The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 86

F6 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Thursday, December 25, 1997 ech.lifeplay Hardware Internet connection on Tiger's Game.com does not earn its stripes hardware. V. However, I'm not sure Tiger itself is deeply committed to Game.com as a platform. As of early December, the company's Game.com Web site appeared not to have been updated since summer, boasting a list of games "Coming in September." 1 son on the other end of the line worked for Quaker Oats. Game.com also claims to have built-in organizer functions.

Here again, Tiger is wallowing in overstatement. A "calendar" feature, which usually means a datebook where you can enter appointments, is literally just a calendar it displays a conventional non-interactive monthly calendar. A "phone book" feature holds information for only five people! So what about Game.com as a game device? Tiger has put a half-dozen games on the market and says more are coming. It's the same mix of sports, action and word games that video gamers have seen before. I tried out seven games, and the only one I enjoyed was the Solitaire program that's built into Game.com.

But for $49, video-game fanatics might enjoy owning a new piece of tional time at $1.50 an hour. Just about every other ISP, in contrast, charges $19.95 a month for unlimited access. Once you connect to Delphi, the struggle is only beginning. has a touch-sensitive screen, with a small plastic stylus tucked in a groove on the front of the casing. You must wield this stylus to summon an on-screen keyboard for tapping out commands and e-mail mes sages.

I also found Game.com's Internet cartridge to be very flaky. It would connect some times and not others, for reasons I could never determine. Finally, the instruction brochure that came with the Internet cartridge is inadequate. It doesn't explain what to do if you have problems, and gives a toll-free number for Delphi that is wrong the per Mike Langberg's e-mail address: mikelangberg.com Mm Mini mmi mil man imhi i a MM I HkhB tk a anam no MranmM amen FBuaoao mai Suifed te rtdl onm Afftes to puroSase mode nil CompUSA consume: mil card. Hard finona diorors wl la ossesseo1 from 4k origind dote of puroSosB i bdono) is not dokI in Mfhin six fflordhv.

VoU on quaklying purchases mailt mroupji SduraW Jonuory 3, 1998 only. As i HovemkK, 1997, tie CflmpUSA mm mi omool perantaa rata (APR) is 22.30X. APR's vary; ry financt charge of Sl may appV Cradl wwr-mm i.7Tirt-Tm-:iTOi.i.::i.v:a:rvi.rtif.nii:.Ti.ift By Mike Langbe rg KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSSERVICE Someday, maybe even soon, it will be possible to buy pocket-sized electronic devices for less than $100 that easily connect to the Internet and offer a pleasant online experience. If you're looking forward to this bright future, don't dampen your optimism by wasting any time with Game.com from Tiger Electronics Inc. A handheld video-game player that lists for $69 and sells for as little as $49, Game.com also claims to deliver the Internet if you buy a $19 attachment and an external modem.

While it is technically possible to go online with Game.com, the process is so painful that buyers will be better off sticking with the gadget's primary function: playing video games such as Batman Robin, Wheel of Fortune and Indy 500 stored on matchbook-sized cartridges that sell for $19 to $29. Tiger probably wouldn't have any trouble drumming up demand for Game.com 'without the Internet angle, because the device offers some much-needed competition to the aging Nintendo Game Boy and Sega Game Gear. For more information, call Tiger at 888-844-7767 or visit the company's World Wide Web site at http:www.tigertoys.com That site is linked to a site that bears name: http:www.game.com So what's wrong with Game.com 's claim to cyberspace? The device doesn't have enough computing brainpower or a big-enough display screen to handle anything other than games. The black-and-white screen measures just three inches diagonally about the same size as Game Boy and Game Gear. That isn't enough to view more than a few words at a time, unless the text is shrunk to a size that's only visible with a magnifying glass.

The screen also is highly reflective and has no backlighting, which means you need a light source behind you, causing a reflection of your head to interfere with the view. Nor does Game.com have enough processing strength to display any mn mm SB mm PRKt Itrattf RtkATE 1149 150 system 1 aV'J PACKARD Eapandimj fawbititief Pentium' i i COMPAQ. 999 MKf AFTER REBATI 166MHz Pentium Protestor with MMT Tethrtohgy nKE uroa Hurt 1219" 300" DM Ji 180KHz Protestor Multimedia Computer with Color monitor and Color Printer 16MB RAM 1.6GB Hard Drive 8X CD-ROM Drive 33.614.4 DataFox Modem 14" .28 (13.2" Viewable Image Size) Color Monitor NEC Superscript 150C Color Printer 2200 1 S9845l 62437l 60204 Multimedia Computer with Color Monitor and Color Printer 1 6MB Sync ORAM 2.0GB Hard Drive I6X MAX CD-ROM Drive 33.614.4 DataFax Modem 1 4" .28 (1 3.25" Viewable Image Size) RIC Color Monitor NEC Superscript 150C Color Printer 3100 1528J913247I1 60204 899" race AFTW HUT! I PEW fn'-amcYCirri 1 COMPAQ. SONY Pentium lr i i Uir- i ll' I 200MHz Pentium Protestor with MMT Tethnohgy Multimedia Computer with 15" 03.5 Viewable Image Size) ma won nun 2119" ico" 300" 269F 300" 2399" 266MHz Pentium II Protestor Multimedia Computer 32MB Sync DRAM 6.5GB Hard Drive 24X MAX CD-ROM Drive Iomega Zip Drive K56FLEXV14.4 DataFax Modem PCV220 1 54669 56K modem are capable of downfalls at 56Kbps, but speeds ii actual use may oryi -'HIT i Wit Color Monitor and Color Printer 24MB RAM 3.2GB Hard Drive 1 6X MAX CD-ROM Drive 33.614.4 DataFax Modem JBL Pro Stereo Speaicefs MPE6-2 Video Dorby Digitol Surround Sound IS" .28 (13.S" Vtewnble tmags Size) Color Monitor Epson 600Q for rVesorio Colw Prirrter 4S08 1 59748 445921 65700 1719" ma Arm uun 15" .25 Aperture Grifc Pitch (13.9" Viewable Image Size) Color Monitor s499" mm vm (0ap 5 1 1 I rem I Vi Pentium' KTl i 'kiTfc. ft.

I PACKARD 150MHz Pentium muwHMmi tu "mi-ir na iiiom miah i 299" so" 1 1 iftoo 2299" loo-e aco- 399" wo" Protestor with MMT Uthnohgy Multimedia Color Notebook 16MB SYNC DRAM 1.6GB Hard Drive 56K Modem I4X MAX CD-ROM Drive 12.1' High-Contrast SIN Color Display 1610 159814 WiwtHRieiliMoa WO" HP DeskJet 870Cse Printer Up to 8ppm black and 4ppm color. 137262 Umil: I per customer. Mtytjor'l PaperPort 6000Stanner 30-Bit, 600x1200 DPI and Parallel Interface. 172016 249M nneVTiiiiiwn I 149" tci wm mn irMdw Sbt) 299" SAVE 6.4GB Hard Drive ONUS 600MB FREE 172560 Color Monitor 179016 thing other than lines of type. This forces users to struggle with an outmoded text-only approach to Internet access.

You must do everything by typing arcane commands, rather than using the more familiar point-and-click interface of Windows or Macintosh personal computers. To go online with Game.com, you first have to buy an optional Internet cartridge that comes with a cable that plugs into any external PC modem. Tiger skimped on the cable, too it's only three feet long, putting you on a very short tether. If you don't already have an external modem, you'll have to spend at least another $50 to $100. The instruction manual included with the Internet cartridge "strongly recommends" signing up with Delphi Internet Services, which has set up access especially for Game.com subscribers.

Tiger claims you can use other Internet service providers, or ISPs, but I couldn't get Game.com to connect with my ISP. Delphi, meanwhile, is overcharging Game.com users. The "value access" plan at $12.95 a month includes only six hours of service, with additional time billed at $2 an hour. The full-service plan is $23.95 a month for 25 hours, with addi- V1D10 GAZE CLEARANCE! TITUS VARY BY STORt I 32" 59" tow 1300 ED 10 E3 15 "SZ jjoo tta nm mmmetlmmA pt Anw mm tmm WWOOWS )S CP 11436 1 WWDOWr tS ID 14447 I i 16MB Msrvic ma Arm udot imam FejM 1 I wl Memory Upgrade 162I08165I80 56K 14.4 Data fax Modem -SM fcdm avdfc Moals SeKbpi. but mri an ny im l73l70liift I custom.

99 I Knemlhe Sequel to Myst limit: 1 per customer. 49 Red Baron II Imt. I per customer. Mavis Beaton Toadies Typing 8 1998 World Book Entydopedia Un2p HK'fn irV I I. TinftN I MM i PORMATTED tr- r-4 fx M-i V4 I Una won nun wen nun wwninn llllHlf wawotiwaoi I ,1 "mwomhuii nioir-rrrT.

wa won nun twn mm HI 6 800 2000 3000 LI 3" 1250 1000 fcD 6W t00 104-Key P20w l3- 1 Q3tyo feiJ 3W Dl2M 6-0utlet Surge PlQw Video Tape A00 A00 Windows 95 fyx) Power VK) Air Cleaner A00 IBM formatted V)0 Protector with VK) 3 Patk vT 2-PoikCDR IT Keyboard IT Center IT 7oz. Jt Diskettes fax Protettlon fl 158825 1 I 163829 1 I 162254 1 I 178773 1 I 158203 159572159577 1 I 146025 1 1 1w4 15" LJ 9" Blr 1000 RH nr irfr A 5 OBM Virtual Casino A00 iSSS 0 Sftrlff U2 ilmJii" WindowAsGames Golf Pro Him and Roulette 3 I713M ZTmil Zm' 1 WINDOWS-CD 178331 WINDOWS 95(0 178846 VbvsStOn 3.0 How to talk to tech.life EDITOR Anthony Gnoffo Jr. Phone: 21 E-mail: tony.gnoffophillynews.com REPORTERS John J. Fried Personal computers and software Phone: 215-854-5970 E-mail: john.friedphillynews.com Reid Kinaley Internet and online life E-mail: reid.kanaleyphillynews.com Leslie J. Nicholson Emerging technologies E-mail: lnicholsonphillynews.com Michael Rozansky Communications technology Phone: 215-854-2457 E-mail: michael.rozanskyphillynews.com Dan Stets Computer and high-technology companies E-mail: dan.stetsphillynews.com Martha Woodall Technology at school and home Phone: 215-854-2789 E-mail: martha.woodallphillynews.com Fax: 215-854-5553 Mail: tech.lifeinquirer Box 8263 Philadelphia PA 19101 ADVERTISING David A.

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