Palm HIARCS (in my opinion) does indeed seem to play a very reasonable and none-computer like game of chess, even at the lower ELO settings. Its strategy seems consistent, yet it makes reasonable tactical oversights that players also make at the lower levels. I also have experience with Chessmaster 10 (I think an overall great product), but HIARCS plays in my opinion more natural chess than the throwaway pieces that CM 10 gives at the lower levels.
On a Palm I find HIARCS seems to set me up well when playing against humans, which is why I'm kinda curious about other peoples (USCF) experience with these HIARCS levels.