| ★ wanayoo — archive 1999 http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/electronics/electronics-glance/-/B00000JCTI | Nouvelle recherche | Portail wanayoo |
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Reviews Amazon.com Looking for a convenient way to stay in touch when you leave the office? Keep yourself informed and organized with the Philips Nino 319. The Nino manages your calendar, business contacts, and to-do list; recognizes voice commands and records voice memos; and includes a modem so you can check e-mail. Setting up the Nino was easy--we just inserted two AA batteries (included, along with a rechargeable battery pack) and followed the Palm-Size PC setup wizard. We then connected the synchronization cable between the docking cradle and the desktop "partner" PC, dropped in the software CD-ROM, and followed the Windows CE Services setup wizard. The Windows CE CD-ROM provides the necessary software to manage tasks on your desktop PC and synchronize them with the Nino. You navigate through the Nino's main applications by pressing several side-mounted buttons, designed for one-handed operation; by speaking voice commands; or by tapping the stylus on the backlit display. The Nino is especially comfortable to hold and operate. For text input, you have your choice of tapping an on-screen "keyboard" or using one of two handwriting recognition systems--Jot or SmARTwriter. Another on-screen keyboard alternative uses a system called T9, which groups letters together onto fewer keys, much like letters are grouped on a touch-tone telephone keypad. In our test, we trained Pocket Commander--the voice command recognition system--to recognize our commands for common applications (for example, "Go To, Note Taker" to activate Note Taker). We found Pocket Commander to be less convenient than the more conventional buttons or stylus, but the technology still impressed us. For SmARTwriter, the natural handwriting recognition software, we found that it made more mistakes than the Jot handwriting system (also included), although SmARTwriter improved with additional training. You can set up the click-on modem to send and receive e-mail through your Internet service provider. A floppy disk installs the necessary software on the Nino. Then you need to precisely follow the 15 pages of setup information in the "Modem Click-on Owner's Manual" to get the modem working. You also need to have your ISP's phone number, primary and alternate DNS addresses, and POP3 and SMTP names handy before you start. With its attractive ergonomic design, modem, voice recognition, and its Windows CE operating system, the Nino is a fun and feature-rich PDA. Pros:
Cons:
Customer Comments Average Customer Review: 
Number of Reviews: 16
An electronics enthusiast from San Francisco, CA , October 7, 1999 An electronics enthusiast from Portland, OR , October 5, 1999 PROs over Palm: - Bigger, higher resolution screen (it can display a lot more information without having to scroll around - and it's MUCH nicer to look at) - Real handwriting reconition (it actually works quite well, and I never had to spend time trying to learn some special grafitti alphabet) - Outlook on my PDA (if you're an Outlook user on your desktop, Pocket Outlook has all the same functionality -- to go) - Voice Recorder (While the voice command and control wasn't what I had hoped, I find myself recording lots of notes to myself while driving) - Windows UI (This is Pro or Con depending on your OS regious beliefs. I'm no MS worshipper, but I do find it nicer to look at and easier to use than PalmOS). Cons: - It doesn't fit in shirt pocket like Palm V. An electronics enthusiast from New Jersey , October 3, 1999 dtflood@earthlink.net from Las Vegas, NV , September 30, 1999 WinCE is still a kludgy operating system, but you're getting a *real* handheld PC with all that phrase implies (both good and bad). An electronics enthusiast from San Francisco Bay Area , September 12, 1999 WinCE is a fully developed OS with many more features. It feels like a real OS. PalmPilot doesn't even scratch the surface of this futuristic device. Be glad you can own one of these for far less than the price of Pilot. Forget the stories people say about 8 MB not being enough. I've got 400 contacts, tons of calendar entries, it saves desktop documents (yes, WORD files) and exchanges them back and forth with your PDA and desktop. Text documents and folders can all be exchanged with your desktop. Plus, you also get the security of know that the operating system on your handheld and the creator of the desktop operating system you are using are made by the same company. You don't get that kind of guarantee from 3Com. An electronics enthusiast from EARTH , September 12, 1999 An electronics enthusiast from Austin, Texas , August 29, 1999 But don't let it's power scare you, WindowsCE, compliminted nicely with Nino's hardware buttons and special fucntions (Such as the T9 Input Panel) make it just as easy. Right out of the box I had it up and running, filling out contatcs on my computer to be downloaded (also very easily) to my Nino. The modem is perfect for what you need the Nino most for, mobility. You can write an e-mail while standing in line, or even read the latest news downloadad from MSNBC automaticly while you drank your coffee this morning. You don't relize how much stuff you forget in a day, how many little tasks get ignored and forgotton untill they become major problems. The Nino changes all of that. As far as size, it fits in the back pocket of any of my jeans, that's fine for me. Batteries have never been a issue, 12 hours is a real long time, and it only takes a few minutes a day to keep it at 100%. No problem with speed either....it isn't getting the data from a spinning harddrive, it's electronicly stored and pretty much instantly retrived. The nino can change the way you do things, too. mwesley@bizsoft.com , August 23, 1999 The Palm Pilot is simple. That is its best feature. With Minimal brain usage, you are storing your phone numbers in your Palm Pilot. The Nino is more complex. It is Windows - in a smaller form. You also have to learn the metaphysics of the Windows CE device. You have to use both hands. You learn to manipulate the system in your left hand through a series of button presses - four on each side of the device. It is not hard, and it takes a few days of using to get used to it. At first, I tried to use it like a Palm Pilot and got frustrated. I was ready to send it back. Then I sat down one day and read the manual. "Oh, if I press any two of these buttons, it does this. Oh, if I press this one, it does that Cool!!!". Yes, it is slower than a Palm Pilot, but it is differnt. I wish my Telephone was a WinCE phone - it just makes sense. In the future, you will have two types of PDA users 1) Those with expensive phone books (Palm et al) 2) Those with Windows CE devices My only complaint is that the synchonization software that comes with this model does not sync well in NT. It took time to putz with it to get it to work less than 50% of the time. If you get one of these, the first thing that you must do is go to microsoft.com and get a free copy of ActiveSync 3.0 for CE devices. It synchs up 100% of the time and is great. I'm still learning how to use it, but I never got so much use from my Palm Pilot. I even have the voice recognition working and can make it do things by taking to it! To me, the Palm Pilot is like a Mac. You're stuck with simple stuff. You do what it can do, and don't try anything advanced. This is good for most people, but Windows CE is Windows. If you are a Windows programmer, this is just the start of the future - get one now!!!
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