Casio at its best! (*)
Written: Oct 22 '01 (Updated Feb 25 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good screen, battery life, hardware buttons, and software.
Cons: Rather larger than the competition, doesn't come with a good case.
The Bottom Line: Prices on E-115's are dropping as we speak. Snork them up while you can. A great machine.
|
|
|
| zero_'s Full Review: Casio Cassiopeia E-115 |
(This review has additional special features.)
With the prices on the venerable E-115 dropping like a rock in the face of newer and badder competition, now is a great time to pick up one of these little handhelds.
With a compatable MIPS processor running at a capable 131 mhz, the Cassiopiea has the power you need to get things done (despite what Compaq and their new IPaq would have you think). Top that off with a screen that can display 16-bit color (unlike the said IPaq), a real directional button, the Windows CE 3.0 "PocketPC" operating system, and outstanding bundled software and you've got yourself quite a handheld.
The E-115 comes bundled with Casio's own take on the standard Windows CE contact manager and calendar apps, and Casio certainly did a better job on them than Microsoft did. Data is interchangable between the programs, and this is done automatically. The Cassiopeia also comes with a nice little menu application, which lets you sort, organize, and modify all of your little icons to your heart's content.
For all of you gamers, the Cassiopeia has a good directional button (unlike HP machines) and can handle having as many buttons pressed as you want (unlike Compaq) machines, as well as a nice blur-free display to view it all on. Though many would call the 131 mhz processor a little outdated, in the portable RISC world it rarely makes a notable difference. My 115 can run PocketGB just as well as the rest of them.
The one complaint I have with Casio is their choice of bundled case. The Cassiopeia comes with a slip-on nylon sheath of sorts, which no doubt will protect your precious machine as it bouces around inside your breifcase or what have you. Unfortunately, extracting the machine from the case is tricky, and requires two hands (and sometimes some teeth as besides). Aftermarket cases are readily available for a few dollars extra, and would probably be a wise investment. Also, everyone seems to find beef in the Cassiopeia's overall thickness. It's a little over 3/4 of an inch thick, making it a bit chunky for your average shirt pocket, but considering what the thing can do, who cares?
Update: Microsoft has released their new PocketPC 2002 operating system, and the specs basically flip the digital bird to everyone with a SH3 or MIPS processor, and this includes the E-115. Unfortunately, Microsoft's shortsightedness here will probably mean little or no MIPS software will be written for the PocketPC in the future. Isn't that nice of the big MS?
Feature: Casio E-115 overclocking guide. Make your E-115 faster than a stock E-125! Details are available at http://surf.to/DgZ , or for a direct download go to http://www.delanet.com/~drendall/docs/overclocke115.zip .
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
zero_
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Robert "Zero" Drendall
Location: Claymont, DE, United States
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
Providing your semi-regular dose of extreme verbosity since somewhere around the turn of the century.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.