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Philips Nino 319 Windows Organizer

Philips Nino 319 Windows Organizer

List Price: $199.99
Your Price: $199.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Outstanding features and easy to use, but a little slow
Review: I really enjoy this thing; use it to keep up with friends and family by email while on my daily ferry commute. The scroll buttons are a great feature, but they're a bit clunky to get at. I'm still in Win95, which does not let my mobile channels autosync. Not a big deal, but its an added step nonetheless to get downloads from the web. Also, the Nino is slower than the Palmpilot and a bit larger. If they could shave about 1/4" off its thickness it would be ideal! As with all palm devices, the screen can be hard to read in certain daylight conditions. Synchronizing with Outlook is a snap, and "jot" recognition has been very good to me so far, although it seems a little too ready to drop a period every time I graze the screen with the pen. This gets a little annoying during a bumpy commute. I highly recommend the Nino for its start up ease and auto synch features.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beware of WinCE 2.0!
Review: I recently purchased a Nino 319 for Windows CE software development. The price was very attractive and the offer included a clip-on modem (which did not work). Much to my surprise, the Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit and SDK for VB6 DOES NOT SUPPORT Windows CE 2.0, only 2.11. Let this be fair warning, if you intend on developing software for a CE device, buy one that runs 2.11, stay away from these close-out 2.0 devices.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beware of WinCE 2.0!
Review: I recently purchased a Nino 319 for Windows CE software development. The price was very attractive and the offer included a clip-on modem (which did not work). Much to my surprise, the Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit and SDK for VB6 DOES NOT SUPPORT Windows CE 2.0, only 2.11. Let this be fair warning, if you intend on developing software for a CE device, buy one that runs 2.11, stay away from these close-out 2.0 devices.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Nino Changed The Way I Did Things.
Review: I thought when I bought my first handheld that I'd probobly be dissapointed...what more is it than a electronic Rolodex? When I hooked it up, I was immedatly impressed with windowsCE functionability. The main thing I love about it is that is configurable down to one of my many specific personalities. Perhaps that's where the other poor reviews came from...WindowsCE compares to Palm as PC does to Mac, it is a little more brain-stimulating to use. You do have to spend a little time exploring the Control Panel Settings, you can even tune how much Memory as apposed to Storage space, this gives you as much as 6 megs of space if used properly. That is quite a few names, addresses, and To Do's.

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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's a great PDA,but you're on your own according to Philips
Review: I too have a three week old dinosaur. While I love the functionality and feel of the Nino, my attempts to resolve a factory defect with Philips customer support were futile. Their only option for me to get my modem to work was for me to send in the entire Nino (and modem) to them for at least three weeks for them to sort out and fix my Nino. The reason I bought it was to get work DONE, not to be hung out to dry for almost a month!

They would not make any concessions or even listen to reason. The manger there even raised his voice to me and flat-out refused to help me.

One friendly five-minute call to Amazon fixed all my problems.

Philips have decided not to stand by thier product. It's a shame, because I really enjoy the Nino.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unbeatable for the price!
Review: I'm getting unbeatable utility from my Nino. No more fumbling for pens and paper, no more heavy organizer, and I'm able to save my thoughts as they come. The Windows CE is fast enough for my needs, and never did I feel awkward with the Nino's size. Everything just falls readily to hand, and it's sufficiently hefty that it does not feel like I would break anything. I now have an extension of my desktop PC on the road!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The first PDA that saves me time instead of wasting it...
Review: I've been trying "PDAs" in various forms ever since the category first emerged. Win CE and the Nino is the first one that I've consistently used and really feel has helped make me more efficient.

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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The first PDA that saves me time instead of wasting it...
Review: I've been trying "PDAs" in various forms ever since the category first emerged. Win CE and the Nino is the first one that I've consistently used and really feel has helped make me more efficient.

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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: My Nino now controls my life
Review: I've found the Nino an excellent organizational tool. No more carrying around a big paper planner. No more transferring tasks manually day after day. It's all done automatically. I've not missed or been late for a meeting since buying mine.

I did have a problem with the rechargeable battery that came with the unit. That's the only problem so far. While the Nino is a bit larger than the Palm V, I find it has better features (battery life, memory, etc.).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: great deal for a WinCE palm but not a Palm Pilot 3 killer
Review: I've had mine for 3 weeks... and it's tough to decide whether to turn it back in for a Palm III/Handspring Visor Deluxe.

Cost: Hands down, it's Amazon's Nino 319 package $180 for a 4 gray level, 8MB, WinCE 2.x, WITH 19.s modem!!! And it supports voice recordings.

A visor deluxe ($250) with 8MB module ($40) and a modem ($130) runs more than twice the nino. yes the modem is a 33.6, but for emails, who cares? It's not like you're going to be downloading a Quake IV demo on a handheld...

Form factor: slight edge to Palm III. Palm III is slightly shorter and a ounce lighter. the real difference is the width - when held in a hand it's not just the width you are concerned about, it's the width on both sides. the nino ends up feeling much bigger - those with big hands will probably like it.

The buttons on the sides of the Nino are damned annoying. Sorry Philips (and Amazon) but the buttons really belong on the face. Although I would like the voice start/stop button on the upper right-hand corner of the side, like a pocket recorder.

Screen: even. Palm's 160x160 is too granular. Nino's resolution is very satisfactory, but the handrecognition area is WAY too big - i wish you could select an option to reduce it to 66%. Palm's 16 shades of gray outpaces the nino's 4, but I'm having a difficult time noticing it.

Software: mixed. Palm OS has more 3rd party software than WinCE, but the quality programs are few for both platforms. Outlook is better on the WinCE especially with Office 2000. But palm's PIM is somewhat easier to use.

Software/data loading: MS's 3rd version of their software/data loader gets the nod here. Doesn't come with the Nino package, but it's easy enough to find and download. No real complaints about either one.

Handwriting: slight edge to Nino/WinCE. I started on the Palm III and it drove me nuts trying to switch over to the Nino - simply because of the weird way you write with Palm's system. WinCE does support a more natural way to write, but i still dislike their "i" form. The auto-word fill is something I'm trying to get used to on the Nino, and I like it. Palm mised the boat big time for not supporting cut, copy, and paste features - what's up with THAT?! a sw program is available to fix that.

There's more comparisons I can make, but I think it boils down to this: If you need voice and modem capability on a palm-sized PC for less than $250, select Amazon's $180 Nino 319 package. If you just use it for PIM and PC syncing (the $200 option) OR you have $400 to spend for voice and modem capability on a palm-sized PIM machine, go handspring. Of course, $400 also gets you into the Cassiopeia E-105 - but that's another review.

Either way you go, accept the limitations of the machine you buy.

Amazon: what a great deal on this product - many THANKS! Very nice support, BTW.


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