Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good for the Money
Review: So it isn't marvelous, glamorous, or the easiest thing ever to use or figure out. But heck, it costs $30, and it keeps track of everything you REALLY need..... I would recommend it to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Sharp's OZ-290 personal organizer
Review: The Sharp OZ-290 has a sleek appearance and isn't too difficult to find and use all of it's functions even without the manual but the excitement ends there.With a 2 X 2.5 inch screen containing 5 lines of user data and 5 lines reserved for data input and function selection, the user needs good eyes and a steady hand to make data input; especially the ten fixed symbol options at screen bottom. I suppose data input is going to be tedious on any personal organizer that doesn't have an extensive keypad. The OZ-290 allows backlight adjustment and has a real button to illuminate the LCD. You can set the time allowed for this lighting from 10 to 30 seconds to conserve the life of the twin nitride batteries supplied with the unit. Contrast ranges from 1-8. I only found the highest setting to be useful and still struggled to see clearly at times in directional lighting from windows. Things like the date format and memory testing / usage are also part of the Menu configuration as well as the PC/LINK and key tone on/off toggles. Getting back to screen and symbol sizes, even with my magnifier enabling me to see the symbols adequately, I still poked the wrong onscreen selection frequently or failed to hit anything at all. Of particular difficulty was the bottom line with ten narrow selections. That's when the thought of a real paper pad rather than this virtual device might be a more logical solution to memory aid. The omission of the anemic (2) games option and the redundant enter button would give a wider and easier to see and useful area for the remaining functions. The left 15% of the data screen is wasted in my opinion with a blank space and then a solid block to show the user that s/he is viewing entered data. This adds to word wrap that for some reason seems to put one or two characters on a line all bit itself making for a messy display. I think this is probably characteristic with these devices though. Still, I wish I had that 15% available for real data. There is some provision to edit the field data names but for the most part you are obligated to at least pass over some n/a fields of data input. It is a little reminiscent of a US government 1040 tax form wasting the preparer's time with generic lines of questions which do not relate. The software that comes on a CD and RS-232 9 pin serial port connector cable are both outdated accessories. The OZ-290/ZQ-290II Desktop Utilities software assumes the user has MS Outlook (not Outlook Express) and is all but useless without it. What you are left with is the ability to back up and restore the six individual data features, one-at-a-time! Owners may be left with the question of why not have the ability to backup / restore all of the stored data at once. What's worse is after the PC software is installed and self-starts when you boot your PC's operating system, you are presented with the communication port selection query again. Something that should be remembered and tested without prompting. The really annoying thing though is the box that reminds me that Outlook could not be found -- each and every time. At about $30 the OZ-290 isn't a big waste of money and some may even find it a reasonable investment but cheaper less known brands have similar features and interface with your PC. My advice is to either go real cheap or search for a better unit with up-to-date software and perhaps a USB connection.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Money!
Review: This is a great not expensive little handheld organizer. It is perfect for taking it places. It has a english/spanish translator, two basic games, an address book, notes, place to store memos, a to-do list, a expense mode (you can enter how much money you spend), clock, and a calculator. This is a very nice little gadget to organize every day.
Rating: 
Summary: more than i paid for!
Review: This is a great not expensive little handheld organizer. It is perfect for taking it places. It has a english/spanish translator, two basic games, an address book, notes, place to store memos, a to-do list, a expense mode (you can enter how much money you spend), clock, and a calculator. This is a very nice little gadget to organize every day.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Money
Review: This organizer is a waste of money. I bought it for my teenage daughter. We both found it so clunky to use that it just sits in the drawer. Each entry takes 3-5 steps, reviewing data is even more ridiculous. HUGE waste of money...spend the extra bucks on a low-end PALM.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad For Starters
Review: This palm pilots good for people who are just starting to use pda's. If you want somthing simple to put your schejule or phone numbers in, this is good for you. It could have more features though and it sorta hard to see what's on the screen. But otherwise its a good pda to start out with.
Rating:
Summary: Make sure you know your needs before buying
Review: This product performs as expected for the money, I guess, but it has some limitations that don't fulfill my needs. -The screen is hard to read in any light. -Takes too many steps to input data.
-There is no way to input weekly/monthly repeating items on the calendar without putting them in one by one.
-I wanted to keep track of a shopping list but was limited to 96 characters in the memo feature. -I have Outlook Express and presume that it will not be compatible. -The cover flips open nicely but would prefer one that locks shut. I was hoping to use this as a phone book/calendar/note pad that I take with me everywhere but will probably be back to my old wall calendar, post-it notes, and paper phone list in a month or so. I just bought this unit yesterday and am still learning about it so with time I may find other features to overcome my misgivings.
Wish I had done better research before I bought this and then I would have bought one that better suits my needs.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Money!
Review: Very unreliable! I had three of them. All died within a month from the date of purchase, so I had them replaced twice and finally lost my money. It is cheap, but steel does not worth it's price!
Rating:
Summary: wack
Review: Waste of money broke when i got it because 500 pound cousin sat on it
Rating:
Summary: The OZ-290 Is A Good Deal For What You Pay!
Review: When I received this item, it was in the kind of packaging that
stores use to display items (like batteries for instance). I was POSITIVE that this COULDN'T be what I ordered. But, since I had it in hand, and my AMEX card was billed, I decided to open it. I was amazed at the quality and features it has!
PROS: It has Schedule/To Do List, Telephone/Address book, Anniversary AND other reminders, an Expense mode for people who have to turn in Expense Reports, and more.
CONS: I ruined 2 pairs of scissors trying to get the thing outta the package! It comes with a 9-prong PC attachment cable, AND a CD-Rom, but when I opened mine, no CD. AND they don't tell you up front your PC "MUST BE IBM OR 100% COMPATABLE" AND you have to have "MICROSOFT OUTLOOK".
COMMENTS: This is a great little PDA, it's a quality item (the
cover opens on 2 hinges so the cover can lay flat behind the display, cool feature.) Overall, THIS IS A GREAT ITEM AT A GREAT PRICE.
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