PDA Review: Casio Cassiopeia
E-125 Pocket PC
Reviewed:
01/24/2001
By:
Jared Raath
As the Pocket PC platform begins to take back
part of the handheld market, Casio attempts to
pull their weight with two consumer products,
the EM-500 and the Cassiopeia E-125. The
'new' Cassiopeia E-125 is not designed to
compete against the Palm/Handspring devices
directly, but offers an alternative to the other
Pocket PC offerings available such as the HP
Jornada and the Compaq iPaq. With a winning
combination of a high-color screen and a built
in Type II Compact Flash slot, this unit deserves
its place in the Pocket PC ranks.
Form
The E-125 has not changed much since the
launch of the original Casio E-100 series. In
fact, from a cosmetic standpoint, only the color
of the case has changed which is one of the
few ways to differentiate the current unit from
its predecessors. The unit is considered
brick-like compared to the sleek lines of the iPaq and Jornada,
but I found
the size of the unit to be much more comfortable when held and used than
the thinner units. The dimensions of the unit are .8 inches thick, 3.3
inches
wide, and 5.1 inches high. Because of the inclusion of a Type II Compact
Flash slot, the general dimensions did not change from previous E-1xx PDAs.
The weight of the unit including the battery is 250 grams and tucked away
nicely on the rear of the device is a user replaceable Li-Ion battery and
watch-type backup battery. The stylus is located on the right hand side,
which runs the full length of the unit. On the left hand side is the stereo
headphone jack, the power button, which is recessed, the 'Windows' button,
the jog-dial and the voice recorder button. Most of these buttons can be
remapped to activate other applications if needed. The IR port is also
located
on the left side and I found the unit very easy to use with one hand for
applications like Contacts and Calender. The front of the PDA sports a
joystick-like pad for navigation as well as 3 quick application buttons
so if you
want to play arcade style games, the joystick pad and the buttons work
well
to simulate the controller.
Function
The E-125 is equipped with the NEC VR4122 MIPs processor running at
150Mhz and is loaded with 32 Megs of RAM, which is divided between
application and storage. The Cassiopeia comes with a 320 by 240 pixel
backlit TFT touch screen capable of producing 16-bit color depth (65,535
colors). Unfortunately, this is not the best unit for viewing in bright
sunlight
since it tends to become unreadable and requires some sort of shade to
be
viewable while outside. Wwhen used indoors, the screen is bright and clear
and the touch screen feel is smooth and very paper-like.
With the new processor, the battery life is rated at 8 hours, up from 6
hours
on the previous Casio models and this model includes a USB docking cradle,
which will help speed the transfer of large music and video files. The
IR port
runs at 115k and a serial docking cradle can be purchased separately if
needed. The built-in speaker is clear when listening to music or audible
books, but it seems quiet when the alarm is active. As an added bonus,
this
is the only Pocket PC unit, at this time, which comes with a built-in Type
II
Compact Flash slot.
Software
Microsoft latest PDA OS, Pocket PC, is built into the 16MB of ROM.
It is built with a lot of new applications and has an improved user interface
compared to Windows CE 2.11 for Palm Sized PCs. I will not go too deeply
into the inner workings of the Pocket PC operating system, but instead
I will
focus on some key aspects of the software.
The concept of the 'Start' button has been removed in the interface, replaced
with a launch button with a list of commonly used applications. The
'right-click' function is replaced by click and hold to activate the list
of
commands. Applications, once opened, do not close which means at times
you will have to force the application to close through the memory settings
or
a 3rd party application closer. You have to manage your memory usage
carefully as having too many applications open causes a noticeable decrease
in performance.
Pocket versions of Excel and Word have been added to allow you to read
attachments downloaded through the improved Inbox as well as view and
edit synchronized documents. A Pocket version of Money is also included
which can be synchronized with the desktop version of Money 200x.
Unfortunately, only the US or Canadian version of the desktop Money
software will synchronize at this time. A new improved Internet Explorer
will
allow you surf the web as well as browse offline channels via AvantGo.
Microsoft has introduced Clear-Type technology for reading e-books on the
handheld through the Reader application. Clear-type improves the font type
and smoothes out the edges to make it more readable on a small screen.
Reader also allows you to listen to audible books.
Windows Media Player allows you to listen to MP3s and WMA files and used
in combination with Windows Media 7, you can rip CD tracks and convert
them into WMA files and transfer them directly into the unit. With a cassette
adapter, you can listen to your tunes in the car.
Casio has included several application improvements to the built-in Pocket
PC
functions; in particular, they have enhanced the Calender function, the
Contact function and the Launch screen. These enhancements allow for a
greater degree of single-handed function of the unit. Casio has also bundled
a CD full of useful applications such as the Mobile Video player and image
viewer. This is a proprietary video player that can take AVIs, MPEGs and
Quick Time format files and convert them to be played on the handheld.
In
addition, Casio has included other Pocket PC compatible software such as
bTask, a trial version of ZioGolf, PacketVideo, and Harmony, which will
allow
you to transfer information from your Palm to the Pocket PC.
Expandability
One thing that makes the E-125 unique from most other non-Casio Pocket
PCs is the built in Type II Compact Flash slot. As mentioned above, this
is the
reason for the larger form factor. With the Type II slot, you can use the
IBM
Microdrive, which come in sizes up to 1GB. With recent announcement of
Casio's partnership with Nexcell, makers of the Pocketspider CDPD compact
flash modem, and service provider by GoAmerica, you will have wireless
connectivity before too long as well. The Type II slot also allows for
the use
of other compact flash devices like an Ethernet card, a modem and other
I/O
devices. Casio also offers a compact flash digital camera specifically
designed for the E-1xx series.
Value
At $549, the cost of the E-125 falls between the Jornada and the iPaq,
however, you cannot buy an iPaq or Jornada with a 16-bit color screen and
built-in Type II Compact Flash slot. Everything is not perfect with the
E-125
which is equpped with a few poorly designed parts, for instance the compact
flash slot cover is flimsy and can be easily broken as well as creating
a tight
fit making the removal of some CF cards difficult. The stylus is poorly
balanced, and the tip can be easily broken as well. The connector cover
is a
simple plastic slide that is clumsy to use and can be easily broken if
not
careful. The USB cradle does not have a removable cable, which means that
if you don't have an IR port, you will have to bring the whole cradle or
buy a
separate serial cable when you travel.
Conclusion
Don't let the simple, time-tested shape fool you into thinking that the
E-125 is
behind in the technology curve. You have to give full credit to a company
that
has grown with the Microsoft handheld philosophy. The wide-ranging
entertainment capabilities, enhancements, and additional applications ensure
this solid PDA will fit in your personal life or corporate environment.
Jared Raath
