Casio Zoomer review, part 1 (the package)
brian@piano.grot.starconn.com (Brian Smithson)
From: brian@piano.grot.starconn.com (Brian Smithson)
Message-id: <9310121040.ZM29540@piano.grot.starconn.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1993 10:40:30 -0700
X-Mailer: Z-Mail (2.1.1 01dec92)
To: zoomer-list-1993@grot.starconn.com
Subject: Casio Zoomer review, part 1 (the package)
Status: OR
This is the first of a multi-part review of the Casio Z-7000 "Zoomer" PDA.
I'm not sure how many parts there will be, nor how they'll be organized.
Mainly, I just know that I'm not covering everything in this one :-).
In fact, I'm just going to cover the packaging, literature, and outer case.
The box:
The Z-7000 comes in a fairly large box, mainly full of air. It's roughly
the size of a DOS software package, and even shares the "open the flap to see
more features and hype" style of carton. Casio went one step further: the
front of the box has a life-size picture of the Z-7000, and the top half of
the picture is perforated so that it can be stood upright, exposing the
actual contents of the box and making a nice display. Uh, if this doesn't
make sense, then just check one out at the store. I'm not into ASCII pictures.
Inside the box is a throw-away plastic box, which presumably keeps the Z-7000
safe from shipping damage, and its clear top lets you see the Z-7000 when
you open the flap or open the perforated part. Casio is definitely into
retail packaging.
The literature:
There's one manual, which covers the basic operation of the unit and kind
of a quick start for each application, and then there are also detailed
sections for each application. It's every bit as well written as most
Japanese consumer electronics manuals :-).
Then there's the junk mail:
- A marketing research card from an unnamed enterprise with a mailing address
in Santa Clara CA. Maybe it's Intuit, because they ask about personal
financial software? Or maybe its Geoworks? Anyway, if you send in the
card, you get a "full sized pen". Should be interesting -- I wonder if
it fits in the case (see below)? You also get promotional literature
and other stuff, attractively presented as "special money saving tips",
"advanced notice of special offers", "insider reports on the latest
applications", etc. etc.
- A marketing research / product registration card from Casio. Send this
in and you get a free newsletter for Z-7000 owners.
- An America Online starter registration number for a trial membership.
- An offer for 1MB ($220) or 2MB ($319) flash disks from Geoworks. They
seem to imply that you get better performance, along with some file
storage space, by using these. Hmmm -- hey Geoworks, what's the deal
with this?
- An offer for a few card games (poker, blackjack, and hearts, $35) from
Geoworks. Not sure if they're on diskette or what?
- An offer from Intuit for a "Pocket Quicken Connection disk for Windows"
(not Geoworks!?) for $20, or that plus Quicken 3.0 for Windows for $50.
- Accessories order form from Casio. $60 for an RS232C cable, $50 for an
AC adaptor, $6 for another pen, and $330 for a 1.8MB flash disk.
- Software license from Casio.
- A pocket reference card for the Z-7000.
- A notice which tells you not to put the pen into its holder the wrong
way, and what to do if you do put it in the wrong way.
The outer case:
You've all seen pictures, so I'm not going to describe the overall look.
The case has a slightly rubbery feel, not quite as rubbery as the buttons
on some TV remote controls, but basically it has that same comfortable
feel and grip. Kind of organic. You know, "it just feels right". Oops,
wrong company...
The screen cover is articulated with two hinges, and folds nearly flat
around the back of the unit. I wasn't entirely happy with the cover,
partly because it doesn't fold completely flat (maybe that's a feature?)
partly because it doesn't pop up when you release the latch, and partly
because it's possible to get it kind of stuck at an odd angle when closing
the cover. Nothing major. I'm happy that it _does_ have a cover :-).
For the purposes of referencing "left", "right", "top", "bottom", and "back",
the following descriptions assume that you're holding the Z-7000 with the
screen facing you and the "back" facing away from you. "Top" is at the
top of the screen. You get the idea...
On the top edge is a window for the IR transceiver, and of course the hinges
for the screen cover.
On the left edge is the PCMCIA card slot, a card lock latch, and a card eject
lever. Also on that side is the AC adaptor socket, and the RS232C connector.
The RS232C connector is a "subminiature 10-pin", but it's subber than most
subs I've seen. Really tiny. Gotta get that $59.95 cable, I guess :-(.
The RS232C connector has a hinged cover. Unlike the screen cover, this
hinge doesn't have a pin; it's just a thin part in the plastic which bends.
I suspect that this will eventually break off from fatigue. On the upside,
it appears to be attached to the main body with a couple of screws, so at
least it's a replaceable item.
On the bottom edge is a headphone jack and a hole for the pen. The pen
is pushes into the hold and locks, and you also push it to release it.
It's spring-loaded, but isn't all that easy to retrieve unless you let it
spring out a bit. It's quite possible to shoot it across the room.
I guess that makes *four* games on the Zoomer! :-) The pen is very short,
but telescopes out to be a bit longer. It's still pretty short, and it's
also rather thin. Good for getting cramped fingers and eventually RSI :-(.
On the right edge are the contrast control, the on-off switch, and the
speaker volume control. The on-off switch is a momentary switch -- you
push it in the same direction to turn it on or off.
On the back is a sliding cover which exposes the AA cells and the lithium
backup batteries. There's another cover over the AA cells, and you need
to push a release latch in order to get it open. I'm kind of wondering
about this, but the release latch may interlock with the lithium battery
cover so that you can't remove both sets of batteries simultaneously
unless you try pretty hard.
--
-Brian Smithson
brian@grot.starconn.com