Casio Cassiopeia EM500

There was a time when we didn't expect too much from a palmtop PC - you stored your contacts, you wrote the odd note, you might catch up on some urgent email, but that really was about it. Not any more. Now we want to browse the Web, work and play without making any sort of compromises, and we want all this from a pocket-sized package that looks every bit as desirable as the latest slick mobile phone.

Casio's Cassiopeia EM500 can't be faulted on the glamour front. While the sleek, silver styling of the Compaq iPAQ HC3630 (reviewed issue 71, p175) still holds the top slot in our Pocket PC fashion parade, the Cassiopeia EM500 comes a very credible second. It's a little bulky if you're used to the iPAQ or a Palm Vx (reviewed issue 74, p135), but not unpleasantly so. If you find the two-tone silver/dark blue case seen here rather sombre, don't worry - it comes in red, yellow and green as well.

The combination of the Microsoft OS and a nippy 150MHz MIPS processor makes searching through that massive contacts database reasonably light work. Add to this the practically transparent synchronisation with your desktop PC's Outlook folder. The EM500 comes with a USB cradle for an easy connection, although there's a combo USB/RS232C option for those without USB or the necessary operating system support.

The great thing about a Pocket PC is that it really does feel like Windows, but without seeming bloated or cramped on a palm-sized device. If you're used to Office and Outlook you won't feel too lost here, while the tap and hold trick, which brings up context-sensitive menus, really makes Pocket PC quick and easy to navigate. Casio's own software additions aren't always so fantastic - the mobile calendar and address book applets just double up the standard Pocket Outlook apps, while the Menu launch utility isn't much of a boost to usability. However, the email setup utility makes the job of connecting up to a POP3 or IMAP mail server a little less fraught with difficulty, and the pre-installed AOL software will find favour with those who currently use the service.

Despite huge advances, character recognition still isn't the perfect input system - there are always times when you reach for the on-screen keyboard to get some elusive punctuation mark - but it's getting pretty close, and the EM500's screen seems sensitive enough for the job. In fact, the TFT screen is a winner all round. It's bright and crisp in most lighting conditions, far more so than the CSTN display on the HP Jornada 545 (see Labs, issue 74, p105), and the benefits of 16-bit colour really show through.

Like its rival Pocket PCs, the EM500 has Windows Media Player installed, enabling you to listen to digital audio on the move. If you're not too demanding about sound quality then you'll be perfectly satisfied, although most dedicated MP3 players would eat the Casio for breakfast.

The EM500 user doesn't have to rely on music for entertainment, because this little wonder also handles video. Squeeze your QuickTime, AVI and MPEG files into Casio's own video format, and you can watch them running smoothly in a screen that takes up roughly half the available display. The conversion software suffered from the occasional breakdown with some files, and there's a noticeable degradation in sound and image quality, not to mention colour depth, but it's still very impressive. However, it's impressive more than it's actually useful. While the ability to play a quick video clip might be handy in certain business contexts, it's hardly likely to be the killer app that sells the Cassiopeia to bored frequent flyers. The catch, of course, is that the storage limitations of the EM500 mean that you won't be able to watch a movie, or anything much more than a trailer.