncing options and software. The unit performs ok, but it is not intuitive on installation and hot syncing. Too many different programs to keep straight. Finally when installing on my XP system it (along with the tech support people Sharpe directed me to delete several critical drivers that it conflicted with - only to have equally important pieces of equiptment fail. WHAT A PAIN! If you do not enjoy plumbing the depths of your computers operating systems and bios - order something with more dependable software. The unit looks great and has good graphics and adequate functionality, but woe to the operating system.
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