Rating: 
Summary: Could You Ask For Anything More? - - Possibly - -
Review: What is the best color organizer that runs a Windows O/S for just under $150? Well it just might be the Casio BE-300 depending on your point of view, what's not to like? Color screen, play's MP3's, compact flash compatibility, what can't it possibly do? Well aside from washing your car, alot of flaws can be seen upon closer examination. For one, it does not have a full version of Windows CE 3.0, it only runs a modified version of it due to memory constraints, and it has no IR port so you can't wirelessly transfer data between two different handhelds. If you are only buying this Casio due to it's ability to play MP3's, invest your money into a Apple iPod and a simple organizer. However, there is an upside to all of the faults found in the BE-300, it is very easy to customize granted you have at least a 56k dial up internet connection and the time and nerve to search through the multiple websites regaurding the Casio BE-300. One big upgrade to your BE-300 that I highly recommend is a program called eXpod. Again, I highly, highly recommend this program, it will give your BE-300 a Windows look and feel. And for those of you who are going to buy the BE-300 for it's music playing capabilities, eXpod will give you the option to download a mobile version of Windows Media Player, this media player version is a current one as well and you can very easily sync your music collection from your computer to your handheld but be warned, you can only transfer with a 64k play-rate. So there moral of the review is simply this, there is actually a silver lining after all with a little elbow grease.
Rating: 
Summary: The price dictates quality and support
Review: This device, which I received for Christmas a year ago, is joke. It has no good software, and the screen is a little small. I tried to use Mazingo on it, but it oculdn't process fast enough, nad would crash. No IR port, and the keyboard I bought was a knockoff that Casio Just decided to use again, and the BE-300 was no match. Listening to MP3's was impossible while typing, because no task manager to run multiple taks s at once, and the jack was at the bottom. Finally, it recently crashed for good. Casio's hours are 9-5, when I am at school andparents are at work. I emailed them, but no response. So I now am buying a Dell Axim X5 in hopes of a better product, b/c I have heard/read that the Dell is best for the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent value for the $
Review: I agree that the BE-300 does have some limitations like ... software and documentation (also much larger in size than the Palm) but if the user is willing to spend a little extra time modifying this flexible little unit, it is well work the price. One can purchase additional software for a few dollars from Handango and make the BE much more user friendly and definitely prettier to look at than any other PDA. Additionally, there are some excellent support forums out there ("BE-Central"; "Another BE-300 Forum" to name two)and they answer the most stupid questions cheerfully as well as provide a wealth of downloadable information and locations of software. I discovered that the BE has a growing and dedicated following and there is a strong support forum for owners who wish to change to a different operating system entirely. Again,the user does need to expend a bit more time on learning and modifying and that is not everyone's cup of tea. In comparing this to a friend's new Palm, I am far happier with my purchase because I got everything she got for about one third the price and for $...in additional software cost I easily personalized the display on my BE and if I choose I can change the operating system and have access to many more programs. Also after looking around at quite a few PDAs I realized that almost all are limited when it comes to internet and email access. It is still very expensive to go wireless (and the reviews on this function on most PDAs and combination devices are not very good)and I believe the majority of PDA owners end up using mainly the organizer functions, music player, and the occasional game. I did not feel the time was right to spend $600+ on a PDA/w/ wireless and then pay the monthly fees since I felt the technology was just not there yet anyway. So for my purposes the BE-300 was a great bargain on a device that does pretty much what all the other PDAs do at a much lower cost.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to a cheaper- and better- PDA
Review: This has got to be ONE of the cheapest PDAs around. Sure, the Visors are cheaper, but you have to get add-ons- this one, you don't. Let's compare the popular M515 to this little wonder of a gadget.Casio BE-300:
This little PDA has MP3 playback, a Web browser, and E-mail (no add-ons needed). BE-300 also has the natural assets of a PDA. This handheld is also in COLOR (good color at that)- most handhelds at this price would be in black and white. I don't think this PDA has a GPS, but if it dosen't, I'm sure you can find a GPS add-on somewhere. It also has a VERY affordable price. Palm M515:
This handheld is also one of the better ones- it has E-mail, can hook up to the phone/computer. BUT it has no MP3 playback, AND no Web browser. This has better color than the BE-300, I'll give it that. It also has the usual assests of a PDA and a map/GPS feature included- I'm not sure about the BE-300. The price isn't affordable IF YOUR ON A BUDGET. Both handhelds are exceptionally good- a lot better than most handhelds. But, if you look at the technical data, the BE-300 is a little better than the M515. But I'm sure that those of you with your M515 love your little gadget too.
Rating:
Summary: Great But not so
Review: The product was good, but it is heavy and bulky. There are only couple hundred programs compared to a couple thousand for palm devices. But I like the nice screen and ma glad I only paid 150.00 for, I thought with the screen it could easily make up for the weight and bulkiness. Also the Costomer service is terrible,(Like they don`t know what they are doing)
Rating:
Summary: BE-300
Review: I love my little Casio. First, I should explain that I have absolutly no experience with PDAs. This was my first one. I bought the BE-300 because in addition to keeping my notes and my contact lists etc, it would read me stories. I have a subscription to Audible.com and I downloaded books to my computer. I like to listen while I do boring tasks. This little handheld gave me a way to take my audiobooks away from my desk. I bought an accessory that lets me play them through my car speakers and I bought headphones that let me listen while walking or in bed. I've only used a few of the many features available on this device, but it more than pays for itself by reading to me. I DO wish it had exchangable batteries but that's a small issue.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Stable PDA --Too Bad Marketing didn't do its job
Review: Better than IPAQ any day. This has been the most versatile PDA with all of the great qualities that I was looking for
1.Two Memory Slots: It was the premiere PDA to have 2 Memory Slots before anyone else. Of course the reviewers said that it was bulky but when you compare it to an IPAQ which requires a sleeve to access a CF slot, the Bulk and Weight of an IPAQ is huge. I have DATA (Text Books, Pictures) and Music on SD Memory cards and I leave the CF Slot open for other things
2. CF SLOTS are mandatory and should not just be an additional sleeve. I have a socket CF card connection kit to my phone digital phone so that I can access the internet by dialing my ISP to retrieve messages. I have a CF modem so that I can access the internet via a phone line. This is nice if you are sitting in an airport and don't want to eat up your cell phone minutes. I just bought a CF WiFi and connected to the internet at a cafe. My next purchase is to buy a CF digital camera.
3. Removable Battery: At the most 2-3 hours per battery. But it's ok. I have two and I change them out. There is a small backup battery that protects your data in case the main battery wears down too far. The unit has a Warning that will pop up intermittently to tell you that it is low. I HAVE NEVER LOST MY INFORMATION DUE TO BATTERY DRAIN. There are times during a meeting, I am not near an outlet and to exchange out the battery is ideal rather than move all of your stuff.
4. USB attachment: This was where Casio was ahead of its time. To have the USB adapter so that I can attach USB items. Unfortunately, the only thing I can attach is a USB keyboard (Small View Sonic USB Keyboard until a USB Fold out one is made) b/c products have not written drivers for the Pocket PC but they are coming--Tell the companies "NO MORE PROPRIETARY Accessories"
5. Speakers: Fair but with earbuds-Wow the sound is great.
6. Voice Recorder: The quality is wonderful. I had a presentation to do and the computer couldn't record my voice blurbs for a power pt presentation. I recorded them on my Casio, Downloaded them to my computer and popped them in the power pt presentation.
7. Customer Service: Initial Batch had problems with the Back light. The company sent me out a new one within the week.
8. IR port at the top. I think this is easier by design to do more but I wonder if it highly critical. If you wanted to beam something across, YOU DON'T HAVE TO TURN IT SIDEWAYS as with the Toshiba. I use the IR port to hotsync with and IR adapter to my computer. I don't need a cradle at work. I just bought the Seiko inklink and finally got it to work (use COM4 on Tablet Set UP) so I can write my notes and have them transcribed as a jpg.
9. Flaws: The SD Card Slot door is fragile but once you figure out how to close it you can be more aggressive with it. The MAJOR ONE: Casio Marketing has decided to not market this in the US anymore. BAD DECESION they didn't catch the wave and fight the lame beast of IPAQ.
Overall, This device outways the IPAQ, less problems than the Toshiba e740 which prided itself with higher speed (not) and WiFi (Weak) IR port on the side, and battery problems. For the future, I am happy with my Casio and will wait until they solve the problems of the next generation of 400MHZ. If you need something Now the new Dell is about the same size but I believe just doesn't have the USB connector and I don't think that there is a keyboard.
For now, I reached my ideal. No more heavy Laptop. I can sit in a coffee shop, Listen to my music, work on a Spread Sheet or Word, or surf the internet using my WiFi CF and read email.
Rating:
Summary: "The little device that could"
Review: Okay, sure, it doesn't look too impressive out-of-the-box. But with eXPod, it's a different story. For very few $$, you get an awesome device which (when running eXPod - free), gives you a Windows 9.xx interface, is totally skinnable, GREAT for surfing, music, videos, games (Doom, for example), LOTS of applications, etc. Great for the student or a starter PDA, fantastic even if you are familiar with handhelds. I bought a GoType! Keyboard with mine and it is fantastic for taking notes at school.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent PDA but few perpherals
Review: I have owned Casio PDAs for 5 years. I have owned this one for 1.5 years. I would give it five stars except for the fact that there are few peripherals. You can buy almost anything for an Ipaq. The saving grace is that the Casio has a CF slot instead of a sleeve so you can buy CF perpherals. Casio's customer support is excellent. I had a problem with my PDA early on and had it replaced in days.
Rating:
Summary: BE-300 Great little device
Review: Before buying my BE, I looked around a lot. I knew what I wanted, and what price I wanted to pay. Many people have given the BE a bad review in the past. Thankfully, I didn't listen too closely. Good things: The BE can play mp3's well, and can even play music in the background while you enter data or play a game. There are actually a lot of (free!) applications if you look. A good place to start is ... I haven't bought anything for mine. It's all been freeware or shareware. It can play .wma files. (smaller than mp3's). Many things can work with it that claim not to be supported. ActiveSync is much more user friendly, though you can't syncronize to your computer from it. You can transfer files at a quicker rate than PC Connect. Bad: No, it's not actually windows CE. It's based on it. So you can't run all windows CE 3.0 applications. However, using eXpod(almost a replacement OS), more run than did on the original OS. The original GUI isn't very good, but it can be changed. KC menu and eXpod are some popular choices. It doesn't like being dropped much. I dropped mine twice, on the second time the screen no longer turned on. Luckily, it wasn't too expensive to replace. Keep in mind you will need to buy a CF card if you want to do much with it, 128 mb, minimum.
|
