Thinking of buying a Casio BE-300, but ... [Archive]

anonone

10-20-2002, 05:21 PM

... from what I've heard/read, it might not be a good idea. I like the fact that I can get it for ~$150, so that way I won't feel too awkward carrying it around in my jacket; but what's putting me off is its apparent lack of software. The price tag is very alluring, but I can't get over the fact that its software library is lacking and the display (despite having 32k colors) is a little hard to read in sunlight.

I'm really on a tight budget, and can't go any higher than $275; does anyone know of a decent color PDA that can use the Pocket PC OS? Or is there any way to upgrade the OS on the BE300 to Pocket PC? Any help would be greatly appreciated. ^_^

TheSpies

10-20-2002, 06:44 PM

you can get a new iPAQ 3630 for 249.99 here:

http://www.mpsuperstore.com/computer/indexMy.htm?discr18500.htm

dont know if thats what your looking for.

anonone

10-21-2002, 08:28 AM

Hmm, iPaq for <$300? Nice. :) I'll go look into it; thanks.

exscentric

10-21-2002, 08:28 PM

1. There are Jornada 547's around for 247 with cradle and it is a nice machine - have one - love it.

2. Before rejecting the BE-300 check out the following forum and snoop out some of the related sites. There is a lot of software if you don't mind tinkering around a little. Have one of them also and love it as well. I run a little gui called start menu that makes it much like windows. there are a couple of other gui's available as well.

http://www.groom-family.com/forum/ for a ton of faq's and help if you can't find it in the faq's - a nice group of guys willing to assist.

http://myweb.cableone.net/evalondon/be300/swr.html to see some of the software available.

Happy decision making!

anonone

10-22-2002, 03:41 PM

The argument for the BE300 is looking better and better. :) I did some more research, and now there's really no concerns for me ... I should've been a little more specific and pointed out that I have $275 total to spend on the PDA plus required attachments and whatnot. So I guess the BE300 works well, here; the PDA, plus two $40 CF cards w/ 128 mb apiece (found at clubmac.com, or something), plus a $20 CF card reader (found 'em for about that price, absolute cheapest), and the total is around $250. I just wish there were some kind of hard case to put the unit in; though, it comes with a flip cover, so I guess there's no need.

Tweaking software is alright; I've used Linux for a while, and I've done a lot of programming. I'd say I'm set. :) I just wish there was some way to upgrade the OS or expand the RAM.

My decision is just about made, unless there's another low-cost unit with a lot of features that outdoes the BE300. ^_o

exscentric

10-22-2002, 04:20 PM

There is a os upgrade from casio for 29 I think it was but most of us avoided it. The only real improvement was in the net browser as I remember - you can get that with one of the new gui's.

There are several nice soft cases that work. I have one from Sumdex GLP-802 that is leater type and padded and was cheap, but can't remember where I found it - Target maybe????

No Ram upgrade, but I've never had a need for it. I run a 320 meg cf card and have done quite well!!!

anonone

10-22-2002, 09:38 PM

*whistle noise* 320 megs. Impressive. ^_o I was contemplating just getting a Microdrive, but those are insanely expensive when compared to a CF card ... and after looking around, XPod seems like a really decent solution, and it even overcomes some memory problems that the factory OS had. My biggest gripe about lack of RAM is that I won't be able to use certain emulators with sound, but I can do without it for most games, and in the future maybe someone will find a way around that.

Hmm, maybe I'll get the BE 300 after all.

steveg23

10-23-2002, 05:07 PM

I have just owned a BE-300 briefly, and am trading up to a (refurbished) E-125 and hoping for the best. Yes, the BE-300 is a nice value in a handheld as far as it goes. The display is excellent (except in sunlight). Also, yes, Casio sells a CD to upgrade the BE-300 to Windows CE.NET. The mail program, with my compact flash modem, worked fine. Loading of large text files was fast and painless.
HOWEVER, it is very limited. Little software made for Windows CE 3.0 will actually load on it. The built-in Notepad-type function is limited to plain text (not even NoteTaker format). Web browsing did work, though viewing pages was hard. (The upgrade to CE.Net may help all these problems; I'm not sure.)
Connectivity to your PC is very shaky. I am running Windows 2000 and had an extremely unreliable connection. Casio Tech Support confirmed that this is a common problem, particularly with Windows 2000, and they know of no solution for it. If you are using an older version of Windows and really just want the built-in functions (which aren't bad as far as they go), it may be a good bet.

exscentric

10-23-2002, 08:24 PM

There is an upgrade for pc sync the casio program and some patches for the BE that make pc sync fairly reliable. The rub comes in when you have active sync on your unit running in the background. If you shut it down pc sync works well with the new stuff.

Your expereience with Casio is pretty normal - they don't know much except that they don't know a lot :-)

Have asked for help a number of times and no luck. I will say mine locked up and they were pretty good about getting it fixed - others have not been so lucky.

Forgot about the sunlight problem. If you crank the contrast/brightness up you can do fair in sunlight - just not direct or real brite. That is why I ended up getting a jornada - need to use it out side.

Microdrives work, but they are ruff on battery running time. You can build add on power pack for little of nothing cost wise.

steveg23

10-23-2002, 08:41 PM

Reply to exscentric:

Thanks, but actually I was using the PC Sync patch and all other applicable Casio upgrades. When I had ActiveSync running in background it was *impossible* to connect with PC Sync, and vice versa (as a help page somewhere or other explained); it's when I had it completely eliminated from memory (even uninstalled) that PC Sync was just very unreliable.

Often (not quite always) it would connect for one operation and then not again until I rebooted the PC. The guy I spoke to at tech support accurately described the symptoms I was seeing based on only slight hints from me - apparently they had seen/heard of this problem often before. And when the Casio store manager I'd been dealing with called them to verify, they explained it to him, too - so I don't think ignorance is the problem.

I gather 'anonone' is going to be using Linux, not Windows 2000, so as far as I know he may have no such problem.

For myself, I'm waiting for a refurbished E-125 to come in; I can get it for about $166, which seems like a real deal if it does what it's supposed to.

anonone

10-24-2002, 08:41 AM

Yeah, I've been following Linux4.BE progress for a while. As far as I can tell, most software can run on the BE with some code modifications -- of course, that's assuming the source code of said software is available. I don't intend on browsing the net with the BE, so it's not too big of a concern for me that websites are difficult to view. Plain text is alright with me; I do all the intensive text/graphics work on my desktop. Interestingly enough, I was recently looking around on eBay for any E 125's; they average around $200, there. If I managed to get Linux on the BE, then that would eliminate some of the software limitations; then again, I'm using Windows XP on my PC, in which case there might be a few connectivity issues. There's probably software or connection methods that can take care of that, but worse comes to worse, I'll either dual-boot XP and Linux or simply try to get the E 125. Speaking of which ...

steveg32: Where did you get the E 125 for $166?

steveg23

10-24-2002, 10:17 PM

Re:
> steveg32: Where did you get the E 125 for $166?

It's a factory refurbished one from Casio, via their outlet store in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They do not get many of them in. Just picked it up today, and so far it's looking good.

As far as I know Casio only has a handful of outlet stores in the country, and they *may* be the only place you can buy refurbished ones from them.

anonone

10-25-2002, 03:58 PM

Yeah; I did some searching on Google, and found that there's maybe 5 outlet stores in the US. I couldn't get their listed inventory, but eh well ... I could always check eBay or something of that sort.

anonone

10-25-2002, 05:45 PM

Alright, now a slight dillema (sp?). I did some more looking around, and saw the Casio E 115, the step just before the E 125. It offers 32 RAM / 16 ROM, a CF card slot, integrated audio, the mainstream PocketPC WinCE 3.0 OS, and a 3.9" 320x240x16 screen. The downside is it's a little bulky, but tolerable in a jacket pocket or something. Plus it has no hard cover for the screen.

Anyway -- the main thing that's sacrificed if I get the E 115 seems to be speed. It runs at 131 MHz, as opposed to the BE 300's 166. However, after looking around, I can easily get the E 115 for about half the price of a BE 300 (on eBay, for instance).

Ooh, wait, and battery life. The E 115's got a fairly short battery life when playing MP3s or games or movies, but I guess a screensaver that shuts off the LCD can remedy the situation. At least, during MP3 playback ... shutting off the screen in the middle of a game or movie would kind of defeat the purpose.

... Considering the BE 300 has such a lack of mainstream software and some hardware limitations, though it's still supported and sold -- versus the E 115's compatability with software, better RAM specs and nicer screen -- should I still stick with the BE 300 or try to go for an E 115?

E 125's cost about $200 (the cheapest price I've seen) everywhere I go. I was looking at the Toshiba e310, but it's about the same, if not a little more pricey.

So, now what? BE 300? E 115? E 125? Or should I continue research?

Justin

10-29-2002, 04:35 AM

When you do buy it, take care it won't be obselete soon.

Nobody ever believes me, but the BE-300 is end of production as far as casio are concerned. In the U.K. you can't even buy it from Casio themselves.

Just a warning... :-)
Hope you manage to find a handheld.

Personally I am struggling, I have a BE-300 but am not sure what to move to.

anonone

10-29-2002, 07:36 PM

Hum. This just gets more and more complicated -- I was originally hoping that, if I were to get the BE 300, I could simply write my own simple utilities and progs if the need arose. Then I went and found out their SDK and support around it is vague, and there's pretty much no other way to make apps for the BE 300 other than using Embedded VC++ and the BE 300 SDK.

Suddenly, I'm thinking of hoarding money and getting a Sharp Zaurus.

The already present lack of software on the BE 300 put me off, but I was willing to deal with it, and now I realize it'll be a lot of trouble for me to even so much as write a program. Gotta learn new tools, new (is it?) API, etc ... if only there were some way I could get a Linux-based PDA for cheap.

TheSpies

10-29-2002, 09:54 PM

if you want to see an interesting linux handheld check out:

http://www.ncoretech.com/simputer/index.html

click on buy and a specs page comes up-look at the dev section on the bottom.

anonone

10-30-2002, 07:27 PM

Ah, very interesting ... but I notice it's a monochrome LCD, in the specs. Those artist renditions are a little misleading. :) But maybe they'll use color LCDs at some point. I'll keep watching it.

Also, today I just stumbled upon WaBa -- a Java subset that's intended for portable devices. It's been around for a long time; I'm surprised I didn't see it before. If that can successfully run on the BE, and I can develop/build applets on the BE directly instead of on an emulator on my desktop, it might just change my mind.

Again.

... Well, back to research. ^_^

TheSpies

10-30-2002, 10:50 PM

actually i asked them for more information and they sent me a .pdf that said they have both a color and monochrome version. just send an email to that address for beta testing and they will send a pdf telling you how to order one with a breakdown of different option and configurations.

nazarr

10-31-2002, 03:04 PM

Casio BE300 had one for five hours until I rid myself of it. There is no real use for it except as an organizer. there is really no compatible program and configuring it to work with anything else that is not casio? Major headache. If you are to spend anything above 150.00. Get a CE3.0 or a PPC. You will be better off and more happy with it than a BE300. Good luck on you search.

TheSpies

10-31-2002, 03:55 PM

you could always just come over to the dark side and join us on the palm forums :D

nazarr

10-31-2002, 07:50 PM

But no thanks. Until Palm revamps itself and I don't mean by just a little upgrade,maybe then I may consider. But until that day PPC. And the funny part of it?. Its only beginning to start for both Palm and PPC.

anonone

11-03-2002, 03:56 PM

TheSpies: Yeah, I just looked at the specs PDF. I'm going to email them about that Simputer beta testing -- though even if it's really as good as it sounds, I ran into a small snafuu:

The BE 300 seemed promising, and I was ready to buy one since the deal I made for the E 115 looked like it was going to fall through. However, I guess I was wrong. :) I got an email from the person I was buying from, and now I've got an E 115 for $100 USD. If that Simputer is really what I'm looking for, I might just sell the E 115. Still, in all truth I'm not too concerned about not having a cutting-edge PDA, since I really just need one for menial tasks -- taking notes or listening to music or sketching out my graphics/artwork ideas. The thing that irks me about the E 115 is the Today screen. I saw KC Menu for the BE; customizeable, skinnable, etc. Is there something like that for whatever OS the E 115 uses (I think it's CE 3.0 or PocketPC, but not PocketPC 2002)?

exscentric

11-03-2002, 05:04 PM

Anyone get a price on the simputer?

I was on an email list for it months ago and they were figuring 400-500 bucks depending on what you get with it.

http://www.simputer.org is the originator and they will allow other companies to produce it. It was billed for the common man, but not sure the common man even in America is going to spend that kind of money :-) Maybe they have gotten the price down since then.