Novag Amigo

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Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 2269
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:42 am
Location: Gosford, NSW Australia

Novag Amigo

Post by Larry »

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Novag-Amigo- ... SwcdJgDXQH
After all these years of being into chess computers, there’s always
one comes along that I’ve never heard of, like this one. Good for taking along
on a flight if you are young with sharp eyes. For me something bigger is
needed so I don’t need reading glasses to play.
It does have reasonable strength, low 1500’s.
L
JeffB
Member
Posts: 420
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:36 pm
Location: Seattle, WA USA

Re: Novag Amigo

Post by JeffB »

Larry wrote:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Novag-Amigo- ... SwcdJgDXQH
After all these years of being into chess computers, there’s always
one comes along that I’ve never heard of, like this one. Good for taking along
on a flight if you are young with sharp eyes. For me something bigger is
needed so I don’t need reading glasses to play.
It does have reasonable strength, low 1500’s.
L
I have one, plus it's more powerful cousins Jade and Jade 2. Nice pocket-sized computers.

For a slightly larger but similar design there's the Saitek Travel Champion 2100 (one of my favorite portables, about the size of a tablet computer but with a clamshell design and larger pieces) or its cousins Cosmos or Expert Travel Chess.
Cheers,

Jeff B.
Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 2269
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:42 am
Location: Gosford, NSW Australia

Post by Larry »

Hi Jeff, I’ve got a couple of the clamshell models including
the Cosmos you mentioned. Excellent for on a bus or train. When the driver
slams the brakes on the pieces don’t go flying.
L
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fourthirty
Full Member
Posts: 763
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:46 pm
Location: San Francisco

Post by fourthirty »

Nice little travel computer - I like the design! I was not familiar with this model.
JeffB
Member
Posts: 420
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:36 pm
Location: Seattle, WA USA

Post by JeffB »

Larry wrote:Hi Jeff, I’ve got a couple of the clamshell models including
the Cosmos you mentioned. Excellent for on a bus or train. When the driver
slams the brakes on the pieces don’t go flying.
L
Crawling around on the floor of a bus while saying, "Where's my queen? I lost my queen! She's GOT to be around here somewhere! Dammit, sir, watch where you put your feet! You could've stepped on her!" is a sure-fire way to get a nice free vacation in a locked, padded room.
Cheers,

Jeff B.
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Fernando
Admiral of the Fleet
Posts: 3059
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:35 pm
Location: Santiago de Chile

Post by Fernando »

JeffB wrote:
Larry wrote:Hi Jeff, I’ve got a couple of the clamshell models including
the Cosmos you mentioned. Excellent for on a bus or train. When the driver
slams the brakes on the pieces don’t go flying.
L
Crawling around on the floor of a bus while saying, "Where's my queen? I lost my queen! She's GOT to be around here somewhere! Dammit, sir, watch where you put your feet! You could've stepped on her!" is a sure-fire way to get a nice free vacation in a locked, padded room.
Before being sent to a madhouse you should face accusations from feminist groups because treating women as queens, whichb is a way tio make of them just subsidiary people just to show a new hat model in the horses races.

Already testing a new dress for the ball of the travesties regards
Fern
Festina Lente
SirDave
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Posts: 610
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:59 am
Location: Southern California USA

Post by SirDave »

The Novag Amigo (ELO circa 1500) is a portable version of the Novag Mentor 16 just as the Jade and Jade II (ELO circa 1900+) are portable versions of the Zircon and Zircon II. The Amigo and Jade units look exactly the same except keys that are orange on the Amigo are red on the Jade.

The design is perhaps the best form-factor of any peg-based pocketable chess computer ever marketed with one caveat: There are no ‘walls’ around the board (such as on the Novag Amethyst) and if you’re on a moving vehicle, any sudden motion can send the pieces flying or even a slip of the fingers can dislodge the tiny pieces and send them to the floor. Try to find a teeny-tiny pawn on the floor of a train or plane. Adding insult on injury is the fact that, if you don’t have replacements, finding any for these units is almost impossible these days!
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