Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

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Date: 05 Mar 2007 09:50:41
From: Frippertronics
Subject: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

I'm a casual chess player wanting a thin light weight unit but am not sure
which of the two technologies would meet my requirements best. I'm not
interested in Internet ability, multi-tasking, or a bunch of programs I'll
never use. I mainly want this just to play chess on. Here's what I'm looking
for:

At least 32 MB ROM
Palm OS v5.x
65,536 Colors, 16-bit
320x320 color display
rechargeable battery and charger

I'm also trying to decide which program is best for me. I'm just an average
player so a 2000+ rating isn't a high priority for me. A few things I'd like
it to have:

A rating system
Several different boards and piece sets
Board/piece color changing

Any help is appreciated.

Date: 16 Mar 2007 03:02:41
From: Vladimir Medvedev
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

>
> Http://palmopenchess.sourceforge.net
>
> Not sure if you can add other engines to the palm version.

OpenChess for Palm is great. Besides Fruit it has Toga, Scorpio,
Phalanx, Gambit Fruit, GNUChess 2 and it's own engine.
Two last engines are weak enough to be interesting even for 1100 rated
player; they have different style settings as well (aggressive, solid,
etc.)

Date: 14 Mar 2007 11:07:49
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

> HIARCS is wayyy above my strength and the price is pretty steep,
> but I can't find another Palm program that rates playing strength.

As mentioned the free Openchess with one of the optional engines such
as Fruit is quite good. But if you're shelling out a couple of
hundred for a Palm, another fifty for Hiarcs is really worth it as an
incremental cost. It is way above my level too, and that's good. It
"dumbs down" fairly realistically (as that sort of thing goes) ... but
for analysis you want the high strength and large opening book. And
Hiarcs with a good sized memory card (they are not that expensive any
longer) and a utility or two allows you to store thousands of games
and study positions. It easily provides me with everything I need and
more when away from home (and often at home, when I'd just rather sit
in an easy chair).

I run on a Tungsten C. I use it a lot and have done many recharge
cycles. My battery is now 2 1/2 years old and is losing strength but
I still get a good four or more hours o fsteady use (if I don't use
the WiFi radio). When the battery was new it was at least eight
hours. The recharge time is reasonable (a few hours) and yes, you can
use it when plugged in. With Hiarcs I sometimes just leave it in the
cradle and use the stylus, to play or follow a game in a book or
magazine.

Again, this is all my own biased opinion, but it's biased based on
using Hiarcs for quite a while.

Date: 15 Mar 2007 01:53:00
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

In article news:[email protected],
"[email protected]" <[email protected] > wrote:
>> HIARCS is wayyy above my strength and the price is pretty steep,
>> but I can't find another Palm program that rates playing strength.
>
>As mentioned the free Openchess with one of the optional engines
>such
>as Fruit is quite good.

Http://palmopenchess.sourceforge.net

Not sure if you can add other engines to the palm version.

Date: 08 Mar 2007 21:34:01
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

"Frippertronics" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm a casual chess player wanting a thin light weight unit but am not sure
> which of the two technologies would meet my requirements best. I'm not
> interested in Internet ability, multi-tasking, or a bunch of programs I'll
> never use. I mainly want this just to play chess on. Here's what I'm
> looking for:
>
> At least 32 MB ROM
> Palm OS v5.x
> 65,536 Colors, 16-bit
> 320x320 color display
> rechargeable battery and charger
>
> I'm also trying to decide which program is best for me. I'm just an
> average player so a 2000+ rating isn't a high priority for me. A few
> things I'd like it to have:
>
> A rating system
> Several different boards and piece sets
> Board/piece color changing
>
> Any help is appreciated.

I strongly urge you to get a Palm. Windows handhelds lose power if you just
look at them. If playing strength and PDA functions are unimportant, go for
the Palm with the best battery life.

Date: 09 Mar 2007 04:47:31
From: Frippertronics
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

"Ange1o DePa1ma" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Frippertronics" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I'm a casual chess player wanting a thin light weight unit but am not
>> sure which of the two technologies would meet my requirements best. I'm
>> not interested in Internet ability, multi-tasking, or a bunch of programs
>> I'll never use. I mainly want this just to play chess on. Here's what I'm
>> looking for:
>>
>> At least 32 MB ROM
>> Palm OS v5.x
>> 65,536 Colors, 16-bit
>> 320x320 color display
>> rechargeable battery and charger
>>
>> I'm also trying to decide which program is best for me. I'm just an
>> average player so a 2000+ rating isn't a high priority for me. A few
>> things I'd like it to have:
>>
>> A rating system
>> Several different boards and piece sets
>> Board/piece color changing
>>
>> Any help is appreciated.
>
> I strongly urge you to get a Palm. Windows handhelds lose power if you
> just look at them. If playing strength and PDA functions are unimportant,
> go for the Palm with the best battery life.

Well it seems that the Palms I'm looking at don't hold much of a charge
according to what I've been reading. The mid-range models that I can afford,
Tungsten T3, Zire 72, etc. generally run about 4-5 hours before needing to
be recharged...(I need a model with voice recording). That sure isn't much
time considering the long recharge times involved too. Can these things be
run off electricity with an AC adapter, bypassing using the batteries?

Date: 10 Mar 2007 01:21:04
From: CeeBee
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

"Frippertronics" <[email protected] > wrote in rec.games.chess.computer:

> Well it seems that the Palms I'm looking at don't hold much of a
> charge according to what I've been reading. The mid-range models that
> I can afford, Tungsten T3, Zire 72, etc. generally run about 4-5 hours
> before needing to be recharged...(I need a model with voice
> recording). That sure isn't much time considering the long recharge
> times involved too. Can these things be run off electricity with an AC
> adapter, bypassing using the batteries?

It depends on the application(s) you're running. When reading an eBook my
Pocket PC will last for around 15 hours before running down and the need
to recharge. Listening to music lasts about 8 hours. WiFi on makes it run
down twice as fast. When running a chess program with pondering on and
full backlight, meaning processor and light are at 100% all the time, it
runs about 6 to 7 hours.

Extra cradles or external power supplies can be bought as accessory.
However I wonder why you want to carry that around. The use of such a
device is away from a wall socket, not constantly attached to it. If power
is the problem, I would go for a desktop version, always stronger and more
versatile than the ones offered for handhelds.

--
CeeBee

*** entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem ***

Date: 10 Mar 2007 06:50:29
From: Frippertronics
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

> Extra cradles or external power supplies can be bought as accessory.
> However I wonder why you want to carry that around. The use of such a
> device is away from a wall socket, not constantly attached to it. If power
> is the problem, I would go for a desktop version, always stronger and more
> versatile than the ones offered for handhelds.

I'll be playing a chess program on a Palm mostly at home (in bed, TV
grazing, lounging around) so I'd like to use AC for that since the batteries
in these things only last so long and for so many charges, so AC capability
is important to me. But in the break room at work or outside I'll be using
battery power.

I have several high-powered desktop chess programs, but sometimes I get sick
and tired of sitting in front of this thing. :)

Thanks again for all replies, I settled on a Tungsten T3 with an extra large
screen. Now I guess I'll spend another couple of days exploring Palm chess
programs. Gotta have a rating system and choice of colors and pieces, if
possible. HIARCS is wayyy above my strength and the price is pretty steep,
but I can't find another Palm program that rates playing strength.

Date: 14 Mar 2007 00:35:58
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

In article news:[email protected],
"Frippertronics" <[email protected] > wrote:
>
>Thanks again for all replies, I settled on a Tungsten T3 with an
>extra large
>screen. Now I guess I'll spend another couple of days exploring Palm
>chess
>programs. Gotta have a rating system and choice of colors and
>pieces, if
>possible. HIARCS is wayyy above my strength and the price is pretty
>steep,
>but I can't find another Palm program that rates playing strength.

Before plonking down money then, check out the free Openchess. It
may not have all the features, but it is free.

Date: 10 Mar 2007 10:41:19
From: Dave (from the UK)
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

Frippertronics wrote:

> Thanks again for all replies, I settled on a Tungsten T3 with an extra large
> screen. Now I guess I'll spend another couple of days exploring Palm chess
> programs. Gotta have a rating system and choice of colors and pieces, if
> possible. HIARCS is wayyy above my strength and the price is pretty steep,
> but I can't find another Palm program that rates playing strength.
>
>

Check out CE board (free) and several free engines on Pocket PC.
--
Dave (from the UK)

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: [email protected]
Hitting reply will work for a few months only - later set it manually.

http://chessdb.sourceforge.net/ - a Free open-source Chess Database

Date: 09 Mar 2007 23:30:33
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

In article news:[email protected],
"Frippertronics" <[email protected] > wrote:
>> I strongly urge you to get a Palm. Windows handhelds lose power if
>> you
>> just look at them. If playing strength and PDA functions are
>> unimportant,
>> go for the Palm with the best battery life.
>
>Well it seems that the Palms I'm looking at don't hold much of a
>charge
>according to what I've been reading. The mid-range models that I can
>afford,
>Tungsten T3, Zire 72, etc. generally run about 4-5 hours before
>needing to
>be recharged...(I need a model with voice recording). That sure
>isn't much
>time considering the long recharge times involved too. Can these
>things be
>run off electricity with an AC adapter, bypassing using the
>batteries?

Yes, they all can run off of ac or a usb port power while playing.
You can even pick up a cheap external adapter that runs off of
disposable AAA batteries.

Date: 09 Mar 2007 08:40:49
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

"Frippertronics" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Ange1o DePa1ma" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "Frippertronics" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> I'm a casual chess player wanting a thin light weight unit but am not
>>> sure which of the two technologies would meet my requirements best. I'm
>>> not interested in Internet ability, multi-tasking, or a bunch of
>>> programs I'll never use. I mainly want this just to play chess on.
>>> Here's what I'm looking for:
>>>
>>> At least 32 MB ROM
>>> Palm OS v5.x
>>> 65,536 Colors, 16-bit
>>> 320x320 color display
>>> rechargeable battery and charger
>>>
>>> I'm also trying to decide which program is best for me. I'm just an
>>> average player so a 2000+ rating isn't a high priority for me. A few
>>> things I'd like it to have:
>>>
>>> A rating system
>>> Several different boards and piece sets
>>> Board/piece color changing
>>>
>>> Any help is appreciated.
>>
>> I strongly urge you to get a Palm. Windows handhelds lose power if you
>> just look at them. If playing strength and PDA functions are unimportant,
>> go for the Palm with the best battery life.
>
> Well it seems that the Palms I'm looking at don't hold much of a charge
> according to what I've been reading. The mid-range models that I can
> afford, Tungsten T3, Zire 72, etc. generally run about 4-5 hours before
> needing to be recharged...(I need a model with voice recording). That sure
> isn't much time considering the long recharge times involved too. Can
> these things be run off electricity with an AC adapter, bypassing using
> the batteries?

I seem to recall a Zire model that ran for tens of hours on one charge. It
may not have had back lighting, however, which for me is a deal-breaker.

If battery life is similar, just get the cheapest PDA that supports the
cheapest chess software.

adp

Date: 08 Mar 2007 10:15:52
From: Patrick
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

On 6, 12:50 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected] > wrote:
> I really like Palm Hiarcs, but that's just me. Quite strong, lots of
> features, looks good, has an optional large opening book. As to your
> requirements it does have a rating system, and two piece sets.

I'll second that. I bought a Palm Z22 just for HIARCS, and I'm very
happy with it. Btw, I'm also a casual player (and a perpetual novice,
I guess). After 29 quick games, HIARCS estimates my rating at 1100.
That's just to let you know that although it's a strong program, it's
also friendly to less skilled or more casual players.

--Patrick

Date: 09 Mar 2007 00:23:25
From: Frippertronics
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

"Patrick" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 6, 12:50 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I really like Palm Hiarcs, but that's just me. Quite strong, lots of
>> features, looks good, has an optional large opening book. As to your
>> requirements it does have a rating system, and two piece sets.
>
> I'll second that. I bought a Palm Z22 just for HIARCS, and I'm very
> happy with it. Btw, I'm also a casual player (and a perpetual novice,
> I guess). After 29 quick games, HIARCS estimates my rating at 1100.
> That's just to let you know that although it's a strong program, it's
> also friendly to less skilled or more casual players.
>
> --Patrick
>

Thanks guys! I've settled on a Tungsten T3 Palm and will try out the HIARCS
demo.

Date: 06 Mar 2007 10:50:56
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Palm PIlot or Pocket PC?

I really like Palm Hiarcs, but that's just me. Quite strong, lots of
features, looks good, has an optional large opening book. As to your
requirements it does have a rating system, and two piece sets.