Looking for a Pocket Chess Solution

I have a free cell phone from work and it is not a smartphone.  I don't need a smartphone.  I also don't really need a PDA.

But I would love to have a pocket chess program to play while waiting for the bus, sitting on the loo, sitting in boring meetings...

What would people recommend?  Keep in mind that I'm a ~1200 player, so I don't need something very strong overall.

 I guess my options would be either a dedicated pocket chess computer like Excalibur, etc. makes, or some kind of PDA + software, though 90% of the PDA would be wasted in the sense that I'd only be using it to play chess.

A nice feature would be to ship PGN files to/from the device, so I could analyze my games... 

Well, a PDA might be your best bet for these reasons:

A) The lowest cost Palm PDA is $99, a darn good PDA (I have one and love it) and cheaper than a Nintendo DS (~$130 - have one of these too, with Chessmaster DS).

B) You can be "using" (e.g. playing chess) your PDA during meetings and no one will be the wiser. Just tell 'em you're taking notes.  Can't do that with a DS.

C) You will have more functionality with a Palm Chess program, then with a Nintendo DS (e.g. ability to export and import PGNs, based the type of program you buy).

D) There is a really good FREE chess program for the Palm here.  It can export your games to PGN to the built in Notepad application.  Hotsync with your PC and you now have the PGN in .txt format on your PC, free to import it into anything else for study.  Programs for the DS (there are two that have chess, Chessmaster DS and Clubhouse Games) are about $30ish each.

E) Like I mentioned, I have both the DS and the Palm -- please contact me if you have any questions. 

I reviewed the Palm Z22 + Palm Hiarcs here. Given your desire to be able to copy PGN games from/to your computer, that's an excellent fit. The Excalibur doesn't have that feature which is one of the key reasons I didn't buy it. Some other software options--which may be fine given your rating--are also mentioned in the comments.

 Yes, and if you see my comment under likesforests' post, you will see that I link to a review of over 60 chess-related games for the Palm and Pocket PC.  This should help as well.

Thanks for the advice.  I found a Z22 on eBay and bought it tonight...I see there's lots of software out there, so I'll experiment.

You guys rock!

I loaded Open Chess on my Palm Z22 but when I tried to start it my Palm froze and I had to reset it.  I did this several times with no success.  Any ideas on how to make it work?

I messaged tmr and we figured out what was wrong - see solution below:

If memory serves, there is already a version of OpenChess on the Palm Z22 (have a look around for it), but I think it is an older version.  When you try and install the new version, the two collide and an error is thrown.  Your best bet is to use advice directly from the group that built OpenChess:

"Please try to remove all OpenChess files (best to use FileZ) and install again."

If you have never used it, FileZ is a nice free app that is like Windows Explorer, but for the palm -- you see more than just the apps -- you see all the files behind the scenes associated with them as well.  You might end up uninstalling the OpenChess that came with your Palm z22 but who cares, right?  You can load the latest and greatest version back on for free!

 That was it.  On my palm the default chess program is hidden (for some reason).  It appears to be openchess though it was simply named chess.  It did have an associated database named openchessdb.  I delete that, plus a menu file, reinstalled openchess and it worked fine.

If I were you I would go for a Pocket PC phone. My phone has Fritz 2 installed and I can use it to play chess against the engine or to open a PGN file (For example to analyze a game that I plaid on Chess.com "after" it has ended).

I do have an Excalibur portable game with stylus and all. However, with a Pocket PC I can save my games as opposed to an Excalibur Chess Game where this option is not available.

In addition, I have Opera Browser installed on my Pocket PC. I don't have Internet service on my phone, but I can go on any WiFi connection, login into Chess.com and play!!

likesforests wrote:

I reviewed the Palm Z22 + Palm Hiarcs here. Given your desire to be able to copy PGN games from/to your computer, that's an excellent fit. The Excalibur doesn't have that feature which is one of the key reasons I didn't buy it. Some other software options--which may be fine given your rating--are also mentioned in the comments.

Unless you already have a PocketPC, do this.  I bought a Z22 and Hiarcs after reading likeforests review and it's easily the best money that I've ever spent on chess.

Palm Hiarcs is just great.  I play 5 minute blitz games with it on breaks at work and a G/60 or G/90 (replaying the moves on a real board) every night and it's strength scales appropriately.  I have played it from 1350 to 1800 Elo and all skill levels have seemed balanced.  Below 1350 it is more iffy (the actual Elo levels start at 1350, but there are "instant sparring" modes which scale down to 900 or so).