Sharp OZ-290HII Pen Touch Wizard Organizer with Outlook Sync

The only reason I didn't like this organizer is I had two of them. I ordered them seperately. After 1 year, the batteries ran out. When I tried to have the battery replaced, they still wouldn't work! When I called this in, I was told because it was over the warranty time, it couldn't be replaced! Could I help it that the first battery lasted 1 year? And that when I tried replacing the battery in both of them, neither one would work again? For this reason, I'd never order one of these again.

I used the OZ-290H, the precursor to 290HII. Used it for four years and now the screen has gone all flaky on me-- many of the numbers and digits wont appear at all on the entry pad. So I am now going for HII. Four years of regular usage is good enough for me. So my feedback is on the earlier 290H model which I think is mostly valid for this model too. Plan to modify this feedback once I get my 290HII. PS: Got the 290 HII model and it is the same as the 290H. No difference whatsoever as far as I can see.I use it for:1. Phone #s, addresses, etc.2. Memo: Take short notes, like some shop names, passwords, note of books to buy, etc.Pros:1. Cheap, light-weight, and easy to use. Never lost the stylus.2. Does all the basic organizer functions that I need.3. Many a times I use my fingers and not the stylus and it works ok.4. Battery life for my usage (about twice a day) is about 2 yrs.5. Computer backup is great. I backup once in 6 months or so.6. Nicely fits into my pocket without a bulge.7. Has a sturdy flip top to protect the screen.8. 1MB or so of memory is more than enough. I ended up using about 25% after 4 years of gathering all the information + adding from 3-yrs worth from my old YO Sharp organizer. But then, I never worked in 'Sales' or customer contact.Cons:1. Cannot backup to my Vista computer. So I use my XP laptop for this.2. The memo feature limits the character entry. I find this annoying being used to their earlier YO digital diaries. Not such a big deal.3. Information backup is not in an easy-to-use/modify excel/word file. I get a .bak file for backup that I cannot easily open. BUT, it allows me to 'export' in .csv format each of the sections.4. Kind of clunky-- especially with no backspace and 'enter' (new-line) button.

Unfortunately it was defective from the moment I turned it on...never got to use it to see if it would be as cool as it says. Oh well.

Got this organizer for a 75-year old person to replace another one that broke. He tried the Palm II organizer, but couldn't get used to it; thought the writing was hard to read and the tap regions too small. This organizer works for him, but is *very* basic. The Sharp has a clunkity interface, IMO (then again, at the time, I used the Palm Treo smartphone... and now, an IPhone, so "clunkity" is being kind.). If this is your first experience with electronic organizers, but don't want to lay out hundreds of dollars for a smartphone, this may fit the bill.

I ordered this because the description was just what I was looking for. The price was very reasonable and I was not concerned with the fact it had been refurbished.Fist the batteries were dead and it took some time to locate the correct batteries. Second the screen was defective. The right side of the screen had no display. I tried the touch screen on the right and it worked so I tried to reload the software. The USB cable was so old my computer did not recognize it was attached.I am grateful I was working with a professional seller. First he offered my money back or a replacement. I chose the replacement. He sent the replacement quickly, but the replacement had the same problems.I would never buy another sharp product again.

Good grief, guys! This thing is just an organizer, not a PDA. It costs 1/10th as much, and what it is supposed to do, it does great! The words wrap - big deal. Can't read address all on one screen - c'mon. For $30 you can dump all the data in your Outlook database into this light slim organizer, and have it all in your pocket wherever you go. I've been using one of these for a couple of years to carry my Outlook info with me, and it is totally easy to use. And of course if you need to enter any changes, or pop a note to yourself, it syncs back to your PC with a click. And if you drop it and break it, so what! $30 for a new one, instead of $300!!These things are great for what they are intended, which is to enable you keep your organized info with you wherever you go. If you need a PDA, get a PDA. If you just need an organizer, this is a good one!

I cannot comment on the Outlook Sync, since I have not and probably will never use it. This organizer does what it's supposed to do...it stores names, memos, and has an alarm. There is also a password protection feature, which is nice, and a backlight as well as a few other basic useful features (spell check, Eng/Span dictionary). It's not a PDA, doesn't go online, no color...etc. That's why it's cheap. It's a great, basic, organizer that looks more professional than it costs.My only issue was that the functions were not very intuitive. I had to look up a lot of things and go online to get the full functionality going.

Item did not function when received. I sent it back to seller and asked for a replacement. I later got an e-mail from Amazon that they were refunding the purchase price and shipping cost to my credit card. The unit was apparently a used model as the plastic strips to protect the batteries were not present when received. But I am very pleased with Amazon for the rapid response in correcting the situation. It was unfortunate that I still don't have the unit I wanted.