The Casio Cassiopeia has been one of the more successful Palm-size PCs -- in fact, one of the company's biggest problems was meeting demand. So we were hardly surprised that Casio chose not to break the mold with its first Pocket PC-based device.
The Cassiopeia E-115 (AU$1,499 ERP) uses the same CPU, display, and case as the highly regarded E-100 and E-105 Palm-size PC models, which were the first to offer 64,000-colour displays and stereo audio output. Aside from the new os, the only major difference with the Cassiopeia E-115 is its two-tone grey colour (previous models were silver). In other words, if you like the Cassiopeia E-100 or the E-105, you'll love this new device.
The product that we reviewed, the Cassiopeia E-115, which weighs 260 grams with battery installed and measures 13 x 8.4 by 2 cms (hwd), has a 131-mhz, 64-bit vr4121 processor, and a 7.5 x 5.8 cm (hw) colour display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. As with previous models,the Cassiopeia E-115 has a Type II CompactFlash slot, infrared and serial ports, an internal microphone, and a stereo headphone jack. An internal, monaural speaker is fine for very limited multimedia playback and application sound effects, but you'll want to plug in headphones or powered external speakers for a quality listening experience.
The Cassiopeia E-115 ships with a serial synchronisation cradle, an ac adaptor/battery charger, and a slipcase (which is recommended to protect the screen). The unit's lithium ion battery is rated for six hours of continuous use.
The unit's TFT screen is noticeably brighter inside than the HP Jornada 545's screen. But as with the HP Jornada 545 and just about every device with an LCD, the Cassiopeia E-115 has a difficult time in sunlight.
The Cassiopeia E-115 has the same button layout as previous models. The device comes with a total of eight buttonsââ,¬"including the power, start, action roller, and record buttonsââ,¬"plus a navigation cursor and three programmable launch buttons. The cursor button provides a convenient way to move around the screen and acts as a joystick with game software.
In addition to the standard Pocket pc software in ROM and on the Microsoft CD, the Cassiopeia E-115 ships with an aol Mail Dial-up client, Casio cf Backup, Casio Menu, Casio Mobile Address Book, Casio Mobile Calendar, and Casio E-Mail Set-up Tool in rom. Casio's supplementary cd includes Button Assignment, Casio Audible, Casio Mobile Camera, Casio Mobile Video Converter, Casio Mobile Video Player, and Mobile Video Player for pc. Enterprise Harmony '99 (for converting data from Palm organisers) and zio Interactives zio Golf 1.2 demo version are also included on the supplementary CD.
The Cassiopeia E-115 offers no real surprises. Instead, Casio is staking its success on the strength of the existing Cassiopeia design and the greatly improved Pocket pc operating system. All in all, this is not a bad strategy, and even if the unit won't turn heads as the hp Jornada 545 or the forthcoming Compaq ipaq Pocket PC do, the Casio Cassiopeia E-115 is a versatile personal companion.
Casio Cassiopeia E-115.
Price: ERP AU$1,499. Shriro.
Ph: 02 9370 9100; Fax: 02 9417 6455;
www.casio.co.jp/English
Rating: 5 Star
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