SoulSe Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 I currently use a Handspring Visor Deluxe pda for... stuff. I am now looking to upgrade and have decided that a Sony Clie Peg SJ33 looks like the best choice. So, what I would like to know is if anyone has experience with this handheld and Linux? I expect the usual Palm OS compatibility should be fine, but what about loading things onto the Sony Memory Stick? or transferring documents to the bundled office suite? Anyway, if anyone has had experience lemme know, or if you can suggest a better handheld in the $300-$350 range? I'm not interested in built in cameras, cus I am getting a phone with one, so I'd rather opt for a mp3 player and the possibility of blue tooth connectivity. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeDubb Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 Mygirlfriend has a clie SJ30 and I find that I can use J-pilot fine. NO configurtion needed, it was all pnlug n' play. I don't realy know much about the office software as I have a Pocket PC not a palm, and we don't have any memory sticks, but, if there's something specific you'd like me to try, I'm sure I could borrow my girlfriend's clie to trie, that is, except the memory stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted May 16, 2003 Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 Anyway, if anyone has had experience lemme know, or if you can suggest a better handheld in the $300-$350 range? I'm not interested in built in cameras, cus I am getting a phone with one, so I'd rather opt for a mp3 player and the possibility of blue tooth connectivity. Thanks. how about the sharp zaurus? i agree that it does not have integrated bluetooth capabilities but it has a Bluetooth CF card. it has a CF and SD/MMC dock so its no biggie if you want an external memory plugged in. it plays mp3 and ogg (based from what a local plugger said). and best of all it runs linux. somebody even ran an apache server in that beast. :shock: ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeDubb Posted May 16, 2003 Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 I was under the impression the zaurous could only be synced with windows or Mac, but not linux. (Yes I know how dumb that is). ANyway, has this changed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted May 16, 2003 Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 I was under the impression the zaurous could only be synced with windows or Mac, but not linux. (Yes I know how dumb that is). ANyway, has this changed? afaik that is still true. but what i heard is you dont need to synch because you can ssh to a zaurus. but i havent used one (i was going to but then other things got precedence) so it might not be true. 2 local linux users (who doesnt have windows in their machines) use and swear by the zaurus. :#: ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JaseP Posted May 16, 2003 Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 The Zaurus is too expensive. When you can get a Palm for around $100, what is the major justification for spending that kind of money on a hand-held??? I played with one and I admit they are nice, but until there is a cheaper embeded Linux hand-held, I'm sticking with my cheap and relatively powerful (price for features) Palm m105. It cost me $75 after rebate and with 8MB of RAM is still cheaper than the 2MB entry-level Zire. The Zaurus has that nice slide-out keyboard, but that and the couple of other nice features it has are really not enough to justify it's street price. What would make it more usuable would be the ability to compile and run Linux sources on it, along with full XFree86/KDE/Gnome compatibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRTee Posted May 16, 2003 Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 Hey man, zaurus runs linux, that's worth some bucks!! ;) All kidding aside, compiling source? You do that on your pc, then upload the binaries to the zaurus! kde and gnome? Just run that on your desktop, and use vnc to connect to it. Btw, a 100$ palm is no comparison for a zaurus, just compare the hardware. Sure to type and print a letter, a pII 300 is fine, but an athlon xp is nicer... Anyway, I'm still waiting for that new zaurus 7something, with 640x480 screensize, and better batterylife... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeDubb Posted May 16, 2003 Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 Right now I'm using a Dell Axim advanced as my handheld. It's got a 16bit transflective display, a 1400mAh battery, 64MB of memory, a SD slot, a CF slot and it only costs $300.00 Sadly, the software to sync it with linux is still in beta, but it "works" sort of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulSe Posted May 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2003 Well, here is what I have found out so far: You can mount the Sony memory stick while in the Clie just as you would mount any other memory stick slotted into the USB port (big plus). We all know that the Palm OS software is great with Linux for syncing, etc. The Clie SJ33 has no comparison in its price range, it leaves similarly priced Palms and Handsprings far behind. Especially when considering all the bundled software. There will be some problems with the image and video software as well as Documents To Go, might have to dual boot to sync those with windows. I'm not sure if it plays oggs, but it does play mp3s (no biggy, I use mp3s more then oggs, so I can make them available at the radio station I work at). And that is it so far, looks like Clie it is. Only problem is, Sony Clie is not supported in South Africa and very expensive here (if you can find one)! But I have family from the UK coming next month, so I'll courier it over to them so they can bring it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeDubb Posted May 18, 2003 Report Share Posted May 18, 2003 As much as I love my axim, I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known I was going to go linux. I've been running linux for about a month now and still haven't gotten synced with my axim. I definately think the sj33 is a great unit, you won't be dissapointed, though as you said, the software conduits might be worthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 this link is from last september so i think there has been some leaps since then. my buying a palm left a sour taste in my mouth. even though i havent gotten my hands on a Z, ill pick it over any Palm-based PDA anytime. and as for the features and packaged software, i think the ones bundled with the Z are more usable linux-wise. ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyme Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 http://www.trolltech.com/download/qtopia/index.html Qtopia desktop is at the bottom-that's what you use the sync the zaurus in linux. there's an RPM link :-) btw-you can get the zaurus for aout $200 from tigerdirect. link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramfree17 Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 yup and i have been getting in touch with the local zaurus mailng list (not much traffic there anyway, hehehe) and they told me that KitchenSync is part of the KDE project and providesQtopia/Opie sync solutions to Linux. It is expected to be shipped on the next major release of KDE, although cvs is available now. im here to make it harder for SoulSe to decide. ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeDubb Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 Wow, for that litle, I think I'll try and sell my Axim! I've never seen a zaurous for 200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeeDubb Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 I did it, if you know anybody looking for PocketPC, send them to www.brighthand.com, I'm selling my Axim in the Buy-Sell-Trade forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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