It's a beautiful summer here in the Pacific Northwest. (Actually could use
some rain as it is quite dry and there's always a chance of big fires.)

Summertime is when I give my handheld computers a real workout. Often
people ask me to summarize my findings as, despite my thorough reviews, they
cannot decide "which Excalibur handheld is the best buy for me?".

Usually I don't have a concrete answer as each unit has its own strengths
and weaknesses. For example:

Touch Chess would likely be the only handheld for my purposes were it not
for the considerably dimmer screen than what you'll find with Talking LCD
Chess or Chess Station. Touch Chess is extremely easy to use in brightly
lit areas but can be extremely difficult to use in less than ideal light.
(While still a great buy it is also the most expensive Excalibur handheld
at around $40 to $45 typical price.) My review of Touch Chess is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...excltchess.htm

The handheld portion of Chess Station (also marketed as "New York Times
Electronic Chess") doesn't use a touch pen stylus. But it's keyboard is
very easy to use and it has a much better display than Touch Chess. It
typically sells for a bit less than Touch Chess. My review of Chess
Station is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...essstation.htm

The strongest Excalibur handheld also has a voice and is currently the
cheapest at just under $20! It's the one I'm recommending to most people
at this time. It's bulkier and slightly more difficult to use than the
other units. However, the screen is fine and the price is very right!
My Talking LCD Chess review is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...talkinglcd.htm

Note: All the Excalibur units have fantastic battery life. You literally
may be able to go years between battery changes as the battery life of
these units are measured in the few hundreds of hours per set of batteries.

For very strong club players and above (say USCF Elo 1700+), you'll
probably be more interested in a stronger unit, such as a Palm PDA with
ChessGenius or Chess Tiger. I have a review of Chess Tiger (on the Palm)
at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...chesstiger.htm

For myself and (I'd guess) for most players....especially any and all
beginners to this great game, I cannot see how you can go wrong with
Talking LCD Chess. For less than it cost to take a family of four to a
fast food dinner, you can have a powerful talking handheld chess
computer.

If you prefer tabletop action, buy a handheld unit anyway! Nothing to
stop you from mirroring the moves on a real board. I often do this
myself to enjoy the game more.

Good luck! Have a great summer!

Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm

Is this chess spam?

No, but really folks. I am a huge fan of my Palm Pilot with Chess Tiger.

Chess Tiger puts up a good fight. Actually, when I jack up the trainer level
on it, it routinely kicks my ass (I'm not that good).

~Dan

--
|| http://www.digital204.com (a Yobry production)
|| drop me a line at danyobry(at)comcast.net



"Chris Kantack" wrote in message
...
It's a beautiful summer here in the Pacific Northwest. (Actually could
use
some rain as it is quite dry and there's always a chance of big fires.)

Summertime is when I give my handheld computers a real workout. Often
people ask me to summarize my findings as, despite my thorough reviews,
they
cannot decide "which Excalibur handheld is the best buy for me?".

Usually I don't have a concrete answer as each unit has its own strengths
and weaknesses. For example:

Touch Chess would likely be the only handheld for my purposes were it not
for the considerably dimmer screen than what you'll find with Talking LCD
Chess or Chess Station. Touch Chess is extremely easy to use in brightly
lit areas but can be extremely difficult to use in less than ideal light.
(While still a great buy it is also the most expensive Excalibur handheld
at around $40 to $45 typical price.) My review of Touch Chess is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...excltchess.htm

The handheld portion of Chess Station (also marketed as "New York Times
Electronic Chess") doesn't use a touch pen stylus. But it's keyboard is
very easy to use and it has a much better display than Touch Chess. It
typically sells for a bit less than Touch Chess. My review of Chess
Station is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...essstation.htm

The strongest Excalibur handheld also has a voice and is currently the
cheapest at just under $20! It's the one I'm recommending to most people
at this time. It's bulkier and slightly more difficult to use than the
other units. However, the screen is fine and the price is very right!
My Talking LCD Chess review is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...talkinglcd.htm

Note: All the Excalibur units have fantastic battery life. You
literally
may be able to go years between battery changes as the battery life of
these units are measured in the few hundreds of hours per set of
batteries.

For very strong club players and above (say USCF Elo 1700+), you'll
probably be more interested in a stronger unit, such as a Palm PDA with
ChessGenius or Chess Tiger. I have a review of Chess Tiger (on the Palm)
at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...chesstiger.htm

For myself and (I'd guess) for most players....especially any and all
beginners to this great game, I cannot see how you can go wrong with
Talking LCD Chess. For less than it cost to take a family of four to a
fast food dinner, you can have a powerful talking handheld chess
computer.

If you prefer tabletop action, buy a handheld unit anyway! Nothing to
stop you from mirroring the moves on a real board. I often do this
myself to enjoy the game more.

Good luck! Have a great summer!

Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm

Here's a review just because I feel like typing something....

I bought the Saitek Cosmos (now mephisto?) and I like it.

Look & feel.
Cosmetically, it's solid (feels heavy and metal, not like that
plasticky excalibur) and looks classic -- square and silvery with
simple buttons.

Strength.
The "fun levels" are nonsense to beat for any class player. Then it
has time control versions where it will take 1 second per move, or 2,
or 5, r up to 3 minutes per move. I haven't played it beyond giving
it 15 seconds per move but it seems to level off a bit and I don't
know if it would be a whole world tougher on 3 minutes per move.

under time controls (G/5 up to G/90) I'd say it's somewhere in the
1700 to 1900 range. That's tough to judge though because I'm not
really sure what my own strength is (USCF 1450 but with a lot of
recent wins and draws against some class A's that haven't been
updated.) I haven't played it under classic time controls. I think it
plays a terrible endgame. A big weakness.

But, like a lot of computers, you need to be on your toes tactically
because it doesn't miss things. Although it made a strange sac against
me the other day (sacced a bishop for a pawn when it was already

Ease of use.
The menu takes a little time to get used to.

I don't even try to play what's on the screen (I always have a board
set up) so I can't comment on how easy that is to learn, except to say
it's not immediately easy.

Cost.
I got mine for $55 + $6S&H on Ebay. I'd say its worth it if your
lookign for one.

I got mine so I could play on the porch or in the lviing room without
haveing to go to the computer.

"Dan Yobry" wrote in message ...
Is this chess spam?

No, but really folks. I am a huge fan of my Palm Pilot with Chess Tiger.

Chess Tiger puts up a good fight. Actually, when I jack up the trainer level
on it, it routinely kicks my ass (I'm not that good).

~Dan

--
|| http://www.digital204.com (a Yobry production)
|| drop me a line at danyobry(at)comcast.net



"Chris Kantack" wrote in message
...
It's a beautiful summer here in the Pacific Northwest. (Actually could
use
some rain as it is quite dry and there's always a chance of big fires.)

Summertime is when I give my handheld computers a real workout. Often
people ask me to summarize my findings as, despite my thorough reviews,
they
cannot decide "which Excalibur handheld is the best buy for me?".

Usually I don't have a concrete answer as each unit has its own strengths
and weaknesses. For example:

Touch Chess would likely be the only handheld for my purposes were it not
for the considerably dimmer screen than what you'll find with Talking LCD
Chess or Chess Station. Touch Chess is extremely easy to use in brightly
lit areas but can be extremely difficult to use in less than ideal light.
(While still a great buy it is also the most expensive Excalibur handheld
at around $40 to $45 typical price.) My review of Touch Chess is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...excltchess.htm

The handheld portion of Chess Station (also marketed as "New York Times
Electronic Chess") doesn't use a touch pen stylus. But it's keyboard is
very easy to use and it has a much better display than Touch Chess. It
typically sells for a bit less than Touch Chess. My review of Chess
Station is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...essstation.htm

The strongest Excalibur handheld also has a voice and is currently the
cheapest at just under $20! It's the one I'm recommending to most people
at this time. It's bulkier and slightly more difficult to use than the
other units. However, the screen is fine and the price is very right!
My Talking LCD Chess review is at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...talkinglcd.htm

Note: All the Excalibur units have fantastic battery life. You
literally
may be able to go years between battery changes as the battery life of
these units are measured in the few hundreds of hours per set of
batteries.

For very strong club players and above (say USCF Elo 1700+), you'll
probably be more interested in a stronger unit, such as a Palm PDA with
ChessGenius or Chess Tiger. I have a review of Chess Tiger (on the Palm)
at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...chesstiger.htm

For myself and (I'd guess) for most players....especially any and all
beginners to this great game, I cannot see how you can go wrong with
Talking LCD Chess. For less than it cost to take a family of four to a
fast food dinner, you can have a powerful talking handheld chess
computer.

If you prefer tabletop action, buy a handheld unit anyway! Nothing to
stop you from mirroring the moves on a real board. I often do this
myself to enjoy the game more.

Good luck! Have a great summer!

Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm