PC for pocket or palm - Hardware Review - Zeos International's Zeos Pocket PC palmtop computer - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, Dec, 1992 by Russell Letson

Zeos Pocket PC

Rating: * 1/2

AT A GLANCE.' An MS-DOS palmtop computer with built-in integrated software. Hard-to-read display and tiny keyboard are the big trade-offs.

DOCUMENTATION: Functional but underillustrated and unindexed user's manual covers hardware, built-in personal information manager (PIM) software, Microsoft Works, and MS-DOS

EASE OF USE: Hardware: fair to good. Software: varies according to module. Micrasoft Works may be an acquired taste.

SUPPORT: Adequate; 24-hour toll-free phone line

LIST PRICE: $595

AVERAGE STREET PRICE: N/A (sold direct from manufacturer )

MANUFACTURER: Zeos International, 530 Fifth Ave. NW, St. Paul, MN 55112; (612) 633-4591, (800) 423-5891

MICROPROCESSOR: NEC V30 (Intel 8086 compatible)

MEMORY: 640K RAM, 384K RAM disk, 1.5MB ROM

DISK DRIVES: Optional PCMCIA memory cards act as A: and B: drives

DISPLAY: 640-by-200 CGA supertwist LCD

PORTS: One serial, one parallel

AVAILABLE EXPANSION SLOTS: Uses 2 PCM-CIA cards

ACCESSORIES: Special serial and parallel adapter cables; AA and button batteries; carrying case; AC adapter

DIMENSIONS: 9 5/8 by 4 1/2 by 7/8 inches

SOFTWARE INCLUDED: In ROM: DOS 5.0, Microsoft Works, PIM

WARRANTY: 30-day money-back guarantee, one-year Warranty

Almost small enough to fit into a jacket pocket, the Zeos Pocket PC typifies the palmtop computer; it combines the functions you'd expect from an electronic organizer (phone and to-do lists, calendar/scheduler, calculator, card file) with those of a "real" computer (word processing, spreadsheet, telecommunications, database, standard operating system). The Zeos runs on just two AA cells, with a lithium-button battery for backup, and the manufacturer claims that the Pocket PC will go for months (in suspended mode) before needing new batteries.

]he big trade-off. As cute as the tiny computer seems on the box, I noted two problems immediately upon opening the package and pulling out the Zeos: The LCD screen is not backlit, and the keyboard is small.

While the screen is a full 80 columns wide, it measures only 7 by 2 3/4 inches, with characters about %-inch high. That puts it right at the limit of readability; you need near-perfect lighting conditions to avoid eyestrain, even if you wear bifocals.

Type? On this? The keyboard is set up for touch typing, with a few understandable deviations from standard PC layout. I could eventually adjust my typing to the placement of the Insert and Delete keys on the bottom row to the left of the half-size (four-key-wide) space bar. But the keyboard is just a tad cramped for prolonged (that is, more than five minutes of) typing; my hands were crouched over the home row like arthritic spiders. In addition, the keys have a wobbly mechanical resistance, so a slightly off-center stroke does not always register, the space bar being the worst offender. Of course, you make trade-offs to minimize weight and size, but I would put up with a bit more of both for a readable screen and usable keyboard.

Another thing: The subminiature plugs for the serial and parallel ports are concealed behind snap-off doors (as are the battery compartments), and I snapped off a snapper while struggling to open one. Even if the doors were sturdier, they beg to get lost when you're hooking up to a pay phone in an airport.

Bye-bye data. Much more serious than any other problem was a system crash. While I was in the middle of working on a Microsoft Works document, something locked up the computer beyond the call of a Control-AltDelete; since there is no reset button and the on/off switch just puts the Zeos to sleep, the only solution was to remove the main and backup batteries and do a cold restart. Of course, the notes for this review, which were stored in battery-backed memory, were wiped out. Fortunately, I had transferred them to my desktop unit. If there had been a memory-card "disk drive" in one of the PCMCIA slots, data stored there would have been safe. But the mere thought of having a RAM disk full of data that can go pool when the system locks makes me nervous.

Despite its trade-offs, the Pocket PC puts function into a very small package at a reasonable price. For a writer, it's not ideal. If I were a salesman, I would probably forgive the trade-offs and use it as an electronic substitute for my bulky Daytimer.