The Pocket Manager runs on Windows CE 3.0, the core operating system of its better-known sibling, Pocket PC. Obviously, money was saved by opting out of the Microsoft suite of applications (and I'm sure anti-Microsoft people will begin to cite their grievances now), but Casio has managed to put value into the product by constructing a well-made device. The BE-300 runs on a 166 mhz MIPS CPU, the processor of choice for Casio before Pocket PC 2002 mandated the use of ARM processors. It features a 3.2" LCD screen that is STN, rather than TFT or even reflective. Casio has always been known for the quality of their LCD screens and this product is a proud reflection of that tradition. Indoors, it has the ability to rival most modern PDAs and certainly the 320x240 resolution is above par against most Palm devices. The screen is slightly smaller than the average for Pocket PC devices (3.5") and the market leader, the Compaq iPAQ (3.8"), but for me, it wasn't too much of an issue. The screen, however, being not TFT or reflective, is reminiscent of older style notebooks. You get all the usual visual artifacts like incessant ghosting, but that isn't so much of a problem on the PDA since there isn't a constant mouse cursor or too much fast-paced animation. Outdoors, it suffers most under direct sunlight and there's no way to alleviate this.

The whole package is in a form factor that looks massive compared to the likes of the m505, the assortment of Sony handhelds or the Visor Edge. But in actuality, the device is very light, owing to its complete preference for plastic. A flip cover, in the style of the venerable Palm III series, is also included. The Lithium Ion battery posed a problem for me. The literature claims a week's worth of usage, but I found out the battery life was more akin to Pocket PC devices. Under considerable stress, it lasted little under four hours and if you take enough care to ration the power, it will last you a full working day. Casio has accessories for the BE-300 including modems as well as a PCMCIA sleeve or sled, similar to what Compaq has done for their PDAs.

On paper, the BE-300 looks to be a great contender. It brings the strengths of Pocket PC devices to a market dominated by mostly grayscale Palm OS devices. As such, I think when the developers and engineers at Casio got together, they aimed to construct PIM and operating system functions that mimicked the Palm OS. For example, the BE-300 features an external buzzer-like-speaker not unlike the Palm powered devices, but if you use the headphone slot, you get digital sound from things like MP3s or video. Obviously, this dichotomy highlights that Palm OS vs. CE design conflict.

I've had experience with Windows CE devices since 2.0 when HPCs were almost as prevalent as the current crop of PDAs. So when Casio's interface turned out to be a simplified version of say, Windows 3.x, I was pretty disappointed. It isn't as flexible as that antiquated operating system either, since applications can't be arranged in groups and you can't reorder them as you wish. There are shades of simplicity hidden within the BE-300's core application, like the ability to uninstall a program simply by deleting its icon off your menu; something that appears to be Palm inspired. On the other hand, the myriad of OK buttons on the top right corner of dialog boxes as well as the need to double click (or tap) to start anything is reminiscent of Windows CE design.

Unfortunately, when put together, they neither make the applications simpler or more powerful. Out of the box, you have some of the staple PIM functions: Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Tasks, Mail. Furthermore, you are given the choice of video and music players, a pocket-sized web browser, a file manager and some other online products. The basic PIM suite is functional and that is probably the best way to describe most of the applications that come with the BE-300. They aren't as easy to handle as the Palm OS ones and are missing a lot of the power that the Pocket PC suite offers. Synchronization is provided via PumaTech's Intellisync software, which is built into Casio's PC frontend, PC Connect. ActiveSync is the primary conduit for all Pocket PC and Windows CE devices to talk to your computer. You don't use ActiveSync. Instead, you use PC Connect, which is slightly harder to use. For example, the File Manager included by default does not let you change extensions of files. Unlike ActiveSync, PC Connect does not let you browse through your PDAs files. Instead, you have to create a folder on your computer and you synchronize it with a folder on your BE-300. There is a full file system within your PDA but by default, the applications create subfolders beneath My Documents. Music goes into the music folder, pictures will go into the picture folder, so on and so forth. This isn't so on the Pocket PC and I thought it created needless clutter. Another grievance I had was the process to install applications. It's all great to people who are familiar with technology to count the number of bytes (not kilobytes or megabytes) up to millions without the use of commas, but most people aren't exactly well endowed in that field. Perhaps I have been spoiled by Microsoft products doing everything for me, but it took me some time to get used to it again. The general feel of Casio's bundled applications is like that. They appear totally utilitarian and the usage of them must have been intuitive to the developers but may not be so to the audience they are aiming after; that mass-market crowd who call every PDA a Palm Pilot.

That is not to say there isn't anything to like about it. Building on the strengths of Windows CE, you can do quite a bit with the device. It natively supports most CompactFlash LAN cards so you can set up e-mail and web browse right out of the box. The Mail application handles HTML e-mail, a trump over Pocket PC 2000. The handwriting recognition is very well done. You don't have to learn a new Graffiti-based alphabet. With the Character Recognizer, you simply write and the included software does a competent job of handling my printing (which is quite orthodox if you want a comparison). A virtual keyboard is also included. These strengths, however, are offset by some flaws. The browser, for example, is not as powerful as Pocket Internet Explorer. It stops loading pages when they get too large (incidentally, that includes www.casio.com ). If you don't type http:// in, the browser won't load the proper website. The bundled video player only supports the proprietary mobile video format that Casio rolled out initially with its E-1xx line. The music player only plays MP3s and has a propensity to reject ones encoded with VBR. So in general, some of these kinks could have been eliminated if more time was spent before rolling out the BE-300.

Certainly, the picture looks bleak for the BE-300 in its original state. However, Casio hasn't given up on the device and neither have the buyers of it. Already, there are patches to resolve the Music Player problems. Casio is also still in the process of building a handheld portal similar to AvantGo or Applian's Mazingo service. The myCasio service is a website that links via downloadable conduit software on your computer to your PDA. myCasio looks great, again, on paper. It promises to integrate services, like travel reservations, that is not unlike what is being done by the individual sites on AvantGo or what is promised through .NET My Services. Currently, it has partnered with some sites like ActiveSky to provide video content as well as music through MP3.com. Unlike other services, myCasio's interest is definitely more into rich media content rather than straight text. That myCasio is still being added to right now; it shows Casio's determination into making their connected handheld strategy work. Casio has also partnered with Audible.com to provide audiobooks and audio programs to your handheld. The BE-300 is specifically supported there. Casio also has a BE-300 branded Handango site that dishes out mostly paid applications for the BE-300.

As a corollary, the BE-300 has developed a vibrant community. On some well-known forum sites, more people talk about the BE-300 than the new E-200 Pocket PC handheld. Because of the MIPS processor design, a lot of previously passé Windows CE 2.x applications can be ported over to BE-300. Some of this can be done by the technically inclined, as it only involves recompiling the software to support the BE-300. Moreover, Casio is actively courting Pocket PC developers to release versions of BE-300 software. Granted, this is still a niche market for them, it's good to see effort by both the community and Casio. Some of the products that have come out add immensely to the Casio suite. Quick View Plus, for example, is a third-party tool that gained a fair bit of fame on the PC in the past. It's a good functional tool that allows you to view Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, pictures and text. Curiously missing is a PDF viewer. KC Menu is an example of a BE-300 application that addresses the faults of the Casio interface. Its interface is skinnable and you can sort your applications into specific folders as well use dynamic pop-up menus to start programs on your PDA. SpreadCE is a near clone of Excel and includes complex functions like charting and macros. Pocket Divx lets you play video from the popular Divx format. There are also a few PIM replacements so you can get a more user-friendly PIM suite.

When it comes to entertainment software, the BE-300 is a bit like the ill-fated Dreamcast. Coming off of using a few iPAQs, the multiple button issue is not a problem on this PDA and its implementation depends on the developer. Casio's BE-300 is obviously more popular overseas. As such, developers from the Asian Pacific, like Ziosoft or Jimmy Software, have BE-300 specific games available. Some of these, like Turjah or Metalion, are high profile and illustrate the strengths of this device. The CPU is no slouch on the MIPS platform and again, the onus will be on developers to continue supporting device.

Many BE-300 users are pegging their hopes on the recently announced Windows CE .NET (or Windows CE 4.0) upgrade for the PDA. It is coming this April and for a nominal fee, you can upgrade your PDA to a better look. Some important additions include Pocket Internet Explorer and support for WMAs through Windows Media Player. Why these weren't included in this version is beyond me. I found it aggravating that Windows Powered would be plastered all over the retail box but significant applications like Internet Explorer and support for WMA would be left out. Details aren't available yet as to what specific changes will be made but from the tone of Casio's FAQ, they appear determined to making this product work.

The expandability of the BE-300 is nothing short of phenomenal. With a Type II CompactFlash slot, you can attach a myriad of accessories of it. The caveat is: you will have to have working drivers for it if it's not an NE2000 Compatible LAN card. The BE-300 is specifically supported by Socket Communications with their Low Power Ethernet CompactFlash cards. One of the things I found absolutely necessary is a CompactFlash memory card. The device features 16mb RAM and 16mb of ROM. Coming from the Palm side, this is as big as it gets when it comes to PDAs. Coming from the Pocket PC side, users will undoubtedly cringe. But Casio's usage of Windows CE has eliminated a lot of the excess bulk that must be attached to the Pocket PC suite. Most applications take up only a few megs of RAM (at most) and unlike Pocket PC 2000, the ROM is just as available for storage as the RAM. Moreover, because they are flashed on to the device, a loss of power won't result in a loss of data. Many applications will also spread on to a storage card. With a 128MB card, I was able to install quite a few applications to the BE-300 unit I received. So my recommendation is: if you are going to be using this for anything beyond PIM functions, you should get a decent sized memory card.

Half a year later, the BE-300 has definitely matured beyond its initial launch. Things like the myCasio service, the excellent tools provided by the community and Casio's partnerships with other developers have created a device that has a lot going for it in the future. If the Windows CE .NET upgrade really adds full Internet Explorer support, WMAs through Windows Media Player, 802.11b wireless support, etc., it could improve the usability of this product drastically. Hopefully, they will adopt some of the advances made by third-party software to the core user interface as well.

Casio obviously has taken a few pages from Pocket PC. Things like turning the display LCD off to save power during MP3 play is something Windows Media Player offered. This begs the question as to whether Casio has nailed the market it originally intended the BE-300 for. The answer I can conclude from examining the BE-300 is no. It's not as easy as picking up a Palm and you have to do some work to make it comparable to Pocket PC handhelds. And in spite of Casio's marketing, this PDA is missing a lot of core components that is required in an enterprise machine. It's very much a consumer PDA right now and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

For entertainment purposes, the best equivalency I can give is the Dreamcast. It's a powerful but not cutting edge PDA, provided you have the right accessories. The games that are being developed for it are either from overseas or ports of old ones or emulators much like the current Dreamcast climate right now. It's ironic that at the end of the day, it's not the people who call every PDA a Palm Pilot who will be able to pick this up and run with it. It's fun for the technology-inclined who like to tweak everything they buy. Those people will be able to leverage the value out of this product. Ultimately, to put the BE-300 to good use, you have to be a bit adventurous and spend some time with the product to make it do what it promises to do. And you have to be a bit of an optimist and hope that the impending .NET upgrade will finally realize the full potential of the BE-300.

Ratings:
[18/25] Performance
[15/25] Ease of Use
[18/20] Flexibility
[13/15] Value
[07/10] Novelty
[04/05] Longevity