Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!midway!clout!chinet!ignatz
From: ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us (Dave Ihnat)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: MiniSports out of the Woodwork!
Summary: Not so much pocketsfull of batteries...
Message-ID: <1991May15.031917.14929@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 15 May 91 03:19:17 GMT
References: <1991May11.124740.11838@eng.umd.edu>
Sender: Dave Ihnat
Organization: Chinet - Chicago Public Access UNIX
Lines: 32

In article <1991May11.124740.11838@eng.umd.edu> jeff@eng.umd.edu (Jeffrey Frey) writes:
>It's too bad it took Zenith so long to find the right price for the
>MiniSport (i.e., $300-500 as opposed to the original $2K); they might
>have sold a lot more a couple of years ago.  In my oipnion the 2MB MS
>at $299 (zenith's last closeout price) is a far better buy than DAK's
>Ultralite at $699, even though the UL has a much better screen.

Yeh, but Zenith has *never* sold at a reasonable price.  I know; I've had
three Zenith "portables"--Z-171, Z-181, and Z-183--and all have been horribly
overpriced.  I've loved the reliability, screen, and keyboard; and their
software has generally been solid.  BUT--their predatory pricing, and generally
unresponsive customer service, has led me to decide my next portable may be
anything but a Zenith.  And this goes for my recommendations to clients, too.

>Zenith does, however, have 2" disks.  If you have trouble getting them,
>get your supplier (probably more a stationery or supply store than a
>computer dealer) to contact Zenith.  Or maybe do it yourself.

>Incidentally the manual says these batteries last 3 DAYS if the main 
>battery is dead or removed, and RAMdisk backup is set "on".  Has
>anybody confirmed this?  I dread the thought of carrying pocketsful
>of lithium batteries around if they really last such a short time.

Don't worry about it.  If your main is dead, you can't change the lithiums.
And if it's live, then your lithiums should last the shelf life.

In closing, it's a shame.  Zenith has turned out so many DECENT products,
and screwed them with marketing and pricing--kinda like AT&T, to think of
it...
		Dave Ihnat
		ignatz@homebru.chi.il.us (preferred return address)
		ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us