Sharp OZ-290HII Pen Touch Wizard Organizer with Outlook Sync

I returned this product within a week of receiving it because every time I tried to save a contact, the device froze.

I only used it for the calendar and it worked as expected. The one thing I didn't like was the difficulty in adding multiple events to one day. My biggest con is that the display deteriorated to the point of being useless after three years.

I purchased one organizer, not expecting much due to the price, but I only need a simple calendar/phone book. For some reason, two of them were shipped to me. I was getting ready to return one right away and my husband jokingly said "maybe they shipped you two because they know it's not going to work anyway."

I inserted the batteries and pressed the reset button, just as the instructions state in the user's guide. Nothing happened -- no power. So, then I tried to install the desktop manager on my laptop and it wouldn't install; I kept getting an error message and it would immediately exit the install.

So, I opened up shipment number two. Again, it wouldn't power up and I could not install the desktop manager. I know it's not a problem with my laptop -- I am able to install other programs. I went out and purchased two new batteries, thinking that the store in NJ sent dead batteries to me. Again, it would not power on even with new batteries installed.

Even if I were to get this device working, this is a really bad indication of the reliability of the product. I didn't expect much, but I at least expected power. I am definitely returning both of them and will go to an actual electronics store to purchase a real organizer.

Sharp OZ-290HII Pen Touch Wizard Organizer with Outlook Sync This purchase was so quick, easy, and inexpensive, that I EXPECTED whole-heartedly that something WOULD just have to go wrong, be wrong, or just flat out be disasterous about it. Ever heard of the saying that starts out, "If it's too good to be true..."? This order gave me that feeling so strongly that when the package was delivered(ahead of schedule, mind you) I expected that I would immediately be on the phone to "bless" a customer service representative with my very pointed opinion of the product. After toying around with my electronic gizmo (I just LOVE IT!!!), I was so impressed with the organizer while at the same time feeling rather ashamed of my cynical attitude that I had nursed along while anticipating the worst, that I was overwhelmed with joy, elation, and a prevading sense that I should have been, at the least, expecting the cup to be "half full". Tears of joy ran down my face as I realized that not everything in the world that appears to good to be true actually winds up being truly just too good to be true. Oh yeah, if you fell for the part of my review that told of tears of joy running dowm my face, I would like to also inform you that I am taking major investment capital offers for a beachfront property project I am developing on a tract of land near a corn farm in Nebraska (smile). Honestly though, the whole experience was a very good one. I highly recommend the product, the vender, and the always awesome people of Amazon.com. Be warned, all shop-aholics...you may need to attend a meeting or two before accessing the product link above. It would be wise to have the strength to not take out a large portion of your family nest-egg to satisfy your cravings while navigating through the sites of the vender and Amazon.

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRODUCT ITSELF: I was quite surprised by the ease of navigation through the various functions of the organizer. The sensitivity of the touch screen was just right for this user...it was not too sensitive, yet not needing a heavy hand either. The memo, calander, reminder, task, and calculator functions are just a few of the great features this baby holds. Since I live in a heavily Latino region of the US with limited proficiency in Spanish, the English to Spanish (and vice versa) translator option will be duly abused. The backlight function is nearly bright enough to serve as a flashlight. The reason I have to say "nearly" is because I do not want to be responsible for somebody opting to kill two birds with one stone when they are in need of an electronic organizer and a flashlight. You could pull the organizer to help you find a shadowed keyhole or two, just don't trust it for camping applications, okay? The organizer's ease of use and functionality make this purchase the consummate "steal" type of bargain.

This is junk, really. It does not cost much but it's an waste of money anyway. The battery is almost dead. The functions are very primitive and not very convenient to input. I bought it because I wanted to learn how to use this kind of thing so I spent my money only because of that. But if you want a real thing, don't buy it.

This item was packaged well with fast shipping,gave it as a gift...besides the batteries includedand dying a few minutes into setting it up,everythin else worked out fine.

I've had the organizer for a couple of months now. It's okay. Not exactly what I expected. I can't set reoccurring appointments and that was one of the features I definitely needed in order to avoid having to place each event in the calendar's database.

The OZ-290HII works as a PDA but I tried several times on 2 different computers running Win98 to get the USB connection to work. And I can use a USB keyboard, a USB optical mouse, a USB cable for my digital camera, ect.

The software installs okay, but it never seems to find a port to use on the USB cable. So IMHO basically this PDA is worthless to anyone who wants to share data with the desktop pc. Maybe it will work on XP or Vista but I definitely can NOT get a USB connection via Win98 2nd edition.

Next time I'll get a PDA with wireless and USB connections, just so I have a better chance of bring data into my pc.

I purchased this PDA new and with in 1 week the time was off (new batteries also) the alarm only worked part of the time, so it was useless to me being that the reason for purchasing it was to remind me of meetings and appointments. I did like the case design but trying to figure out how to make everything work is somewhat difficult and I am usually good with electronics. I can't imagine someone with a limited skill with electronics trying to make this work without using the manual constantly. I have read where there is a problem linking it to your computer but I never tried it before sending it back and buying a Palm. I thought I could save some money and get by with this one but no chance. So my recommendation would be to spend the extra money and get one that's been proven to work well.

I used to have the original model of this PDA and used it primarily to set up categories in the Memo section for shopping, etc., then made lists that I could take to the stores to use. Very handy. No little hand-written notes swimming in my bag.... This new model lacks both backspace and return functions, which are very important in keyboarding! It is impossible to make lists in the Memo function of this PDA. Overall, I found the product to be clunky and unintuitive. Anyone want mine?? :)

I used the OZ-290H, the precursor to 290HII. Used it for four years and now the screen has gone all flaky on me-- many of the numbers and digits wont appear at all on the entry pad. So I am now going for HII. Four years of regular usage is good enough for me. So my feedback is on the earlier 290H model which I think is mostly valid for this model too. Plan to modify this feedback once I get my 290HII. PS: Got the 290 HII model and it is the same as the 290H. No difference whatsoever as far as I can see.

I use it for:
1. Phone #s, addresses, etc.
2. Memo: Take short notes, like some shop names, passwords, note of books to buy, etc.


Pros:
1. Cheap, light-weight, and easy to use. Never lost the stylus.
2. Does all the basic organizer functions that I need.
3. Many a times I use my fingers and not the stylus and it works ok.
4. Battery life for my usage (about twice a day) is about 2 yrs.
5. Computer backup is great. I backup once in 6 months or so.
6. Nicely fits into my pocket without a bulge.
7. Has a sturdy flip top to protect the screen.
8. 1MB or so of memory is more than enough. I ended up using about 25% after 4 years of gathering all the information + adding from 3-yrs worth from my old YO Sharp organizer. But then, I never worked in 'Sales' or customer contact.


Cons:
1. Cannot backup to my Vista computer. So I use my XP laptop for this.
2. The memo feature limits the character entry. I find this annoying being used to their earlier YO digital diaries. Not such a big deal.
3. Information backup is not in an easy-to-use/modify excel/word file. I get a .bak file for backup that I cannot easily open. BUT, it allows me to 'export' in .csv format each of the sections.
4. Kind of clunky-- especially with no backspace and 'enter' (new-line) button.

I am very sorry to say that this light attractive electronic organizer looks good but stopped working after ONLY THREE(3)DAYS!!! The unit was in the "protective" carrycase when I accidentally dropped it from a height of TWO(2)feet. I thought nothing of it until the next time I needed the unit. Half the screen was blank and could not be restored. It is very inexpensive and it appears to LIVE DOWN to the price.

Take care in purchasing the factory refurbished, although they look new they may still be unuseable.

This is a good product for keeping track of your daily appointments. The one bad thing about it is that it is not compatible with outlook 2007. I am guessing that it is compatable with other versions of outlook. The seller was reluctant to answer my questions about compatibility. They did give me a return authorization to sent it back. I did keep the product because it is a good product. The upgrade is coming out in mid 2008 according to Sharp products.

Easy to use, covers all the bases. A useful product at a reasonable price! Couldn't live without it now.

After hours of trying everything in the manual, online and customer support I am still unbale to link this device to my computer. Without Outlook one cannot view a schedule, you can only set an alarm. Not very useful to a busy mom. I was really looking for a way to keep up my calendar. It is nice looking and I am sure if I could link it it may even be a good electronic calendar. I guess the bottom line is - you get what you pay for...I will try to unload mine at a garage sale

The screen is hard to see in many daylight conditions and the screen backlight does not help.
In expense mode your memo has to be very brief.
There are way to many steps to learn to us this in various modes.
I had a Sharp yo 370 with a keyboard for 12 years until it went bad and liked very much. No comparison in ease of use between the two and the info you could enter in expense mode.
I will be looking for a keyboard organizer again soon.

I have used this organizer for 2-3 years to store and back up my contacts and it worked great. The other day it stopped working after I changed the batteries. I had ignored the low battery messsage for a while - maybe that was my mistake. But I had backed up the data to MS Outlook before I changed the batteries - phewwww!

Synchronizing with Outlook is not the easiest but it works. Since I did not want to mix the Sharp data with my Outlook address book (which is mostly for email addresses), I created another address book in Outlook. The software will synch only with the main address book, so I had to copy the main AB to another folder before I synched the data to Outlook and then copy out the Sharp data to another folder and return the main address book to the "Contacts" folder. Because I want to look up names by the first name, I store the first and last name in the last name field.

Now I need to buy something else and want to find a cell phone that allows me to synch the data to my PC. The problem with that is the cell phone would have to have a reasonable keyboard. I refuse to enter names on a number pad. With the Sharp 290 - I used the touch screen keyboard without any trouble. Can anyone recommend a cheap cell phone that has a keyboard that is not much money? I am also considering the Sharp 590 organizer for $38.

Folks...this is an inexpensive organizer that gets the job done ! It is NOT a:

Palm Pilot
Treo
Jornada
Pocket PC

That being said, it is excellent for what it does and what it costs. I used to carry little pocket notebooks until they wore out and had to transfer all of the data by hand to another one. Ugh!

Graduated to a Sharp YO-600 that I dearly loved. It died. I went to another Sharp OZ-650 which to me was awesome back in the day. The benefit of a full QWERTY keyboard cannot be overstated. The Intelli-synch sw was a wonder and really enjoyable. It translated ALL of the data from the OZ to a laptop program and back. It died and is out of stock.

Enter the OZ-290HII. It has most of the functionality of the older organizers and is a different interface. I have started to like the stylus method of data entry. Yes the navigation is not intuitive and No it does not have all of the functions of the big boys but it Works!

Now...the Outlook Synch...Great when it works. The caveat is that the defect is on the Outlook side. It will not transfer Expenses nor the Dietary data. And...it is devilishly simple to set up. Really ! Frustrating at first until you know the Secret:

Here it is:

When installing the software and connecting to the unit, follow the instructions Exactly. Now the simplest dumbest thing will still prevent proper synching if you are not careful.

The Cable tip going to the Organizer must go ALL THE WAY in the unit. Push till it just clicks and is flush with the unit. After that...piece o cake.
I installed this thing 6 times till I broke down and called Sharp. They know about the Holy Grail and once I push it all the way in....Bingo!

I think it is a good value for the money for a bare bones organizer that sits unobtrusively on your belt.

No I don't work for Sharp. For the money...buy it...don't like it...reset it and give to the wife or your student child.

I bought this to replace an older sharp organizer. I liked the old one a lot, but the lines of resoluations were starting to disappear so I order another sharp. The style is different from my old one, this one has a stylus.

The new one is hard to use, the display is hard to read and the user instructions tend to leave out some major details which case some frustrations with trying to set up the organizer. I had to call Sharp and they even told me some of the insturction manuals for this model were
incomplete. I will keep it only because I need something to put all my phone numbers into. But I don't see this becoming something I will use everyday.

I cannot comment on the Outlook Sync, since I have not and probably will never use it. This organizer does what it's supposed to do...it stores names, memos, and has an alarm. There is also a password protection feature, which is nice, and a backlight as well as a few other basic useful features (spell check, Eng/Span dictionary). It's not a PDA, doesn't go online, no color...etc. That's why it's cheap. It's a great, basic, organizer that looks more professional than it costs.
My only issue was that the functions were not very intuitive. I had to look up a lot of things and go online to get the full functionality going.

Do not waste your money on this nonsense! I want to believe that it might have been the software that was the problem, but even with saying that this organizer was a total waste of money and time.

I bought this to keep up with my college assignments and work schedule. It isn't very useful because when you enter a "To Do" item for a day, it will only show it to you for that day. I either had to enter the assignment for every day which is a lot of hassle or remember that my 10 pg research paper is due 12/5 (Isn't that the reason I bought it?) It could work for people who have tasks/appointments that only require 1 day's notice, but for students who have several long term projects, it is a waste of money.

This is a good alternative to an expensive PDA. It holds a lot of information. The only thing I would like to change about it is to be able to look someone up by Company and not last name. I also have not got the download function with outlook express to work yet, but it serves the main purpose of keeping all your numbers and addresses in one place.

Good grief, guys! This thing is just an organizer, not a PDA. It costs 1/10th as much, and what it is supposed to do, it does great! The words wrap - big deal. Can't read address all on one screen - c'mon. For $30 you can dump all the data in your Outlook database into this light slim organizer, and have it all in your pocket wherever you go. I've been using one of these for a couple of years to carry my Outlook info with me, and it is totally easy to use. And of course if you need to enter any changes, or pop a note to yourself, it syncs back to your PC with a click. And if you drop it and break it, so what! $30 for a new one, instead of $300!!

These things are great for what they are intended, which is to enable you keep your organized info with you wherever you go. If you need a PDA, get a PDA. If you just need an organizer, this is a good one!

i bought this organizer cos i saw the previous reviews saying its cheap and good but it really sucks when i first used it. the touchscreen of the organizer isnt sensitive and too hard to key in the alphabets i want. second, the word structure on the screen is arranged in an awful and confusing way and its hard to read what u have just written. i seriously dont recomend this product to anyone.

The Sharp OZ-290H is inexpensive, and that is the only good thing about it. The size of the print on the screen is too large to allow me to view an entire name and phone number or an entire address together. The screen is cluttered and not easy to read. The navigation is awkward and clumsy. The cover is a piece of cheap molded plastic.

This is not the inexpensive replacement for address book / calculator /calendar that PDA's originally promised to be.

Well, technically, it does everything it says it does. but data entry is awkward, having to toggle between the "calculator" screen for numbers and the alpha screen for letters, and then going to a whole other screen for symbols. For the reminder section, I can not turn off the alarm for my entry's. Takes me an average of 4 times to input any one entry.
Pedometer is great, but the clip of the case isn't great, and keeps unhooking from my belt. plus it counts normal movement such as lifting the unit as a step, so not entirely accurate.
Overall, this takes so long to use, it was a waste of my money and I find myself reverting to the post-it method of remembering things.

My new Organizer is very useful in my everyday life. It is compact enough to carry in my purse, however in making my decision to purchase I should selected one with a larger screen.

Thank you

I love the product. It is nice to have to store your data. I put my friends phone numbers in it and have it with me all the time. It tracks my steps and I enter the food I eat. I also can track my expenses and put memos and anniversaries. There is also blackjack on the games. There is a nice flip cover and it comes with a holder and p.c. link. My friends all thought is was alot of money. That is a good thing, too, it's cheap. The instuctions are very in-depth, too. It is very easy to figure out. That's why I love the Organizer.

Bought this for my wife to replace her ailing OZ-290 that had finally started to fail after 4 years. She loved the OZ-290 and just wanted a duplicate, but the OZ-290HII was the closest I could find -- appears to be an upgraded version of the basic OZ-290. The new unit works great -- I was able to use the included software and cable to easily transfer the data (from the OZ-290) that was synched into Outlook into the new OZ-290HII in a matter of a few minutes. I think the problem of people complaining about the syching not working is because they don't take the time to read and follow the directions exactly (both for installing the software and transferring the data). If you follow the directions it works flawlessly.

All I need is an easy way to carry my client's phone numbers with me (currently stored in Outlook) I thought this may be better than routinely printing out a new phone book, guess what, I'm printing!

I tried to sync on three different computers, I only got one computer to recognize that I had the unit attached once.

The unit feels like it was poorly put together, worse than other cheap organizers in the under $10 range.

The unit works poorly, feels bad, over all a bad purchase.

I got this for $15 as an upgrade to my $5 Royal. I realize that it's not a PDA but I expected more, much more.

Pro:
- nice looks
- backlit
- multiple way to hit Enter
- nice sleeve
- nice looking monthly calendar
- standard software sync (e.g. MS Outlook)
- quick startup/shutdown

Con:
- clunky input interface (similiar to cheaper models)
- The 5-line display sounded great until I started using it. What a waste of realty, especially when the scheduler is used where half of these lines are filled with useless info such as Alarm and Reminder (end time is questionable). Meeting subject/topic is no where to be found in the front page.
- It works OK as a standalone unit but functions poorly when sync'ed up to a PC. Sync SW is deficient is every way. Data can't go both ways. Either doesn't load or loaded more than once. If set up going one way, can't change on the fly.
- everything else

The packing, delivery by amazon was good, even the product is good,. but its outlook sync doesnt work, what ever you do,.. if u dont need outlook sync it is a good product , but without outlook, it takes lot of time to enter all the contact info ,.. which sucks.

Its a nice organisor. You have all the basic functions required .

I bought this OZ as a temporary solution till I switched to something bigger. I opted for the PalmOne Zire 72. It worked for about 27 days. Now, I'm back to the OZ.

Good, reliable, trusty OZ.
Bad, evil, unworth Zire 72.

From reading everybody's repair problems with the Zire, I will probably be using my OZ for quite some time while I wait for Palm to fix the Zire.

Good, reliable, trusty OZ.

I bought this item thinking it would be great but it really isn't. I generally use the "Phonebook" Feature but you can't fit much on one line, plus it looks awful once you save it - you have to go back in and edit it a lot in order to make it look presentable. My game feature didn't work at all and the screen is really difficult to use - I had to tap certain letters several times before they would come up. The only thing it really has going for it is style but that alone is not worth it. I would not recomend it at all.

BEWARE - When I ordered this product on Amazon.com, TigerDirect actually was the seller, and they billed me the amount indicated, but shipped me a lower version of the model than advertised. I was shipped an OZ-290, not an OZ-290H. The model shipped to me does not have the health functions such as the pedometer and the calorie function. When I called customer support at TigerDirect they did tell me that I could return the item for a full refund, but that the item I thought I was ordering was more expensive and they couldn't do an exchange. TigerDirect claims this site is mis-linked. Beware that if you purchase this product you are actually buying an OZ-290 without the pedometer and calorie functions.

Otherwise, if you are looking for a simple electronic organizer that does the job, and you don't mind investing a nominal amount of extra time to learn how to use this organizer, over an easier to use Palm Pilot, and you don't want the pedometer/calorie counting functions, the Sony OZ-290 is a good buy. But I would go someplace else before buying from TigerDirect again.

This is the worst Organizer I've ever had or laid eyes on. I messed with the USB connection for hours, and the bottom line is, "It doesn't work very often!"

"IF" you are lucky enough to establish a USB connection, you can import or export csv files without using Outlook. However, be warned that your USB connection can, and probably will, be lost in the middle of the transfer.

I didn't save my Sharp packaging, but I will try to return it anyway. I will NEVER buy another Sharp electronic device after the experience with this one.

Shop around, find something that works. Your time is more valuable than messing with this Sharp "DIS-organizer."

I needed an organizer that would hold my phone numbers and addresses and be able to transfer that information from Microsoft Outlook with ease. That wasn't the case for me.

After encountering problems with synchronization, I called Sharp's support. I was very pleased with how quickly they answered the call and at how pleasant they were. I talked to two different support techs and they both tried several steps to help fix the problems. They weren't able to help but I was very appreciative of their attempts. Since this was a gift and my husband didn't keep the receipt, I was forced to try to figure out a solution myself.

Conflicts with Outlook 2002 that I experienced:
1. When I exported my Outlook contacts into a file so I could import it into the organizer, the field headings did not match Sharps field headings. Any headings that didn't match didn't get imported. Also, the Outlook contact type (personal contact or Business contact) didn't come through in the export and none of the records were imported into the organizer correctly under "Personal" or "Business". I was able to manually edit the exported file and change the headings to match the organizer. Then, it worked.

2. I've read that the phone number format for Outlook 2002 is hard coded based on the geographical region you select in Windows. For the United States, the phone number format includes parentheses around the area code which does not work well with the organizer. Sharp pulls in the parentheses but then leaves a large space after the area code which causes the end of the number not to display.

3. When I used the synchronization icon located in the taskbar, it would consistantly freeze during the process. The communication was made between the devices but something caused it to freeze in the transferring process. I learned that when I got to the point where it froze, I could close Microsoft Outlook and then I would recieve a message from Outlook requesting permission to transfer e-mail addresses (or something like that - can't remember exactly). When I said yes to the message, the transfer completed. Unfortunately, I still had the issue with the parentheses, though.

My solution to these issues was to create my own .csv file (this is the file type that the Sharp software looks for when importing), using the same headings as the Sharp organizer and format the phone numbers with dashes, leaving out the parentheses around the area code. This worked great when I imported it in. I can't use the synchronization feature of the organizer because it doesn't give you the option to go to a file (it automatically goes to Outlook) but I still can import info in from my created file using the utilities Sharp provides.

The icons are a little small to see on the organizer but that doesn't bother me much. The lid doesn't close securely but I don't know if that'll be a problem yet. These issues aren't much different than I found in other organizers in this price range. I like the looks and size of this one.

Basically, I like the organizer alot except for the compatibility issues it has with Outlook 2002. Sharp's support did say that they would look into the problems. They felt that maybe Microsoft had made some updates to Outlook that was causing these problems.

I bought this so called Wizard Organizer and used this for one day and without any hesitation I returned. This is my frank advise to anyone who is looking for a PDA. Add some more money and buy some thing which is worth. It is very difficult to understand the function. Secondly it is not at all user friendly and screen doesn't look good at all. Happy surfing for a better organizer !!!!

Vinu Varughese
Philadelphia

I bought this organizer on my first day of work, I was thinking of investing in a rather expensive PDA and then I saw this.

Pros:
-Looks cool -- like other PDA's
-Has all the functions that I need, calenders, memos, to do lists and reminders to meetings etc.
-And yes if you learn to use the organizer properly, you can indeed enter MORE than 1 entry to your lists per day (this is to refute some one's comments on this organizer before me.)
-I like the calculator feature.
-The stylus works really well.
- The 3 alarms are really cool, way better than my cell phone. One rings everyday at the same time, another rings when you want it to, and the third rings as a reminder for appointments.
-It is so much cheaper (and has all the features I wanted) than what I thought I wud end up spending on expensive PDA's esp since I wasn't looking for Wi-Fi or MP3s in them!
-You have the option of turning off the display of the synchronization program when you boot the PC. (someone else mentioned that this troubled him/her.)

Cons
- The 9 pin serial port sucks in this world of USBs and I am thinking of getting a Serial port to USB converter to make things work.

Overall, I definitely recommend this product to all those who could do with an organizer (without the Wi-Fis and all) but are not really happy with the price of PDAs in the market.

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!

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.

If you are looking for an organizer do NOT buy this. It takes for ever to enter information into it and there are no helpful features that help you repeat calander entries. The calander only holds one scheduled event a day. As for birthdays you can also hold only one per day.

If you only want a spanish/engilsh translator, buy this. If you want a "personal organizer" I highly suggest you do some more research and get something that will be useful to you.

I purchased this unit as Xmas gift for my baby sister. She was
really impressed about the features this unit has and she thought
that I spent a ton ;)

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.

I checked every PDA in this price range. That was my only waste of time. I asked for this as a gift, and I'm glad I did. Hey, if you have to compare every feature on all of these items, then you probably need something better. Get an m130. If you're buying this for a young student (9-13 yrs. old) get a Phusion. As long as you need a good organizer for it's reference, get an OZ-290. It won't sing, it won't dance nor will it take a lot of info on the fly. That's what paper is for. Beyond that the OZ-290 works very well, and it's easy to use. Believe me, I'm no rocket scientist. Hooking it up to my PC was so easy I thought it might set itself up. Whoever wrote the instructions deserves a medal for it's simplicity. The only major drawback that I see is that it only works with Outlook. NOT Outlook Express. (Note to Sharp: Think simplicity: Outlook Express) Minor gripes are that the cover does feel flimsy. Don't drop it. I'm no fan of the plastic screen cover. It may be tougher than it looks, but I have this terror that it'll tear. Overall, I am happy with this and I think I will be for some time.

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.

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.