Cassiopeia E-105 PDA (Casio Cassiopeia E-105G)

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Product:	Casio Cassiopeia E-105G
Date:	23/05/01 (518 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: loads of expansion capabilities, looks very sylish, easy to use

Disadvantages: short battery life, screen sratches very easily with stylus

Key Features: 65,536-colour, 240x320 TFT colour screen. 32MB of RAM. 131MHz NEC microprocessor. Built-in voice recorder. Type II CompactFlash card slot. WinCE operating system. Up to eight hours battery life. Lots of software.

You'll like the Cassiopeia E-105, but perhaps not for the right reasons. You'll like it because it's dinky - smaller than a paperback novel, as weighty as three calculators sellotaped together. You'll also be pretty impressed by its 65,536-colour, touch-sensitive screen. And you'll be amazed at the Windows CE software running a mini contacts database, task list, calendar and e-mail program. Neat, pocket-sized and futuristic, the Cassiopeia E-105 is 30 per cent Filofax, 70 per cent Star Trek gadgetry. And it's another huge step forward in our search for the ultimate PDA.
An enhanced version of the phenomenally successful Cassiopeia E-100, the E-105 is less a digital assistant and more a self-styled multimedia player. Boasting some of the most advanced technology, the new Cassiopeia is built around a large, 240x320 TFT colour LCD screen. Packing 32Mb of RAM where the E-100 had only 16Mb, the E-105 is powered by the latest version of Microsoft's WinCE. Other notable features include the ability to link the Cassiopeia to your PC (via cable or infra-red link), an integrated monaural microphone and speaker, Type II CompactFlash slot, headphone socket, plus a Lithium-ion battery lasting up to eight hours.
But even all this isn't what really makes the E-105 a joy to have. The new Casio Menu makes PDA life easier, allowing frequent applications to be assigned to on-screen 'quick launch' buttons (much like Windows short cuts). Application navigation is made ludicrously simple with three fast-access buttons and the joypad-style direction pad, while the lack of a built-in modem keeps the price down, but ultimately restricts the E-105's multimedia usefulness. And there's a generous software
bundle in the package, including a mini golf game, a Mobile Video Player (to unspool video clips and movie trailers), an Image Viewer (supporting JPEG, BMP and Casio's CAM digital camera format), plus a Mobile Audio Player (which allows owners to download MP3 files and encode them for playback).
Part Walkman, part VCR, part personal organiser, the E-105 dares you to criticise its power-hungry colour screen and lack of a
micro-keyboard (information can be entered by handwriting recognition software, or by tapping an on-screen keyboard). Yes, it still makes sense to maximise battery life by getting a monochrome PDA. And if you're dealing with large amounts of data input, you can't beat Psion's EPOC-powered 5MX. But with a fast processor, a clear display and 32Mb of RAM, it's difficult to go back to black and white.
The E-105 provides everything you could ask of a colour PDA. Bar the memory boost, there's very little to distinguish it from its main rivals, the Philips Nino and Compaq Aero. This is as good as cyber-Filofaxing gets.

Verdict: Another smart, stylish way to play Solitaire on the train.

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