The EM 500 is the smallest of Casio's color-screen Pocket PCs. The active matrix LCD color display is the same type and size as used in the existing Casio E-100/105/115; it's just in a smaller case. The EM500 is available in different colors: blue, red, green, yellow, and a grayish purple. You get to choose the color that suits you best.

Buttons, speakers and jacks

The front of the EM500 looks similar to its big brother, the E-115. Along the bottom front Casio kept the three application launch buttons and the finger joystick that can be used as a game pad. The speaker is located between the joystick and the launch buttons.

On the left side, from top to bottom, you find the power (on/off) button, jog wheel with up/down/action and the voice recorder button. The jog wheel lets you move up and down through document lists and menu items. The voice recorder button lets you make recordings on the fly. Both of these are cool features found on most Palm-size and Pocket PCs. Casio decided to drop the Windows button on the EM 500. This was used to call up the Start menu on previous models.

Casio also made some improvements to the onboard sound system. I noticed that the volume is significantly louder on the EM500 than the prior Casio units. In addition, the headphone jack is now located at the top of the unit. This makes it much easier to put the EM500 in your pocket while you listen to music through stereo headphones. Finally, Casio offers a remote control headphone, which allows you to play and stop music, adjust volume, and jump to the next or previous tracks while the EM500 is in your pocket. This helps make the EM500 ideal for mobile listening.

Memory and data storage

The EM500 ships with 16 Mb of internal RAM memory, which is split between program execution and file/data storage. You'll have to play with this to see what the ideal ratio is, but you should be able to use at least 8 Mb for file storage. However, if you keep a lot of data files on your EM500, particularly music files, you may need to take advantage of the EM500's new type of data storage support. The EM500 is the first Pocket PC that ships with a MultiMedia Card slot instead of the Compact Flash card slots found in other Pocket PCs. (See Screen 1 for a size comparison of the two cards.) A MultiMedia Card is about the size of a postage stamp and about as thick as a piece of cardboard. Yet it adds up to 32 Mb of file storage to the EM500. MMC cards with 64 Mb capacities are coming soon.
 

USB connectivity, optional serial cable

The EM500 has a built-in infrared port that can be used for data transfer between Pocket PCs, or synchronization between the EM500 and a desktop PC equipped with an IrDA port. It ships with a USB connectivity cable, which lets you connect to a USB-equipped desktop or notebook PC for fast data synchronization.

Casio offers an optional serial cable for the EM500. The port on the bottom of the EM500 is exactly the same as the E100, E 105, and E-115 Casio Pocket and Palm-size PCs. Owners of these devices can re-use existing serial cables. A serial cable lets you connect to a PC through its serial port. Casio also plans to offer adapters that will let you connect your EM500 to a mobile phone via the serial cable.

Battery and performance

The EM500 uses a 7-hour removable Lithium Ion rechargeable battery, which means you can buy an extra one and keep it charged as a spare. Physically, the battery is smaller than the one found on the E-100/105/115s, which means you can't swap them back and forth. The EM500 uses a CR-2032 coin-cell battery to backup up your memory. If you run your Lithium Ion down completely (i.e., ignore the low battery warnings) your won't loose your data. The backup battery will last about 1 1/2 weeks. Casio increased the speed of the MIPS CPU to 150 MHz, making the EM500 noticeably faster than the E-115.

Built-in and add-on software

The EM500 ships with the complete set of Microsoft Pocket PC applications built in (see Spec Sheet below). Casio also includes the following applications built into the EM 500: Casio Menu ­ a user-definable start menu; Casio Mobile Calendar ­ a simpler way to view and enter Calendar appointments; Casio Mobile Address Book ­ an alternative Contacts view; Casio Backup ­ a memory card backup utility.

Casio also includes a CD with additional, user installable software, including Movie Player; Mobile (picture) Viewer; Palm Data Converter; bTask, PocketVideo Player, and ZioGolf demo version. For your desktop PC you will find the Mobile Video Converter, Mobile Video Player and Harmony 99.

Fun and productivity in a small package

The Casio Cassiopeia EM 500 offers a lot of productivity and fun in a small package. If you need a CompactFlash slot for additional peripheral support, you might want to check out the Cassiopeia E-115 or another Pocket PC. But if small size, cool colors, and great sounds are what you're looking for in a Pocket PC, check out Casio's new EM500.
 

Casio has expanded their range of devices with the ruggedized EG-80 and EG-800 Pocket PCs. The EG-80 comes with a monochrome display; the EG-800 has a color screen. Otherwise, they're identical. Both are designed for use in the Enterprise, in situations where a rugged, weather-resistant device is needed. This review looks at the EG-800.

Weather-sealed in a rubber case

The EG-800 is a bit larger than the EM 500 and just a smidge bigger than the E-115. It is protected from shocks and the environment in a rubber case. The action buttons are larger and rubberized, as is the jog wheel. The placement of the finger joystick and the application launch buttons on the bottom front of the unit is similar to other Casio Pocket PCs. However, I found the finger joystick to be easier to use on the EG-800 compared to other models.

A rubber boot covers the CompactFlash type II slot in the top of the EG-800. You must remove it to insert a CF card, and leave it off if you want to use the CF slot for a peripheral. One interesting addition to the EG-800 is the eject button which makes removing a CompactFlash card much easier. Also, there is a removable rubber cover over the stereo headphone jack and AC adapter port. On the bottom of the unit, you find the contacts for interfacing with the data cradle. You can attach a carrying strap to a bracket in the right hand corner.

Industrial-strength batteries and performance

Casio offers three different removable battery options for the EG-80 and 800. The battery life on fully charged batteries is estimated at 4, 7 and 13 hours respectively. Incidentally, battery life is much greater on the monochrome-screen EG-80.

The small and medium batteries use Lithium Polymer technology. The large uses the more traditional Lithium Ion. A rapid charger is available as well so you can recharge the large battery in less than 2 hours. There is an internal rechargeable backup battery that keeps your data if the main battery is removed for approximately 24 hours. The EG-800 uses a 150 MHz MIPS processor and comes with up to 32 Mb of internal RAM memory as well.

Super-fast infrared communications

The EG-800 comes with a fast infrared port operating at 1.5 mb/s. This is used by the EG-800's USB and Serial data cradles for synchronization, allowing the user to drop the EG-800 in the cradle, and charge and sync without removing any rubber covers. If you remove the rubber cover on the bottom of an EG-800 you'll find the same serial connector as found on the E-100/105/115, allowing you to use a serial cable for connectivity. Also, the connector on the bottom supports the USB cable that the EM500 uses as well.

Built-in and add-on software

The EG-80 and EG-800 are designed for specialized applications. That means that most of the time, a company will purchase a large number of them, develop a specialized application for them, and implement a total solution. However, The EG-800 ships with the complete set of Microsoft Pocket PC applications and Casio extras as described above in the EM500 review.

Rugged color Pocket PC; for end-users too!

The EG-800 uses the same active matrix color LCD with 65k colors that the E-100/105/115 uses. I noticed that the EG-800 has a mirror smooth finish on the LCD display. This mirror smooth finish makes the screen appear clearer than the screens on other Casio Pocket PCs. At the same time, it gives rise to a reflected glare from lighting that I found annoying.

The Casio EG-800 offers a rugged color-screen Pocket PC solution for specialized use. Clearly, Casio has learned how to make their device easy to use and rugged. But deep down inside it's a Pocket PC with a lot of excellent built-in and add-on software. With these features and capabilities, end-users will also be taking a good look at this rugged but user-friendly Pocket PC. Casio knows this and plans to sell the EG-800 on its Web site.