Questions? Speak with us Toll-Free at 1-800-645-4710 or send us E-Mail.
New Novag Chess Computers
by John LeVasseur
Written 10/11/01
[ Purchase Star Sapphire ]
[ Purchase Star Diamond ]
Novag's Shining Stars
After some restructuring, redesigning, and many false rumors (propagated by the uninformed in our industry), Novag is alive and well.
In fact they are on the doorstep of releasing some of the most innovative chess computer products ever released in the USA. Sometime in early 2002 several new products will become available that will give unprecedented strength, speed, and flexibility previously not seen in the chess computer world.
Note: This is not an actual product review, since these chess computers are in their final production phase and were not physically available at the time of writing. This is more of a preliminary announcement of features, as reported by Novag directly to us exclusively. Some of the specific information given here may change once the units are in full production.
Star Sapphire
One of the most popular chess computers amongst the higher end users was the venerable Sapphire and Sapphire II portable chess computers. In addition to being one of the strongest chess computer on the market, it also had serial ports allowing connection to a PC, or the Novag Universal Chess Board (UCB). They where compact and highly portable, a favorite feature with traveling tournament players and strong club players alike. One thing that left it falling a little short was its clumsy user-interface, which required using notation as the entry method when not using the UCB interface. This left it wanting in its impact into the mainstream chess computer market. Well ... Not anymore, my little droogies!
The new Star Sapphire not only is stronger, faster, smaller, and packed with the same features as the originals, it also uses the 
new LCD touch screen technology popularized by the PDA (Personal Data Assistant) revolution. As one example of the advantage of this new improved interface, it allows a user to actually play speed chess on a Sapphire without having to fumble around entering notation and pressing enter while seconds tick away. The Star Sapphire has the same serial interface as its predecessors, allowing it to be used with the UCB and the upcoming Electronic Chess Board (ECB) (We'll let you know about that one, when the information becomes available). Another nice addition to the Star Sapphire is the use of an IrDa interface, which allows wireless connection to a PC equip with an Infrared Interface system. Most newer computers now have this for use with PDA devices like the Palm Pilot®. The Star Sapphire will come with all the necessary software to use these various interfaces. An AC adapter will also be available separately.
This small portable machine uses a new agressive program promised to be stronger than the previous Sapphires. It features more Program RAM and working RAM and runs on a new processor clocked at 16mHz (more on that later). The Star Sapphire promises to be the strongest, fastest and the most easy to use high-end chess computer to be made available in the USA.
If you would like to see Novag's preliminary sheet on the Star Sapphire click here.
If you would like to purchase a Star Sapphire right now, click here.
Star Diamond
Another very popular popular product in the Novag line was the Diamond and Diamond II table-top chess computers. Now we have the Star Diamond
table-top chess computer. The Star Diamond has many of the same feature as its predecessors. This machine features a new program and a new processor clocked at 20mHz (again, more on that later). The Star Diamond can also be interfaced with a PC and the Novag Boards, but does not include the IrDa interface. It uses a pressure sensitive chess board, has easy to see control buttons and includes pieces, just like the original Diamonds. An AC adapter will be available separately.
If you would like to see Novag's preliminary sheet on the Star Diamond click here.
If you would like to purchase a Star Diamond right now, click here.
True RISC Processing
The new Star line uses Motorola's new RISC processor technology. RISC is an acronym for Reduced Instruction Set Chip. A simple description of what that means is the chip uses a more efficient group of internal commands to accomplish its task. This technology, developed by Motorola, allows processors to process information more quickly. Those of you familiar with Macintosh know of the G4 RISC processors, which process information faster than Pentium or Athlon processors of the same clock speed. A G4 750mHz processor will run 2 to 3 times faster than a 1200mHz (1.2gHz) Pentium 4, partially due to the difference between RISC and DISC (Pentium or Athlon) processors. The processor also generally runs much cooler, extending the lifetime of the chips themselves. The new Novag chess computers utilize this newer processor technology, and the gains are seen in substantially higher playing strengths, at much faster speeds. According to Novag, the Star Sapphire, utilizing the SH7020 16mHz RISC processor, will have and estimated ELO rating of 2530. The Star Diamond, utilizing the SH7020 20mHz RISC processor, will have and estimated ELO rating of 2550. All the Star series computers use 1 megabyte of Program Capacity (ROM) and 256k of capacity random access memory (RAM).
Pricing and Availability
Well ... this is were thing get a little fuzzy. We are not sure what the pricing is going to be on these and other Novag units as of this writing. Stay tuned! As far as when these units will be available, Novag states they should be able deliver sometime in Early 2002. Yes that is a little vague, but it is the best we can give you at this writing. Again ... Stay tuned!
If you would like to see a sheet from Novag showing a preliminary list of features of both the Star Sapphire and the Star Diamond click here.
Novag Lives!!!
[ Return to Review Table of Contents ]
[ Your Move Chess & Games Homepage ]
[ Enter Our Store ]
[ Our eBay Auctions ]
[ Chess Message Boards ]
[ About Your Move ]