Mtal wrote on 05/17/07 at 00:13:13:



First the specs:

I own a HP IPAQ hx2495b. The processor is an Intel pxa270 also referred to as ARM920T PXA27x. I have 192 MB ROM and 64MB RAM. I also have two expansion slots for SD cards and CF cards. I got two 2GB cards. My operating system is Windows CE 5.0

I changed from Dell to HP because I like the design better, shape of the case, buttons, etc. Performance wise, both are the same and although the Dell is supposed to have the better display, personally, I didn't notice the difference. 

On a sidenote, once you get a windows CE PDA (no matter if DELL or HP, etc) you need to deactivate Microsoft active sync. The PDA will  constantly look for a laptop/desktop to sync up data and this will often freeze the PDA and drain the battery. There are plenty of links on the web, which explain step by step to how to deactivate activesync.

I should mention that I installed all Convetka pocket PC programs ( I have 5 of them) and Poket Fritz
in the ROM and had no problems. I didn't even need the extended memory. 

From an installation perspective you need to make sure of two things. 
When you install Pocket Fritz you need to select the right installation file, there are seperate files for different processors. Secondly, there is a service pack you need to download from the chessbase webpage and run it on your desktop/laptop. 

dsanchez, not sure if you are reading this, but I assume that this is what went wrong with your PDA. Did you install the service pack?

You can find tons of support info on their webpage. The service pack is available here: http://chessbase.com/download/download2.asp
click on "service and download" , select Pocket Fritz 2 and you are good to go. You should also check out the T-notes, there is actually a tutorial about how to install PF2 (http://www.chessbase.com/support/support.asp?pid=208). By the way, the convetka products have even less installation instructions, meaning almost none. Let me know if you are having problems and I might be able to walk you throuh the convekta process.

Gueler wrote on 05/15/07 at 20:17:01:



Yes, if you can let me know more about your HP IPAQ, please. What made you switch to it from the Dell Axim (seems like a pretty popular Pocket PC)? Oh so you did not have any trouble running Fritz on your Dell Axim?

I was looking at Dell's and HP's. I know some HP's have a camera which is kind of cool.

Thanks.

Pocket Fritz 2.0 was a great advance over the original version because it added support for PGN annotations.  I used it all the time on a Compaq Ipaq 2210.  However, I upgraded my PDA to a Dell Axim x51 with Windows Mobile 5 and Pocket Fritz no longer worked.  ChessBase does not support their products worth a sh!t and I never could get tech support to fix the issue so I switched to a different program called Pocket Grandmaster.  Pocket GM is good, but there are a few quirks I don't like.  When you open a new game from your database, it starts at the final position instead of the beginning position.  Also, the annotation window is only 2 lines, so if you are playing over an annotated game you always have to do a lot of scrolling.

I prefer Pocket Fritz's interface, and if it ran on my Axim I would still use it.  However, Pocket GM is good enough.

I think both Pocket GM and Pocket Chess Tiger (or something like that) have trial versions.

I also have Pocket CT-Art which is good for tactical training.  At one time I also had the .pgn files of Reinfeld's old combination books, which did basically the same thing but did not keep score. 

I think Convekta or whoever makes CT-Art has a number of titles for Pocket PC.

ChessPub files are also great to play through on the Pocket PC, although some games have PGN formatting issues that are not compatible with Pocket GM, anyway.   

I think the Pocket PC is a fantastic tool for chessplayers.  I use mine every day in a number of ways.   I wish there was more enthusiasm for the devices.  Unfortunately, the dark side (cheating) is probably more advertised than its ability to assist in study.

If ICC ever made an interface for Windows Mobile, and if Windows Mobile Internet Explorer ever supported java, I could get rid of my traditional PC altogether.

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone as tired chess programs on there pocket pc. I see there is fritz for it and ct art? Are they any good? I am looking for something to play at lunch at work, but more importantly, something I could maybe put some chess base games on (like some of the chess pub stuff, lol), so I could study some important variations of the openings I play. Can I use fritz for that, or is there another data base program out there for the pocket pc.
Also to go over tatics (I guess the chess art stuff is good for that).

Now could someone reconment a pocket pc. How much memory I should get, processor speed, any other useful features I should look for. I see they have some on Ebay. I was thinking of picking one up. I was looking at dells (I think there top model is the x51 and x50, a little expensive). One thing that is kind of weird, it seems that most of the companies that started making these things, stopped, and some even don't support them.

Well any advice would be great.

Thanks.