FIGURE D


If you don't like the radial menu, use a list. Roll over picture for a larger image.

For text input, the Zodiac uses Graffiti 2 with a Dynamic Input Area (DIA), similar to the Palm Tungsten T3, that can be expanded and collapsed. A status bar is visible down the side of the screen (which side depends on how you orient the Zodiac's screen), provides icons for the Home screen, Find, Menu, the Power and Sound settings, screen orientation (Portrait or Landscape), and the DIA control.

Oddly, although the Status bar showed up in my screen captures, the icons didn't.

The Zodiac comes bundled with a very nice set of software. In addition to the standard Palm PIM apps, Tapwave has included their own MP3 player, alarm clock/stop watch with music alarm, and photo viewer.

For third-party applications, the Zodiac comes with Inkstorm Bluetooth chat, PalmReader for e-books, Kinoma video player and producer, and WordSmith for word processing.

Gamewise, Tapwave has included Acid Solitaire and Stunt Car Extreme.

It should be noted that all of the software that comes with the Zodiac is a complete and registered version. Many times, companies include demo or limited feature versions in their bundled software. Not so with Tapwave.

Prognostications
The Zodiac is quite ergonomic and fits the hands very well. Your thumbs are in just the right position for the joystick and Action buttons, and your index fingers rest on the shoulder triggers quite naturally. It's obvious the design of the Zodiac was well thought out.

The 480x320 16-bit color screen is simply beautiful. All the apps look so much better on the larger screen. The landscape display makes word processing so much easier, as in Figure E, not to mention the games and video.

FIGURE E


Word processing is much better on a full screen. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Something I noticed about the screen on the Zodiac is that it's actually brighter in direct sunlight, whereas the screen on the T2 got darker outside. I did experience a similar effect with the Zodiac in shade and overcast days, where a glare effect seemed to be created.

I really love the radial menu interface of the Zodiac. Navigating it with the joystick is so easy that it's like second nature. By means of the Function button and joystick, your interaction with the Zodiac can be essentially stylus-free. See what I mean by checking out Figure F.

FIGURE F


You can navigate the menu with just the joystick and Function button. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The Zodiac's launcher can be customized by changing the color theme or loading your own background images, like the one in Figure G. For the record, that's a picture of kitchen spices, so get your mind out of the gutter.

FIGURE G


Customize the theme of the Zodiac to suit your tastes. Roll over picture for a larger image.

I've been able to check out quite a few of the Zodiac-specific software, including titles such as SpyHunter, shown in Figure H, Stunt Car Extreme, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Duke Nukem, and many more titles, as well as quite a bit of video playback.

FIGURE H


The Imageon processor does a good job with the 3D effects in SpyHunter. Roll over picture for a larger image.