Portable players
Moderator: Ras
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todora
Portable players
Can anyone recommend a reliable portable hand-held player with no detatchable pieces for someone with beginner to intermediate skills? Thanks!
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nuff
Re: Portable players
Do you mean something like a handheld/PDA /pocketpc/Palm? There was an article I was reading (can't find the link) about some of the software not knowing the rules of chess but there were good one's like Hiarcs.
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todora
Re: Portable players
Thanks for the reply. I am definitely looking for a battery-operated, pocketsized unit with no separate pieces. Something I could use in a plane or the back yard or --if I get caught robbing the US Mint, a jail cell. What is a Hiracs?
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JonP01
Re: Portable players
Hi Chris,
If you are after extremely good graphics (i.e of the sort of standard you might see in a good PC program, only tiny), then I can recommend two possible avenues. One is to see if you can find a second hand copy of Chessmaster for Gameboy Advance on eBay and then buy a Nintendo Gameboy Micro unit (a bit smaller than the smallest mobile phone). The latter are still available in the US new on eBay and perhaps in stores as well (I am not sure on that last point though).
That combination will provide very clear graphics and will play somewhere around the high 1800s to 1900 ELO mark, but can be dumbed down by selecting lower rated "personalities" to play against.
The second avenue (as suggested by the first respondant) is to buy a program for a PDA device. If you already have a PDA device then you are just going to be up for the cost of the software license, which varies according to the product. The three "big" contenders for PDA chess programs are HIARCS, Chess Genius and Ches Tiger. I have a personal preference for HIARCS, because of it's ability to mimic a deep positional understanding, it's extremely strong analytical capabilities, playing strength and advanced features. It is, however, configurable to play at a reduced playing strength. In my experiments with this feature, I do have to say that it does infact seem to play roughly at the lower strength you choose (you can pick an ELO rating for it to play at). So you don't have to worry if you are not a strong player. Anyone from a beginner to 2400 ELO will most likely get beaten in a match against HIARCS for Palm. I think it rates around 2500 ELO even on my Palm Z22.
If you don't have a PDA, then you could look for something on eBay or even do what I did - just buy an entry level Palm Z22. Even the total cost of this Palm device and the HIARCS software gives you the highest ELO point per dollar ratio of any device in existence.
As for dedicated chess machines, there are a selection of those as well. However, you would need to be comfortable with the different way in which they display their graphics comapred to the Gameboy or PDA devices. The dedicated machines are the "old" style LCDs - that is , they are monochrome and the pieces are "styled" symbols made to resemble chess pieces as best as possible within the limits of technology. Only you can decide if you like these sorts of displays or not. I should point out that the dedicated machines have one huge advantage over both the Nintendo Gameboy and PDA devices - and that is battery life. Although the dedicated devices all take standard "supermarket" batteries, the batteries will last much longer than the rechargeables in the Gameboy and current model PDA devices. It might be something to think about for the future as well. You might go into a store in a few years time to buy a replacement battery for your Nintendo or PDA and find they don't make them any more.
There are possibly a few contenders in terms of these dedicated machines. The first is Excalibur's Deluxe Talking Touch Chess. It is slightly bigger and heavier than a PDA and uses a stylus operated dot matrix LCD display. It is one of the better dedicated displays, but is unfortunately not backlit. The machines have some minor software bugs, the worst of which is that it always loses on time on the tournament levels if the game goes beyond the first time control. However, if you are interested in casual games only, then you probably would be more interested in the fixed time or "sudden death" levels - niether of which have this problem. In my extensive testing of this machine, it seems to play around the low 1600s level.
Another dedicated contender is the Saitek Maestro. This one has the advantage of a backlit LCD display (again, stylus operated), however I don't feel the LCD representations of the pieces themselves are as good as on the Excalibur device. This machine also has a bug - this time it can tend to stalemate overwhelmingly won games. This does not actually affect it's playing strength though, except on the very last move of the game!
There is also a machine called the Star Ruby by Novag. Personally I think this is the best of the three, not only in playing strength but also because of the lack of bugs. The LCD pieces are pretty simple though and might take some getting used to. Personally I have trouble with them, but then again I am used to my Gameboy and PDA.
There are other machines as well, but either due to the poor quality, lack of playing strength or very poor displays, I can't recommend them.
If you are after extremely good graphics (i.e of the sort of standard you might see in a good PC program, only tiny), then I can recommend two possible avenues. One is to see if you can find a second hand copy of Chessmaster for Gameboy Advance on eBay and then buy a Nintendo Gameboy Micro unit (a bit smaller than the smallest mobile phone). The latter are still available in the US new on eBay and perhaps in stores as well (I am not sure on that last point though).
That combination will provide very clear graphics and will play somewhere around the high 1800s to 1900 ELO mark, but can be dumbed down by selecting lower rated "personalities" to play against.
The second avenue (as suggested by the first respondant) is to buy a program for a PDA device. If you already have a PDA device then you are just going to be up for the cost of the software license, which varies according to the product. The three "big" contenders for PDA chess programs are HIARCS, Chess Genius and Ches Tiger. I have a personal preference for HIARCS, because of it's ability to mimic a deep positional understanding, it's extremely strong analytical capabilities, playing strength and advanced features. It is, however, configurable to play at a reduced playing strength. In my experiments with this feature, I do have to say that it does infact seem to play roughly at the lower strength you choose (you can pick an ELO rating for it to play at). So you don't have to worry if you are not a strong player. Anyone from a beginner to 2400 ELO will most likely get beaten in a match against HIARCS for Palm. I think it rates around 2500 ELO even on my Palm Z22.
If you don't have a PDA, then you could look for something on eBay or even do what I did - just buy an entry level Palm Z22. Even the total cost of this Palm device and the HIARCS software gives you the highest ELO point per dollar ratio of any device in existence.
As for dedicated chess machines, there are a selection of those as well. However, you would need to be comfortable with the different way in which they display their graphics comapred to the Gameboy or PDA devices. The dedicated machines are the "old" style LCDs - that is , they are monochrome and the pieces are "styled" symbols made to resemble chess pieces as best as possible within the limits of technology. Only you can decide if you like these sorts of displays or not. I should point out that the dedicated machines have one huge advantage over both the Nintendo Gameboy and PDA devices - and that is battery life. Although the dedicated devices all take standard "supermarket" batteries, the batteries will last much longer than the rechargeables in the Gameboy and current model PDA devices. It might be something to think about for the future as well. You might go into a store in a few years time to buy a replacement battery for your Nintendo or PDA and find they don't make them any more.
There are possibly a few contenders in terms of these dedicated machines. The first is Excalibur's Deluxe Talking Touch Chess. It is slightly bigger and heavier than a PDA and uses a stylus operated dot matrix LCD display. It is one of the better dedicated displays, but is unfortunately not backlit. The machines have some minor software bugs, the worst of which is that it always loses on time on the tournament levels if the game goes beyond the first time control. However, if you are interested in casual games only, then you probably would be more interested in the fixed time or "sudden death" levels - niether of which have this problem. In my extensive testing of this machine, it seems to play around the low 1600s level.
Another dedicated contender is the Saitek Maestro. This one has the advantage of a backlit LCD display (again, stylus operated), however I don't feel the LCD representations of the pieces themselves are as good as on the Excalibur device. This machine also has a bug - this time it can tend to stalemate overwhelmingly won games. This does not actually affect it's playing strength though, except on the very last move of the game!
There is also a machine called the Star Ruby by Novag. Personally I think this is the best of the three, not only in playing strength but also because of the lack of bugs. The LCD pieces are pretty simple though and might take some getting used to. Personally I have trouble with them, but then again I am used to my Gameboy and PDA.
There are other machines as well, but either due to the poor quality, lack of playing strength or very poor displays, I can't recommend them.
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todora
Re: Portable players
Many thanks for the clear and detailed information! Now I can do some digestion and research. Again, I really appreciate the time and thought you put into the reply.
chris
chris