[The long-awaited Zaurus Linux PDA will be offered to JavaOne attendees this week in a wireless (802.11b) configuration. ]

by Robert Whitinger -- Mobile applications will be one of the key focuses of JavaOne beginning Monday in San Francisco. Sun's J2ME (Java Micro Edition) platform is being adopted by handset manufacturers worldwide as a device independent application platform.

To whet the appetite of conference goers, Sun and Sharp will be offering the long-awaited Zaurus Linux PDA bundled together with a Linksys 802.11b (Wi-Fi) interface card. Pricing has been set at $299 for the conference promotion. The unit comes pre-installed with the Linux operating system, and the PersonalJava virtual machine software.

Last week handset manufacturers unveiled a plethora of Java-enabled handsets at the CTIA conference in Orlando. Manufacturers like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, and others have endorsed the Java standard MIDP (Mobile Information Device Profile) and have included support software in their newest handset models.

Major US wireless carrier, Sprint, has also endorsed Java J2ME and plans to support the standard with handsets and application download portals as a part of its nationwide 3G (CDMA2000-1X) rollout.

Sharp is soon to begin shipping a consumer version, the SL-5500, with double the memory (and a higher price tag, of course). Also on the drawing boards are more wireless adapters: CDPD is coming the end of April. GPRS and CDMA 1X plug-ins are on the schedule for third quarter.

By the way, installation of additional Linux applications is easy via FTP across a USB tcp/ip connection to your desktop.

For the really curious, here are the specs on the Zaurus SL-5000D:

- Hardware: Strong ARM (SA-1110, 206Mhz)

- Kernel: Linux 2.4.6 (Embedix (tm))

- Software: Embedix Plus PDA V1.0, Opera Browser V5.0, Insignia Jeode JVM (PDA edition), Qtopia for Embedix Plus PDA V1.5.0,

- Memory: ROM 16Mb, RAM 32Mb (the model SL-5500 will bring this up to 64Mb)

- Display: TFT LCD with front light, 3.5" with 240x320 pixels, 65,536 colors

- Input device: Touch panel and typewriter keyboard

- I/O device: serial/USB via docking station, IR, stereo headphone jack, compact flash card slot (no copyright protection feature)

- Power consumption: 2.8W (with battery), 6.8W (with AC adapter)

- Dimensions: 74(W)x138(D)x18(H) mm

- Weight: 188g (6.6 oz)

- Docking station connector: USB, Sharp I/O port

An interesting set of accessories are also available to JavaOne attendees:

- Linksys Wireless Network Card

- CF Digital Camera Card (350,000 pixels)

- Serial Cable

- Extra batteries, chargers and power adapters

- user agent header: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.0; Linux 2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix armv4l; 240x320) Opera 5.0 [en]

- accept header: text/html, image/png, image/jpeg, image/gif, image/x-xbitmap, */*

Back to Headlines...