SHARPElectronic Organizer YO-290P

The worst product I have ever purchased. The installation disk or the connection cord does not work with any of my computers. The unit unit itself is hard to read. Therefore I cannot use it. If possible I would like to send it back.David Reed

I was disappointed with this organizer. For lack of proper term, the "pixels" that represent the letters & numbers on the display were either missing at the top of some names & numbers I entered, & so abit hard to read the names of some of my "entries". That was the reason I needed a new organizer, my old one was starting to cut off pixels & difficult to see the names & phone numbers of my clients. A major reason for wanting this "new" organizer was because my iPhone's address "folder/file" deleted (perhaps accidentally by myself) all of my "address book/files", & I want a place to go to, in case I lose my iPhone contacts again. Some info was & still is hard to retrieve & reproduce back onto my iPhone. My "old" organizer was a Sharp EL-6390, purchased back in the mid-90's. Also, I knew what I was buying, but it would be very convinient to have a display that allows 30-50 characters per line & 5 to 10 lines to allow for notes per client/customer/friend. I guess, you get what you pay for.

I replaced a 1994 Sharp organizer with this one and I'm not a huge fan. It is much more difficult to use and I feel like it was not what I thought I was getting. I use it mostly for notes and for addresses.I will continue to use it, but not my favorite tool.

I've had my Sharp YO-290P for a couple of days now (April 2003). I'm new to the PDA world so I don't even know if I would find a PDA useful. I'm also one of the most frugal people I know, which brought me to the 290P. I don't need to download email, take pictures, or replace my PC. I just wanted an 'instant on', good extension to my computer, look up contacts, to-do's and take a quick note. I'm a database programmer with my own database of contacts, along with a database of contacts in Outlook. I wrote my own program to consolidate this info and load it into the software provided for upload.The size is awesome and it is quite sturdy. The display has great contrast even in the sunlight. The cover does a great job of protecting the screen from abrasions. To look at the thing, you would think that it cost [$$$] or even [$$$]. It has 'up, down, left, and right' buttons on the touch screen as well as physical buttons on the unit. Unfortunately, it only has 'Prev' and 'Next' physical buttons on the bottom of the unit and not on the touch screen. If you have the stylus in your hand and you need to do a 'Next', you have to shift your hand around to press the button. Not too big of a deal.The manual is relatively complete but fails to use the screen symbols for the major tasks which was a bit confusing to get started.My two major beefs: the software with the product is minimalistic. It can only upload or download one section at a time. Upload contacts, then upload to-dos, then upload memos; each their own sequence of clicking on the PC, and then selecting the PC-Link function on the unit. Tedious. It doesn't merge the data either. When uploading in batch, it overwrites the target. This goes for uploads to the PC and downloads to the 290P. I was hoping for something smarter. That being said, I uploaded around 250 contacts and a couple of 'to-do's' and I'm only using 66% of the memory.I went searching for better software. I downloaded and attempted the shareware XLink/Win software to no avail. The Sharp evidently has a new communications paradigm that isn't compatible with other models. Alternative communication suggestions? If I could get that to work the software would well be worth the [$$$], [$$$] more than the YO-290P.The 290P is a great bargain. Not perfect but a bargain.

If you want to carry a PDA in your pocket, this is it. Simple to organize & store info. I can't leave home without it! Has a backlight for low-light conditions & 43 cities in different time zones. Has a calculator, calendar, schedule, anniversary, memo, expense, & to do mode. It also offers an English-Spanish bi-directional word translator function too. The best thing i like about the SHARP YO-290, comes with a PC Link software & cable which you can exchange data between the Organizer & a PC!

I rated one star because there was no alternative for ZERO stars. Not worked, probably deffective. The floppy disk interface to download to the computer is useless and it's the only device that came in the original box. I discarded it and did not ask my money back.

First one, the digital read went blank in the middle. Returned that one the digital readout went blank on the left. Wasted lot of time entering data and it is now basically useless. Do not recommend.

This organizer is okay. Light & serves the purpose. I ride a bus to work & lug quite a few things & did not have the space for an organizer. I currently use a Palm z22 it's 4 years old & if I thought I could change the battery myself I would have done that a long time ago.