For those of you interested in handheld chess computers, here's a quick
summary of things to consider. Note: I have no expertise with the
PocketPC platform. My handheld chess experience is pretty much limited to
the Palm, Gameboy platform, and Excalibur products:

My handheld web site can be found at:

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

Now for some quick info that may help those who are new to chess computer
shopping:

1. For strong club players (I'm talking about anyone with an over-
the-board USCF rating of 1600 or more (or an ICC slow chess rating of 1700
or more) if you desire a handheld chess computer you probably should limit
your consideration to the Palm or PocketPC platforms. The Excalibur series
of handhelds are great computers but you may not find them strong enough.

2. Even if you are not a strong club player, if your budget allows a
$100 or more expenditure, there is good reason to consider a PDA as a chess
computer. With a great program like ChessGenius or Chess Tiger, you get
automatic recording of games. Combine that with easy PDA-to-PC file
transfers and you've got a very nice and portable platform for not only
playing chess but for analyzing your games.

3. For the rest of us (with a chess strength rating of under 1600
Elo), low cost dedicated units, like the Excalibur handhelds, make great
opponents! (They are also a great bargain!) The best all time bargain (in
my opinion)is Talking LCD Chess which can be had for under 25 dollars. Of
course there are many good chess computer buys out there. Each model having
its own particular strengths and weaknesses.

4. For those of you considering an LCD handheld, but are concerned
about display quality (or like to be able to play your game with a real
chess set), don't rule out getting a handheld chess computer. When playing
from home, there is nothing stopping you from setting up a set along side
your handheld unit and mirroring the moves on the "big board". I often do
this myself. To me it's a lot of fun to hear my Talking LCD unit call out
its move. I then make the move on my fancy chess set and then begin to
ponder my own move.

Though I do many other things in "the chess world", I continue to maintain
and update my web site on handheld computer chess. I very much enjoy
corresponding with all of you who are using or shopping for a chess
computer. My current plans are to continue to maintain and enhance my web
site over the next several months. There are still a lot of new
developments going on in the world of chess computers (esp. handheld chess
units).

Thanks.
Chris Kantack

Some links:

LCD Chess home page:
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm

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

Chess Tiger (for the Palm):
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...chesstiger.htm

ChessGenius (Richard Lang's site):
http://www.chessgenius.com/
--
Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm
(remove the "nospampls" from my email address if replying to me directly by
email)

3. For the rest of us (with a chess strength rating of under 1600
Elo), low cost dedicated units, like the Excalibur handhelds, make great
opponents! (They are also a great bargain!) The best all time bargain (in
my opinion)is Talking LCD Chess which can be had for under 25 dollars. Of
course there are many good chess computer buys out there. Each model having
its own particular strengths and weaknesses.

Chris,

Do the other Excalibur hand helds, like the Talking LCD Chess, have brighter
displays than the Touch Chess, which I have and find mostly unusable? I am not
"trashing" the Touch Chess because I have any particular motives, only because
the display is too dim for me to use. Have you ever seen any examples of Touch
Chess that were worse than the norm in this regard? Perhaps I simply got a
lemon.

Thanks,

Dick Schneiders

In article ,
says...
3. For the rest of us (with a chess strength rating of under 1600
Elo), low cost dedicated units, like the Excalibur handhelds, make great
opponents! (They are also a great bargain!) The best all time bargain (in
my opinion)is Talking LCD Chess which can be had for under 25 dollars. Of
course there are many good chess computer buys out there. Each model having
its own particular strengths and weaknesses.

Chris,

Do the other Excalibur hand helds, like the Talking LCD Chess, have brighter
displays than the Touch Chess, which I have and find mostly unusable? I am not
"trashing" the Touch Chess because I have any particular motives, only because
the display is too dim for me to use. Have you ever seen any examples of Touch
Chess that were worse than the norm in this regard? Perhaps I simply got a
lemon.

Thanks,

Dick Schneiders

Dick,

Some of the newer Touch Chess units do have a slightly better display.
(Excalibur made a change midway thru Touch Chess production to provide
better visibility for the white pieces.)

But there's no doubting that Touch Chess displays in general are not nearly
as readable (in less than ideal light) as the other models. This is because
a certain percentage of light is lossed as the light passes thru the touch
sensitive membrane of the unit.

When/if Excalibur begins to design future successors to Touch Chess, I will
encourage them to do everything possible to maximize contrast. The display
quality truly is Touch Chess's achilles heal.

Thanks,
Chris
--
Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm
(remove the "nospampls" from my email address if replying by email)

In article t,
says...
Dick,

Some of the newer Touch Chess units do have a slightly better display.
(Excalibur made a change midway thru Touch Chess production to provide
better visibility for the white pieces.)

But there's no doubting that Touch Chess displays in general are not nearly
as readable (in less than ideal light) as the other models. This is because
a certain percentage of light is lossed as the light passes thru the touch
sensitive membrane of the unit.

When/if Excalibur begins to design future successors to Touch Chess, I will
encourage them to do everything possible to maximize contrast. The display
quality truly is Touch Chess's achilles heal.

Thanks,
Chris

Dick,

I consulted with Ron Nelson (chief engineer & programmer at Excalibur) and
he also reminded me that there is a contrast control on Touch Chess and that
(depending on the contrast adjustment) an optimum angle for viewing the
pieces.

So you may want to do a little experimenting and see if you can tweak the
display a bit. I took another look at mine today and I found the pieces
quite viewable in (relatively decent) indoor lighting.

Good luck,
Chris
--
Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm
(remove the "nospampls" from my email address if replying by email)

I consulted with Ron Nelson (chief engineer & programmer at Excalibur) and
he also reminded me that there is a contrast control on Touch Chess and that
(depending on the contrast adjustment) an optimum angle for viewing the
pieces.

So you may want to do a little experimenting and see if you can tweak the
display a bit. I took another look at mine today and I found the pieces
quite viewable in (relatively decent) indoor lighting.

Good luck,

Thanks, Chris. I have adjusted the contrast control for optimum viewing, but
haven't tried playing with the angle that much. I will try that.

I appreciate your suggestions.

Dick Schneiders