Zaurus SL-6000 Specifics

• 6000N - without wifi, without bluetooth
• 6000L - with wifi, without bluetooth
• 6000W - with wifi, with bluetooth

The 6000 was one of the few models of Zaurus to be sold outside Japan, but only in North America. It seems that Sharp did some sort of tie-up with IBM, but whatever commercial project was initiated, it didn't go very far, and it was withdrawn from sale in 2005; some very specialist dealers still sell in specific distribution channels, albeit at a high premium, one such is for a railway management application.

Hitachi bought up the platform, calling it the Flora, only sold in the enhanced W form, but again, is only available through special commercial channels, not for retail. Thus the vast majority of units sold were the SL-6000L model.

Retro-fitting bluetooth

Fortunately for enthusiasts, some brave people have opened up their 6000Ws and the bluetooth module has been identified. In theory, it is possible to simply buy the right kind of module and simplyt solder it in place (provided one has a very fine surface mount soldering iron available)! Also, this has allowed analysis of the serial port available for the BT module, and thus compilation of the driver using the appropriate configuation variables. The author intends to try this on his 6000 in the future.
NewsFlash! This was tried and abandoned because the wrong type of bluetooth module was purchased after receiving misinformation; regrettably, during the reassembly process a BGA SDRAM memory was broken.

Enhancing the memory capacity

Moreover, the discovery of a special "D" model, with more flash memory, meant that it was possible to identify that another upgrade was possible, to replace the 64MB of flash memory with 128MB. Indeed, in theory, it should be possible to add a second 128MB chip, bringing the total to 256MB (see OESF Forum discussion).

The biggest problems facing 6000 owners who wish to enhance them is getting the right memory devices - as can be seen from the discussion on the forum! A recent discovery that some Lexar 128MB memory stick "classic" devices contain the desired memory device opened up the possibility of this author modifying his own SL-6000L device. This is documented here.

Links

Review/announcement on 3g.co.uk November 2003