Manufacturer: Casio Model#: E1.25 Weight: 1lbs Height: 1"     Width: 3.25" Length: 5.13" Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars	Retail Price: $299.99 Online Sale Price:
Features: 32 MB of internal RAM, expandable using CompactFlash memory cards Synchronize to your desktop with rapid USB data transfer Color screen with 240 x 320 display in 65,536 color Includes Microsoft Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Pocket Money, and Pocket Internet Explorer What's in the box: Cassiopeia E-125, Stylus, USB Cradle, AC Adapter, Lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack, Connector cable, Pocket PC User's Guide, Hardware Guide

User Submitted Casio Cassiopeia E-125 Color Pocket PC Reviews (cont...)

-Ability to sync with outlook mail: It works great, however you can't sync email if you're syncing with more than 1 computer (i.e. home computer and office computer) so it's useless to me.

-Ability to access personal financial sites: Many of the web sites that I want access to when traveling are my bank accounts. I can't access them because Pocket Explorer is not the "correct" version and does not have the correct level of security (even with the 128 bit patch), so my bank site will not allow access.

-Ability to download and listen to audio books from Audible.com: The transfer process is so unbelievably slow I've given up and taking audio books with me when I travel.

-Ability to read eBooks: Books from Peanut Press work fine with Peanut Reader. Books for Microsoft Reader are another story. Very disappointing.

-Ability to synchronize with my MS Money accounts: This is perhaps the most infuriating bug of all. Good luck with keeping your accounts synced. Balances get screwed up and it's not uncommon for the Money file to come up corrupted, requiring you to replace the file and re-sync it. There's a whole list of procedures to remedy crashed money files, but I really don't feel like spending hours fixing something, over and over, that should have worked in the first place.

Add to all of the above, appointments and contacts that magically vanish, only to reappear days later, and some of the worst customer support from Microsoft that I've ever experienced, this time-saving device is far too time-intensive. I regret ever letting go of my precious Palm!

Date: 2001-03-13
Reformed Palm User
I bought the E-125 a week ago. I had intended to replace my lost Palm V with another Palm V. However, the sales guy asked me why the palm versus the cassiopeia. My response? Familiarity and I knew the Palm V worked and worked well. I've owned a Palm from the original Palm to the Palm III to the Palm V. After a quick tour of the E-125, I decided that it had more potential and decided to be brave and go for something new.

My reaction after a week?

PRO's 1. I love the screen - great colors, clarity and graphics 2. Syncronization is tons faster than the PALM with either pocket mirror or chapura intellisync 3. All of the fields are identical to outlook - it is actually Pocket Outlook you are using - so if you are an outlook 97 or 2000 user, this is a significant plus. 4. Its an MP3 player with good quality! (what a nice extra) 5. The audio recording of notes when I'm driving and have one of those rare brain flashes is great. 6. The pocket internet explorer with AvantGo for storing my certain web pages for long flights 7. The Pocket Word and Pocket Excel which allows me the ability to open attachments - so far it works great 8. The windows look and feel that I'm used to made the jump from Palm a little less painful.

CONs: 1. Software (freeware & shareware) not as plentiful as Palm OS software - seems we need to hope it becomes more popular. Tools for development are just coing out which should help. 2. Wish it were just a tad thinner - but this isn't a killer like I was afraid of 3. Wish there was Pocket Adobe Reader and Pocket PowerPoint (that's more a Microsoft and Adobe issue) 4. My kids keep taking it to play games that have incredible graphics

Date: 2001-03-08
The Best PDA Ever!
Yes, I'm a high school student that owned a few PDA's before but this PDA is the best ever. You might say I'm a computer nerd, but if you need a PDA, just go to Best Buy and try this one out. After going to best buy, I knew this was the best PDA to buy. Anybody can use it, and it does everything or anything you want it to do. I recommend this product for college students, and or anybody else that is in the market for a PDA. Trust me, you will not go a day without using it!

Date: 2001-03-01
Compare the iPAQ and the Casio E-125 and see the diff!
The E-125 by casio is far most a must choice if you are planning to get a PDA. Being an owner of a PDA Cassiopeia E-15 (Windows CE 2.1 - Gray scale) I actually thought of striking of the Casio Pocket PC off the line of choice such as the iPAQ and the Jornada by HP.

The reason being, I had many, too many miserable times with the screen. The display is fine but the touch screen gives me one too many problems. Every ones in a while I will be required to recalibrate it to ensure the accuracy, at times it would not even work. Enough about the bad things on the E-15. On the overall it is a great product if the problem of the touch screen alignment is resolved.

Now that I am purchasing a Pocket PC, and with 3 choices I was actually settling down on the iPAQ until I did more research on it.

I picked iPAQ initially because of it's fast processor and the great looks. However, when I did my comparisons and further research, I found that the Cassiopeia would be a better buy.

This is why :

Firstly, when you are thinking of a Pocket PC which has multimedia capabilities coupled with coloured screens and stuff, one would require a whole lot of power. Sure, the Compaq boasts a 10 hour continuous use where the Casio has 6. This is gauged from a heavy user where the owner would use the Pocket PC continuously. However, at the initial thought, the Compaq would be better in battery usage, TRUE but not on the long run. What Compaq has which is overlooked by most Compaq buyers is that the battery is built in. The battery is not consumer removable, thus, just like all batteries, the battery has a life cycle of charging and discharging, when the battery goes too old, the performance will be significantly reduced. The Casio on the other hand uses a Consumer removable lithium battery, so if the case of ageing begins, all you've gotta do is to replace it with a newer casio lithium battery which you could purchase from the stores. This stance however, is impossible to be done by iPAQ users.

Secondly, data safety. This would be one of the most thought issues for users of Pocket PCs. As data is actually being kept safe through the charge of electric currents from the battery, ones the battery is flat, the data is GONE. As the iPAQ only has one battery without a backup, you data is seriously at high risk when the battery dies. On the other hand, the Cassiopeia resolved this problem with an additional backup battery. Thus, if the main battery ever goes flat, there is still a 2 week data storage time utilizing the backup battery.

Thirdly, vibrant colours. Compare 14000 odd colours with over 46000 colours. The difference is significant. Just image placing your desktop from 16 colours to 256 colours. The iPAQ displays only 14000 odd colours and this is not exceptionally good as when video playback is concerned, one will certainly identify certain reduction in picture quality. The same thing applies to still high quality images. On the other hand, you would see a great difference in both picture and video quality with more colours capability on the Casio.

Fourth, comes processor speed. Sure you'll see an extra 45 - 55 Mhz boost in performance for the iPAQ but that is about it. In terms of running applications, the Casio would do just fine. You would not see a significant difference. However, I must admit that you would be able to launch applications faster with a faster processor but do we REALLY need that extra 1-2 seconds?

Fifth, size. Sure the iPAQ looks great but when you wish to have extra storage space such as an additional CF Flash Card for memory, you'll have to slot in a sleeve as an accessory to the iPAQ giving it a much bulkier look. In fact, it looks bigger than the Casio ones the accessory is on.

Sixth, cost. In reference to the fifth point, the extra accessory sleeve that you will need to add in more memory would be an added cost. The sleeve is not provided. As such, the Casio wins at this point as it comes originally built in with a CF card slot.

Seventh, screen glare. This is one point where Casio loses out. If you are talking about using the Casio under direct sunlight, the display would be more on the lighter side thus, you would not be able to see much things on the screen. However, the iPAQ has a lighting system which comes from the sides of the screen giving it an outdoor advantage. However, think again, would anyone want to use the Pocket PC under direct sunlight? Why not go to a shade or get in the car?

Eight, one hand usage. If you are driving or might be reading a map and would like to be one handed on it, the Casio would allow you to do so as it comes with scroll keys on the sides. Unlike compaq where the keys are actually right infront of the device thus making it not very Human Friendly.

Finally, you might think that since I have had such bad experiences with the later Casio model, why would I want another Casio or at least recommend it to others? Casio has been in the PDA world for a VERY VERY long time and being a Japanese company where quality is of great concern, also based on my usage of the Cassiopeia E-125 for some time now, I have never calibrated the screen more than twice. The second time was that I wanted to reformat the whole System, giving it a fresh restart.

The system is stable and in terms of speed, it suits me well.

I certainly hope that this article has left some ideas in you and hope that someday, you will make a wise decision on your purchase of the Pocket PC.

Think Casio, think Cassiopeia Pocket PCs.

You are free to contact me at benjern@benjern.com if you need more advice or details.