Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 / SL-C3200 review

The ultra mobile PC product list contains UMPCs that range in price from about €350 to well over €2000,- euro and if you look at the functionality of these devices, there isn’t really much difference. They are all capable of performing the core ultra mobile PC functions like quality internet browsing, email retrieval and sending, video playing, audio playback and document creation.

At the time of writing, the Sharp Zaurus SL-C3200 and SL-C1000 weren’t in the product list because we couldn’t find a supplier. We’ve found one now though through Trisoft in Germany. They were kind enough to lend us an SL-C3200 and and we can now say that yes, the SL-C3200 and, by definition, the SL-C1000 are Ultra Mobile PC’s

The latest models in the Sharp Zaurus range include the SL-C1000 (a 2005 model) and the SL-C3200 (March 2006.) They have never been marketed by Sharp outside Japan so users have had to rely on importers to get hold of these interesting UMPC’s. They are linux based and run on an Xscale 416Mhz processor. They are about the same size as a PDA. They have an english-layout keyboard and SD and CF slots, a stylish design, a 640×480 convertible (tablet/notebook style) screen and what set’s it apart from pretty much every other PDA or ultra mobile PC below 1000,- Euro, is that its got a keyboard. As far as UMPC’s go, there’s nothing comparable.

For detailed specifications see the product database for the S-CL1000 and S-CL3200.

First five minutes.

First impressions of the device were really very good. Its got a quality feel and look to it and it feels nice and solid. Not heavy, just solid. Provided in the Zaurus box were the original manuals and two very helpful manuals written by Trisoft. One English, one German. Also included were the USB cable, a USB cable adaptor, some headphones and the original disk. Trisoft also supply a European PSU. Unfortunately, the first five minutes didn’t include turning on the device because it needed charging!

….one hour later.

The boot up was quite slow. A good 2 minutes later and after a strange ‘bark bark’ sound (Sharp Zaurus’ software is named after various dogs. This one is ‘Terrier’ ) the device was ready. Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be booted every time its used as the standby is close-to instant.

The applications screen is the default view and the user can choose one of about 23 pre-installed applications. PIM applications, document creation, image creation, photo storage, database, audio, video and internet browsing aplications are included. Trisoft have also included some extra applications including the (more advanced and user friendly) Pi-Sync applications. First thing to try though, was the keyboard. Its a full qwerty type keyboard and its really possible to write a lengthy email quickly and accurately. The keys are spaced well and have good feedback. The Psion-5 keyboard remains my favorite keyboard of all time but this is pretty useable in comparison. You won’t want to write a full document with it but its much much better for entering text than the screen of an Origami UMPC. (i’m not an ‘ink’ person.) It really shows how much value a small keyboard can add to a ultra mobile PC and I hope that other manufacturers take note of this.

The Zaurus SL-C3200 doesn’t have any built-in wireless connectivity which is strange for a device in this price bracket. We used a D-link compact flash Wifi card (these are also available from Trisoft) to enable this. Data transfer rates over the Wifi were noticeably faster than of an equivalent Xscale pocket PC. Trying to access remote drives over the network wasn’t easy and I actually resorted to mounting via NFS on the command line which was pretty cool but not very user friendly. I have yet to find out if KDE-style smb:// or nfs:// browsing is possible. Is doesnt appear to be that casewith the default applications.

One of the big advantages of a Linux-based device is that there is always the possibility to change things. The Zaurus is no exception and if you need new applications, there’s a good possibility that something has already been ported over from the x86 version. Not only can you add applications, you can also change the complete base distribution. The Zaurus from Trisoft uses a modified version of the original Sharp rom but a quick look around reveals at least 6 other Linux images that can be installed. If you fancy a Debian-based variant or a BSD-based variant, its available.

The Zaurus in daily use.

As we mentioned before, the Zaurus takes some getting used to. Especially so if you’re a Windows user. You’ll need to invest some time in learning how to use the applications and optimise the device to find a setting that works for you. In comparison with the Easybook P7 that we tested, its at the other end of the spectrum in terms of learning curve.

On the applications side, there’s a good set of software installed and a huge amount availble through the Zaurus community. We didn’t really try out the PIM as PIM functionality on UMPC’s is a dead area. Most smartphones can do PIM functionality very well now and although they don’t have the good keyboard input, if you’ve got a phone with you all the time, you’ve got all the PIM functionality you’re likely to need. The audio player works although its lacking in features and the sound quality, even through headphones it didn’t impress. The video player was also underpowered and we had trouble running mpeg4 content that was optimised for a 400mhz pocket PC. The alternative mplayer/kino2 which is available as a download should be more efficient. We tried installing this (not an intuitive process for most.) but have to abort our efforts after spending too much time on it.

The spreadsheet is similar to that found on Windows Mobile devices.

The default email application was not the best we’ve tried but the alternative, and pre-installed OM-pi was very quick and usable. In fact all the OM-pi PIM applications seemed to be well refined.

The photo viewer application was nice and quick and makes a nice companion for a photographer. With the keyboard input, on-the-spot photo notes will also be possible.

Battery life

The 6.6W/hr battery should give around 2 hour normal useage. We got well over that playing Mp3’s with screen brightnesss dimmed. With WIFI card useage, you will probably get less than 2 hours.

Where does the Zaurus fit in?

Its a difficult device to place. With its Linux O/S and unfamiliar and slightly ‘basic’ gui, its not really a mass-market device. The PIM functionality is almost useless too for people with smartphones and the lack of built-in wifi or bluetooth will dissapoint some. As PDA, there are better options. The multimedia capabilities are also weak compared to today’s pocket PC’s.

The 6GB drive does sound like a nice option to have but unless you’re storing a lot of images, a set of audio files or some videos, it would be more flexible to buy the C1000 version, a couple of SD cards and a WIFi adaptor and save money.

We see a number of niche markets for this device. Firstly, as a highly portable note-taker. The keyboard really is quite good. The ‘Word’-like application is good and the email application too. There is one smartphone with a keybord, the HTC Universal, that might be a better choice if you’re looking for integrated radio communications, but if you’re taking notes, you won’t need a 6GB drive and you can take the C1000 version of this device at half the price of the HTC Universal.

The second use is for Linux and network administrators. Its a highly flexible device in terms of software and with a CF ethernet card it makes a very usable test tool. Ethereal and Kismet are available, you can run a apache with php, develop perl scripts and java. Again, the 6GB version wouldn’t be needed and so it comes in at a good price too.

It would make a great companion for a digital photographer using SD-cards. As an image viewer, note-maker, offline storage device it really works well.

Finally, as a gadget, its superb.

Our tip to Sharp: Increase the size by 20%, use the whole screen frame area for LCD space, increase the resolution to 800×480, add a wifi/bluetooth radio, move over to an x86 processor like the Geode LX800 and compete with Nokia at the $500 level for a much more broadly appealing device.

Thanks again to Trisoft for supplying the device and their great support.

Take a look at the full technical specifications in the product portal. Here (S-CL3200) and here (S-CL1000)

Further images are in our gallery here .