Rating: 
Summary: Exactly what i Want
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
Rating:
Summary: The best in class and best value to boot.
Review: This is a really good PDA. The colour screen is bright and clear, and you have a choice of input mechanisms. You can use the built in micro key board, an on screen keyboard that tries to guess the word you are picking out with the stylus, a pick board, or handwriting recognition. It also has a bunch of really good apps that include: MSWord compatible doc tool,
To List,
Excel comaptible Spreadsheet,
Calculator,
Media player (mp3 and movies),
Voice recorder,
Web browser,
Email,
Power point compatible tool called Presenter,
Adress book,
Calender,
Text Editor, as well as some nice games; Asteroids, Go, Mastermind, Scrabble, Mines, 2 types of Patience and Snake, to while away the commute with. I have found the PC sofware that comes with it great. This means that I can manage and deal with the data entry on a full size keyboard and simply transfer it from my Windows PC (I am sure that mac software it comes with is just as good). I have also transfered files to it from my Windows Laptop using the IR port (first time I had ever tried using an IR connection and it worked first time). I also bought the PocketTop portable wireless (IR) keyboard and and this worked first time. It is really easy to install new software. You just have to transfer the program you want to install using the supplied software (when you plug your Zaurus into your PC the file tranfer software just makes it look like another folder browser) to the a directory call install_files, click on the "add/remove software" icon and follow the instructions. Really easy. It has a good size battery that I means that I have had no problems with one charge every day or so (The charger is small and light anyway). When you use as an MP3 player you can switch of the screen to get longer battery time. To top it all it is .... cheaper than any similarly spec'd PDA on the market. A great bargin!
Rating: 
Summary: Useless pseudo PDA.
Review: This is another attempt to invite bicycle. The device is clear battery killer. it drains batteries in 3 hours of the normal usedge and my HP Jornada 720 runs on the small battery for near 10 hours. The software is poor and few. My college who bought this crap still ask me the telephone numbers he needs. This expensive toy for those who cares to see Linux on PDA but doesn't care what is capable to do. don't mess with that. It is already dead, it was dead even before it came to the market.
This has nothing to offer. No readers, no compatibility, no usability.
Avoid it, save you money for something really cool. take new SONY things or anything else.
Rating:
Summary: A linux desktop crammed into a PDA
Review: This PDA is more than any other PDA out there save of course another later zaurus model. I bought it simply to have a personal PC while I am on the road so I dont have to lug my laptop all the time. The linux operating system offers wondrous opportunities to use this device using open source software ( as in free!). So what have I been using it for : so far I have installed Mplayer and am running 2pass divx encoded video off of a 512 MB CF card which can hold up to 5 hours of movies. The quality is excellent. I use it to connect to my home network wirelessly and securely using Freeswan IPSEC vpn implementation. I use it to browse the web using Opera which has a handy zoom button. Qftp allows me to download files from local and remote ftp servers. I can ssh into and from the Zaurus into other machines on the network. Rotation package from Opie allow me to rotate the display between portrait and landscape modes. I installed opie pacman. Opie player plays my mp3's. There are developers out there working on custom version of ROMS for this device with added featrues. I have barely tapped into all the possibilities that this machine can be used for. Try to do that on a non linux PDA. Definitely a geek toy.
Rating: 
Summary: Problematic PX-250 proccessor
Review: This PDA is very nice except for the PX-250 CPU it uses. The PX-250 proccessor unforuntely runs ARM4 code (programs compiled for the Zaurus SL-5500) at half speed (around 200mhz instead of expected 400mhz). The only software that will run full-speed on the PX-250 CPU are the default applications on the Sharp ROM, some software from Thekompany, and programs compiled exclusively for ARM5 (PX-250). Intel has made a PX-255 CPU which fixes the half-speed problem on older apps, but it is currently only used in new PDAs such as the Tungsten "C", the Toshiba e755 pocket PC, and the newer Dell Axim X5 Advanced. Sharp has no word on if they will switch to the PX-255 CPU in a new model. Casual users may not notice this problem, but many will.
Rating:
Summary: find a better vendor
Review: Unless you get lucky, Amazon is shipping Sharp's pxa250 processors that they discontinued over a year ago. The processors are buggy and don't use a lot of software correctly. There are kernel work-arounds if you are linux savy which are quite stable, but paying for a product that has been discontinued over a year ago doesn't make much sense, especially when you have to jump through hoops and recompile a kernel just to get the unit working correctly.
For those that want an awesome pda and the challenge of building their own, this is a great unit. If you are looking for something fast and stable out of the box, get a vendor with the 400mz pxa 255 processor. The Z is an awesome pda, I have SQL, Python and java running from mine, I'd just suggest you look for the more recent version you don't have to fix out of the box.
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