Having a long history in the organizer market, Casio saw no need to abandon that lucrative market segment when it introduced its Cassiopeia line of Windows CE products. The Cassiopeias are closer to being computers than organizers and that left a niche for something above your basic $39.95 organizer and a low-end PDA/Pocket PC/Connected Organizer, or whatever you want to call it.
Unfortunately, it's not a very comfortable niche to be in these days as basic organizers become ever more powerful and low-end Palm and Windows CE devices ever less expensive. As first Texas Instruments with its Avigo and then Royal with the daVinci found out, the constantly shrinking price advantage compared to, say, a US$149 Handspring Visor, may not be enough to provide much room for even well conceived alternative products. To Casio's credit, the company continues to fine-tune its entry-level line of pen-based "Pocket Viewer" connected organizers.
The PV-400A is basically an evolved version of Casio's older Pocket Viewers. We reviewed the PV-100 and PV-200 in our February 1999 issue and found them to be decent low cost entries into the world of pen computing. We liked the form factor and very light weight (just 4.8 ounces), but bemoaned the absence of any kind of handwriting recognition and the rather basic functionality.
The PV400A is very slightly larger and heavier (5.1 vs 4.8 ounces) than its predecessors due primarily to a new, curvier design that looks more upscale than the old models. The Pocket Viewer now looks more like a "real" PDA than just a regular organizer though it still feels more plasticky than a Palm or Handspring device. The box now defiantly states "Casio OS-The PV operating system was developed by Casio based on years of Digital Diary experience." The box also marks the PV as a Cassiopeia.
Even though it is the same size, the high contrast monochrome screen of the new unit looks larger. That's because it now sports the Palm-standard 160x160 display resolution compared to the 100/200's 128x128 pixel resolution. That means everything looks tighter and crisper than before, screens are more legible, and most of the Viewer's applications have additional on-screen features or options without looking more cluttered. The start-up screen now features eight instead of six application icons, adding Quick Memo which used to be accessible via the silk screen menu below the display and the new Currency Converter application.
Most applications now have a handy pop-up "tools" selection that provides easy access to clocks, a calculator, and a "quick schedule" that shows date, time, and the current month. The Contacts application now has tabs for quicker access to names and addresses. Other than that, things have remained pretty much the same. There still isn't any kind of character recognition and you have to enter your data via onscreen keyboard.
Two things have changed: Battery life is now rated up to 160 hours compared to just 100 hours of the older model. Storage capacity went up from 1-MB and 2-MB of the older units to 4-MB, enough for up to 32,000 contacts, schedule and expense items, and several thousand brief memos. Even basic organizers now hold a hundred times as many contacts as most people will ever need.
The Casio Pocket Viewers are no islands. Like its predecessors, the PV-400 comes with a cradle that connects to your PC via serial cable. It also comes with PC Sync for Windows version 2.1, a nice enough desktop PIM that may provide all the functionality many people will ever need. But since we're living in a standardized, Microsoft-centric world, Casio also throws in a copy of Enterprise Harmony 99 for Casio-Extended System's synchronization software for use with Microsoft Outlook 97/98/2000. You must download that application from the Web and activate with the password included in the Pocket Viewer box. For $39.95 you can upgrade to a full version that also supports Lotus Notes, Lotus Organizer, Symantec ACT!, GoldMine, and NetManage Ecco Pro.
There is no doubt the PV-400A is a competent product. It is perfect for all those people who don't need all the power of a Windows CE handheld or Pocket PC, or even a Palm OS device. For them, the PV-400A offers a perfectly adequate, easy-to-use solution for a street price in the neighborhood of US$125. Check it out and buy it but only if you're not secretly lusting after after a Palm or CE device.
-Conrad H. Blickenstorfer
