Zaurus User Group

New Zaurus Prototype Confirmed!

Articles / SL-6000 News
Posted by offroadgeek on Oct 21, 2003 - 11:17 PM

As previously reported here [1], kimothpy posted a note [2] on the devnet forums revealing some renderings of this supposed new Sl-6000 model... those renderings might as well have been pictures, because they are right on the mark!

This new model, the Zaurus SL-6000, is rumored to be released in the US sometime in early January.

The unit is rumored to have the following features:

Integrated wifi!
Integrated bluetooth
A larger 4 inch transreflective VGA (640x480) CG Silicon screen.
Along with the larger screen comes a larger Zaurus overall. It's rumored to be much larger than the 5x00 models.
It may sport a 1500mAH battery, while it's better than the 5x00 battery, with integrated wifi and bluetooth, you'll probably need a spare.
It still comes with the defacto SD and CF slots
USB host
It's also rumored to have a sled, which will of course greatly increase it's size, but also provide an additional CF slot and battery extender!.
Built-in speaker and mic, which not only allows for quick voice recording, but with their inteligent placement of the speaker and mic and the the right software, this Zaurus can be used as a VOIP phone!
Rotation on the fly, when you press and hold the 'light' button, the screen will rotate to landscape
A more rugged design
It's rumored to have 64mb ROM (like the 7x0 series), and either 64 or 128 mb RAM.

I think it's clear now that Sharp is focusing all efforts on the enteprise market. While I think it's great they may have added more memory, upgraded the screen to the (what should be standard) CG Silicon screen, but I don't think the average user would require a ruggadized handheld. Then again, I remember someone on the DevNet boards posting a horror story of their Zaurus dropping to the ground (a few feet) while on a ladder in a server room. OK, maybe for some, ruggadized is good.

Lastly, I still feel great about spending my hard earned(?) money on my 760. I really, really like the clamshell design.

And now for some pictures, try not to be too critical of these...