Coming for BlackBerry as well. I would much rather purchase a Monroi, but Monroi is quite expensive compared to free. 
Only problem is since Cell phones are banned devices in USCF tournaments, it will be iffy to get it approved. Anyway to disable the phone capabilities on the phone while using apps? Or can the app do it?
shrug Iām sure it would be nice if it could clear certification. In the meantime Iām more than satisfied with my eNotate. (Not to mention wondering if āyNotateā is intended to tread on the other approved product already in productionā¦)
If an informal/casual game recorder is all one needs, why not get any number of playing programs that can record 2-player mode and save PGN? (I used Chess Tiger for Palm for this purpose for quite some time.) Bonus: You get a playing/analysis program as well. (For that matter, Iām debating the merits of installing a playing program to my PDA that has eNotate installed as wellā¦)
But I wish the creator luck!
That might be difficult. The web page says that the application ādoes not have a chess engineā - but the DEVICES it runs on do. They also support text messaging. Policing this looks ā¦ problematic.
One of my students showed me his new chess clock Friday. It was an app with time delay and everything! I guess chess clocks are the next thing to become obsolete!
All the best, Joe Lux
Same comments - if this is an app on a general purpose computing device that also includes the possibility of a chess engine or communications, then it may have trouble being accepted FOR TOURNAMENT PLAY. For skittles, no problem (except for the tendency of skittle opponents to bash the clock with the pieces).
What does a chess engine have to do with a time piece sitting next to a board, in view of everyone?
All the best, Joe Lux
Can you, with a quick glance, ascertain whether a device sitting next to a player in a tournament has a chess engine in it or not?
I can ascertain with a quick glance if he is using the clock as a chess engine.
All the best, Joe
Could you make the same judgment for, say, a Palm Pre, an Iphone or a Droid running a chess clock app on it?
Why not? It is sitting there in plain view between the players for everyone to see. I donāt understand your question. Where am I wrong?
Joe, want to bet that I couldnāt find a āchess move recordingā app that has a chess engine hiding in it that gives occasional, nearly invisible, hints?
Now, what do you say when player X claims that his opponentās Iphone with a chess move recording program is giving him hints?
Iām not talking about a recording app, but an app that works like a chess clock that both players use.
isnāt eNotate an approved electronic scoresheet? Not only does the eNotate software run on Windows Mobile devices, but so does chess engines and various methods of communication, including email, phone calls and text messaging. If eNotate was approved, how did they get around those issues?
Iām not sure if the same applies to Blackberries and Windows Mobile devices, but the iPhone can bet set in āairplane modeā, which disables all wireless communication - email, text message, phone, etc. This may be one method that software could run on multipurpose electronic devices and still ensure appropriate usage. However, it would no long be able to function as the MonRoi does, wirelessly communicating moves back to a central relay.
I have used (and seen used) mobile phones to listen to music during a game. If Iām not mistaken, cell phones are not banned from USCF events. I do remember that cell phones were banned from CCA events at one time, but Iām not sure if thatās still the case.
enotate is fine, but it does not run on Android, Palm or BlackBerry operating systems. It seems Android is taking the market by storm for significant reasons. I will probably switch once my upgrade time comes around.
If there is a positive in all of this, it may be that Monroi will be forced to drop the price of its product in response. Competition is good.
eNotate gets around that issue this way: When the machine is in game recording mode, there is no switching of applications allowed. You are recording the game until you actually sign off on the game. You can power the device off and on, try to hit all the shortcut buttons on the device, but without a hard reset the device is āstuckā in game recording mode. And I think a hard reset would probably be noticed, and it wouldnāt allow you to go back and keep recording that game. 
The rules state the electronic scoresheet must stay on the table at all times. (No holding it under the table, etcā¦) In the tournament I just played I just left it on the table. In a large tournament, if I had to use the bathroom Iād ask a TD if theyād be willing to hold it for me.
Further, eNotate is not certified for tournament usage if installed on a smartphone. Only a PDA. (And yep, I think I can tell the difference between the two.)
Although it might be possible to write an app to check if the phone is in āairplane modeā or the equivalent before the program would start, I wouldnāt gamble on every possible Windows platform recognizing thatā¦ And āairplane modeā shuts off all radios on a device - WiFi and Bluetooth also, AFAIK. But enforcing that - āYes, itās my phone and itās my game recorder,ā would be a lot harder to police than, āhereās my PDA, hereās the sticker showing itās a registered eNotate device, hereās me starting the recording mode.ā
Also, you should see the new rules revisions for this year. Check this post: viewtopic.php?p=176467#p176467
I would interpret that as having a powered phone on the playing floor - even if it is just playing MP3s - to be a gray area. Using a phone is clearly forbidden. Using an MP3 player is TD discretion. Somebody wanting to use an iPhone of the floor for MP3sā¦ ? How would one police that?
You missed one - when eNotate starts up, it disables the WiFi connection on the PDA and does not re-enable it. You must manually re-enable it. And once you start up eNotate again, it will disable it again.
Interesting. It could be that the only foolproof, if thatās possible, way is to have a dedicated unit like Monroi. I hope not. It would be nice to be able to use a BlackBerry or Android device in a tournament environment.
Iām kind of surprised that DGT hasnāt come out with a unit to compete with Monroi. Theyād sell more of those than dgt boards.
The question comes out, would you be willing to leave your smart phone at the table at all times even when you get up to walk around and stretch your legs or use the bathroom? That is the requirement for e-scoresheets, MonRoi and eNotate.
Two different points of view. After my last event this weekend I used 3 DGT boards for the first time in awhile. My opinion is that DGT creates things for tournament organizers rather than players but players can still use it also. MonRoi is more for the tournament player and some organizer features. The point of view of their products is reflective of their chess environments - organizer based for DGT and based in Europe, and MonRoi based in North America.