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Subject: Re: My Kasparov Cosmos unit just died. Any Suggestions?

Author: Steven Edwards

Date: 15:57:14 12/08/03

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On December 08, 2003 at 17:34:37, paul bedrey wrote:

> I am leaning towards PDA but it seems battery life
>is the key issue. I would need a unit that could go at least 3-4 days without
>charging using pondering on.

This may not be feasible with some PDAs.  They are not designed for long, full
CPU load runs using only the internal batteries.

A solution here is to buy an extra wall wart power adaptor for each site at
which the PDA would be residing during its long think times.  I kept one in my
car back when I used to make long trips.

>I'm currently looking at the Palm Zire 21(black and
>white). Its ARM capable and is reasonably fast(128mghrtz).

Both Palm Zire models are good values.  However, I would definitely recommend
getting a color screen if you have less than perfect near vision.

>I'm thinking of
>getting both Genius and Chesstiger software. Has anyone compared the strength on
>say saitek's strongest handheld versus a PDA? According to the PR, Star Sapphire
>is rated 2400-2500 US and goes for $250 Us.
>Anyone have any experience with these units? Thanks.

I have only seen the Novag Star Sapphire; haven't played it.  I'm sure it would
beat me just as well as the others have.  If a user is more than about 250 Elo
lower than the least ranked program, it would be difficult to detect much
difference.

I thnk the Star Sapphire is a bit overpriced.  Then again, I'm cheap.

On the other hand, I've always felt that the Novag table top models were
superior to any competing models fron Fidelity/Excalibur, Saitek, etc.  I had a
Novag Super Constellation (about US$300 at the time) and it gave me many, many
hours of good play with lots of features.  I also have a successor model, the
Novag Emerald, and it has been a good sparring partner for my own programs.



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