Anybody else buy Parker's new palm wine program. Pretty cool to have the WA database with you all the time. Only problem is if you want to load up the whole thing, it takes up over 40 meg.

Hope someone comments as it seems tempting, but I have a Pocket PC, not a Palm...

Nancy

Not interested.

The Pocket PC version is comming very soon.
I travel a lot and I think it will be handy when shopping at a wine store in a far away place.

Someone bought me a "winemaster" gadget for Christmas. Wine reviews stored in the database. Absolute garbage. DO NOT GET WHAT I GOT. Useless.

Does anyone know costs on this? I'm pretty interested in the idea.

Mine was from the Wine Enthusiast btw.

Hmmm, sounds cool, but how much does such a program set you back? Do they offer updates that you can upload to your palm to keep up with the newest ratings????

For subscribers to eRobertParker.com, it is $29.95, for the stand-alone I do not know. But that one has a limited database. Yes updates will be available. I also have the Wine Enthusiast Wine Guide in my palm. The wine reviews are not as good as parker's but it always to keep a database of my cellar in the program so I will probably keep both. The Parker one is pretty much the WA database very impressive.

I think I remember that Parker had notes on a small Franklin about 10 years ago, and it sold for about the same price.

The Palm or Pocket PC would be nice while traveling.

I now have both programs for my Palm (a Tungsten T). The Parker database is awesome if you have the 40+ megs of storage to carry around the whole thing. The interface, however, is not particularly impressive. Though the Wine Enthusiast program from Landware has fewer (and less reliable) reviews, the software is top-notch. In fact, the WE program is one of the nicest programs I've seen for a Palm, period.

As has been mentioned, the Parker program doesn't offer a cellar management database, but what is perhaps more annoying is that the "advanced search" interface is awfully slow. After each selection (region, rating, price, etc.) it has to "compile" the choices available and this can be painfully time consuming. (Note: I have the database portion on an expansion card, and this might be part of the reason for the delay, but chances are you will also be putting it on an expansion card, as you are unlikely to have 40+ megs free in internal memory!)

Don't get me wrong, the Parker program is worth getting just for the raw information it lets you carry around -- I just wish he had gotten some better coders to make the application. (Even the icon for it that will appear in your menu is homely!)

One other thing: before getting the WE database for my Palm someone gave me the "winemaster" gadget mentioned by others. Though that has a database from WE, it can't be updated, and it has one of the worst interfaces I've ever seen. Under no conditions should you buy this thing for anyone other than your worst enemies. Amazingly crappy.

I agree, except if you know the winery or wine name the Parker search is very fast. I will continue to keep both on my palm using the Landware WE for cellar management on the go and the Parker for it’s extensive reviews.

I use both the Wine Enthusiast and PDA Sommelier programs on my HP pocket pc. While I think the WE application is much slicker and attractive, the PDA Sommelier wins hands down just for the sheer number of reviews it has (something like 40K+ as compared to the 10K on the WE guide). While neither program is comprehensive or even always accurate, they both provide a nice reference if you are unsure about a potential purchase while shopping or at a restaurant. I suspect the Parker program will be similarly useful. I might just have to add it to my PDA if/when they come out with a pocket pc version (since information is power, more must be better...right??). Alright, I admit it, I'm a gadget geek

Anyway, if you are like me and have gotten tired of making poor wine selections, these gadgets can be a great help. I've dramatically reduced the number of bad wine choices I've made since I started using my wine guide equipped PDA. Admittedly, many of you more experienced wine experts out there probably wouldn't benefit much from these types of things, but for the neophyte, they can be invaluable.

Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.
--Ambrose Bierce

I also have the parker in your palm. It is awesome. The only problem I have with it is that it is way too convenient when you walk into a wine store. You walk into a store see a wine you are looking for but can't remember the exact vintage that everyone is raving about. - No problem, pull out your PiyP and there it is. A new purchase.