Why Run Free Software on a PDA?
Monday, 2 February 2004 15:23 EST
The Zaurus is the most popular and the most impressive Linux PDA. It sells for less than Palms, and a lot of people are watching it because of its potential, which we will try to present here. The upcoming version, called the SL6000, should be a breakthrough for the Zaurus. It features the famous C7xx crystal-clear screen, and is both Wifi- and Bluetooth-enabled. It also has a built-in, foldable keyboard in a form factor very much like the old SL5xxx serie. Moreover, unlike the C7xx clamshell series, it is also expected to be sold outside of Japan.
But the Zaurus is only one example — Motorola's V760 Smartphone is running the same software: a Linux kernel and a QTopia desktop. Now that more and more people are familiar with the idea of a GNU/Linux PDA, you may wonder why free software on a PDA may be important to you as a consumer or a manufacturer, and why the choice of a full, free software solution is progressing on the end-user devices market.
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