<CHARLESW@QUCDN.QueensU.CA> (02/21/91)
Here is the result of our queries on the net, CompuServe, and echonet/fido(?)
over the last week or so. We didn't hear many responses--I hope this isn't
indicative of Mobius' income! :-) Thanks to everyone who took the time to
reply.
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As promised, here is a summary of all the info I could gather about Mobius
One Page Displays and the '030 accelerator/adapter card. I wish that I
could be more definitive but there just doesn't seem to be any more info
out there!
From the Mobius brochure and a call to the company - not an independent
test report:
The Mobius displays are made by Zenith. Display systems (One Page and Two
Page) are listed for all Macs (except the Plus) but the 25 MHz '030
adapter/accelerator (A/A) is only available for the SE. The A/A has a
socket for a coprocessor and on-board 100ns (or faster) SIMMs. The
brochure says it can hold 4 or 16 MB of RAM (the picture shows 4 sockets -
no mention of memory configurations like 2M, 2.5M, etc.). Motherboard
memory is converted to a RAM disk. Interestingly, the brochure says the
accelerator design is one that has been on the market for "over four
years". The A/A can run an Apple Portrait display. Also, the accelerator
remains active when you unplug the monitor so your carry-around SE retains
the benefits of the '030 using just the internal screen.
Prices I was sent were:
One Page Display - for all Macs - $795
- with '030 Accelerator for SE - $995
Two Page Display - for all Macs - $995
- with '030 Accelerator for SE - $1195
Accelerator/Adapter alone - $595 (no memory or coprocessor)
From MacUser (Feb 91):
In a comparison test of monochrome full/one page displays, the Mobius
screen (with the older 16MHz 68000 adapter) was rated highly. Four mice
rating (the Apple Portrait got 4 1/2 and the Radius Pivot got 4). Sigma
Designs was also rated about the same as the Mobius on image quality but
MacUser said the Mobius was "the choice for SE owners" because of the
acceleration. No particular good/bad comments about the software that
comes with the system. For your interest, the Cutting Edge/Mirror/Ehman
products tested used identical monitors and, though less expensive, had no
acceleration and poorer image quality. Read the report for details.
From the nets:
One user says he is satisfied though complains of some distortion on the
right side of the screen. He is annoyed that he bought the 68000 version
just before the '030 version was announced and that the upgrade is $500!
Another user, also a Radius user, has the 68000 version also and is quite
pleased. He says "I used a Radius for a year previously. The Mobius was at
least as reliable and the display has been clear, stable, and undistorted
since I bought it." The Radius does have a rapid scrolling feature the
Mobius lacks. He had a power supply problem with the monitor in warranty
but, after two phone calls, was sent a new one by UPS and Mobius even paid
for the return of the malfunctioning one! Overall, a happy customer.
I did not receive a single response from a user of the '030 version. I
received no flames about Mobius which doesn't *prove* anything but is
encouraging!
Summary:
It sounds as though the Mobius One Page Display monitor image quality is
very good. The same monitor is used with the new accelerator/adapter so
one could reasonably expect the image quality to remain high. The
monitor/'030 accelerator combination price would be hard to beat by buying
a cheap display and cheap accelerator separately so, if you want both a
larger display and increased speed, the price is very attractive. Mac Plus
users are out of luck, however. You still have the benefit of acceleration
when the monitor is disconnected if you need to drag your SE around a bit.
Finally, the one reported problem seemed to be handled courteously and
promptly.
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