Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!rex!wuarchive!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!pacbell.com!att!cbnewsj!mec
From: mec@cbnewsj.att.com (michael.e.connick)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Sharp Wizard OZ-8000
Summary: For the money you could get a Portfolio
Message-ID: <1990Oct29.154825.13585@cbnewsj.att.com>
Date: 29 Oct 90 15:48:25 GMT
References: <1990Oct24.010826.4391@ecosoft.uucp> <1614@gold.GVG.TEK.COM> <1990Oct27.175736.11748@ecosoft.uucp>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 31

In article <1990Oct27.175736.11748@ecosoft.uucp>, ljg@ecosoft.uucp (Lowell J. Gray) writes:
> The OZ-8000 has the following major differences from the OZ-7000:
> 	- 64K standard memory (a 128K model, the OZ-8200, is coming out soon..)
> 	- oriented in a landscape vs portrait orientation
> 	- QWERTY keyboard
> 	- larger screen (240x64 pixels)
> 	- more built-in programs (business card database, outline processor)
> 	- user-definable fields in telephone database
> 
> I paid $299 at the Harvard Coop.

For the same price, you could buy an Atari Portfolio and have a real
programmable MS-DOS computer. The Portfolio has 128K of RAM, 256K of
ROM, and built-in applications including a text editor, Lotus 1-2-3
compatible spreadsheet, simple calculator, name/address/phone book, and
appointment diary. It can be expanded up to 640K and there's even a
third-party 20meg HD available. It supports battery-backed-up 128K
memory cards that are addressed as pseudo-floppy drives. It also has
optional serial and parallel interface units. The parallel unit is
particularly nifty in that is comes with software for the PC that
allows either the PC or Portfolio to act as file servers for the other.

But the best feature of the Portfolio is the fact that it can run
well-behaved MS-DOS applications. I've found it very easy to develop
software in Microsoft C on a PC and transfer it to the Portfolio. I've
even got Tiny BASIC 8086 in my Portfolio for knocking off the odd
little program. All-in-all I think the Portfolio is a better deal for
the money than the Wizard units.

-----------------------------------------------------
Michael Connick    AT&T Bell Labs   mec@mtfmi.ATT.COM