Brighthand's Cassiopeia EG-800 review

[imported_Administrator]

Read the exclusive Brighthand review of the Cassiopeia EG-800 at http://www.brighthand.com/html/pocke...800_page1.html

[mikecane@wildmail.com]

Remove the ruggedization -- for less weight -- and *this* is the PPC Casio should be selling here. CF slot!

[JLP]

I thought the EG-80 had a monochrome screen, while it's the EG-800 that sports the color screen. That's the (only?!) difference between both models to accomodate different needs/customers. Yet both are reported here to have a color display?!!

jlp

[This message has been edited by jlp (edited December 06, 2000).]

[imported_Administrator]

jlp,

That was a typo and I've corrected it. Thanks!


------------------
Steve Bush
Editor-in-chief
Brighthand
www.brighthand.com

[JLP]

ok Steve that was fast.

Then on page 1 of this article, it states the EG-800 has prices of $799 to $999, while page 5 says $1100. Now $799 with a color screen vs. $1200 and a monochrome one, albeit with seemingly more ruggedness and a laser scanner, gives a better perspective.

And even better would be to add the monochrome EG-80 on this page 5 to offer even more contrast with prices starting at $699, almost half the price of the Symbol unit for those not needing the extra ruggedness nor the scanner.

And I bet most people would like to better understand what makes the $200 price difference here. I suppose the battery size since there are 3 different ones with different running times. Also I would bet the monochrome unit has a much better battery life than the color one (page 1). I'm curious to see by how much.

I'm also curious to understand how the speaker can be made splash resistant.

jlp

[This message has been edited by jlp (edited December 06, 2000).]

[Gerard]

I've posted my personal review elswhere on Brighthand, but here's my 2 cents on the official review.
As for price, that is rather confusing. Mobile Planet is charging $1099, so I don't know where you can get one for $100 - $300 less. Soon, probably. As far as I know, Casio still says 'Out of stock' on their site.
The bit about indicator lights being white: no, the plastic is a frosted clear plastic, (whitish) but the indicator LEDs are orange and green and red. These flash rapidly, blink, hold steady, or turn off, depending on activity. Writing, during backup or file transfer, shows as an unsteady blinking. After a bit, the various signals become familiar and helpful.
The Flash Disks (yes plural, there are 2, not one, with capacities of about 12Mb and 1.2Mb) are a huge value, if a bit slower than CompactFlash storage. For games, and other large executables, however, they perform as well as main memory. This allows the user to free up a lot of main memory to then adjust as Program Memory, to optimize speed. With the same 50 or so apps as my E-115, I am able to use this to free up 16Mb, compared to 10.5Mb, and still have lots of Flash Disk space left for directing large files from my camera card. This feature is probably a more significant difference than any other from the E-125. These 'Disks' are independent from main memory, and so are not involved in backup/restore functions, so even a disaster will preserve anything you've had the foresight to move there.
As for the ruggedization, this is not a frill. Lots of PDAs get dropped, and killed, each day. (Witness the insurer's banner ads.) I now worry a lot less about loss of data access and lengthy repair downtimes.
As for waterproof speakers, that's easy. For about $25 you can pick up anu number of 'patio speakers' for your home stereo. Year-round, rain and freeze proof, no problem. Don't know the how, but it's common.

[Robert Folie]

Gerard,

You're right on about how the EG-800 indicator lights operate - the explanation in the article was perhaps confusing.

You're also correct about the two flash disks in the unit. One is listed as 1.21 MB in size, the other is 12.71 MB in size. I didn't spend alot of time and space describing this feature since most users of this device will never need or care about this feature. From the EG-800 review you posted on Brighthand's forums I can tell you're a SuperUser!

I am interested in why you purchased the EG-800 for personal use. I had only expected business-type users to purchase this device.

Robert

[Gerard]

#1, I am perhaps a "super user" in your estimation, but before last May I had never used any form of computer. I learned on my E-115, then bought a disaster of a laptop from Acer, and learned a whole lot trying to keep that awful lemon afloat.
As to my primary motivation, it was insecurity, the great motivator for most expensive purchases. I had dropped and temporarily killed my E-115 enough times to see that it was only a matter of time before I lost access to all my business and personal info stored there. I had committed too much too virtual storage and processing, and so began the search for a more reliable solution. Casio came out on top, with a unit that can tolerate my odd tendency (I have been a violin maker for 15 years, and never yet dropped a fiddle, not even the Stradivarius i worked on last year) to drop computers, my Sony minidisc recorder (tough as nails!), cameras, anything technological. I'm sure a Jungian would identify this as an antipathy in sublimation, but I really do hate to drop these tools.
As for the average user not using the Flash Disks, WHAT?! Are you joking? 13Mb+ of extra onboard storage, to be used in any way you want, is a serious improvement. And today a Casio tech offered me a utility to use in adjusting the relative sizes of the two partitions. This I'll use to enlarge the smaller one to 3Mb, my server's max. limit on email attachments. I had tried auto-routing attachments to the smaller disk, but lost a few large PDFs (more than 1.5Mb each). As for backing up main memory to Flash Disk 2, as your review suggests, this is only possible if rather a small collection of apps and files is installed. I have over 50 programs in there, stock and third party combined, and I am currently shifting some to FD2, to clear more memory for running graphics/memory-intensive stuff.
I do not recommend such an expensive unit for the average user, but if you have decided that the Pocket PC is your main machine, and don't want to wait any longer for an even faster processor with more bulletproof construction, this seems like the one device that delivers the goods.
You also show a modem in place. I bought Casio's V.90 K56flex CF modem as it is small enough that it can be left in with the hatch closed, on the E-115, or the EG-800. I swap it out about 10 times a day for CF storage cards, or the PC>CF adapter of my hard drive, but the modem is there about 3/4 of the time. A small connector cable plugs in when I need to hook up.
Thanks for you review. It does offer a differing perspective, and is useful to me. I was especially glad that you provided informal drop and water resistance test results. I have dropped mine from a short distance to my tile/concrete floor twice so far, while running, with no ill effects. But I am of course unwilling to push my luck.

[This message has been edited by Gerard (edited December 06, 2000).]

[robertfolie]

One more note about the flash disks on the EG-800.

You can see them from the File Explorer on the Pocket PC. They show up as Flash Disk and Flash Disk2 under the root directory and display as folders with a special icon.

I really don't believe most corporate users of applications using the EG-800 are going to know or care about the flash disks.

But, it will probably be interesting to organizations that deploy a number of these devices and want to load database engine drivers, applications, or reference documents that are standard among units, do not change often or are typically loaded and kept in memory.

Robert

p.s. I had trouble posting as registered so this is posted as unregistered.

[SirGwynz]

It looks like eCost.com has the EG-800 in stock for $820 for those shopping around for one.