Casio Cassiopeia EM-500: MP3 player for the car?
Written: Apr 05 '01 (Updated Apr 05 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Bright screen, MP3 playback, USB support, Fast enough
Cons: Few accessories, 16mb rather than 32, bad in light
The Bottom Line: The Cassiopeia EM-500 is an outstanding handheld computer with a peppy processor and a magnificent display. GREAT FOR MULTIMEDIA
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| wutang2364's Full Review: Casio Cassiopeia EM-500 Pocket PC |
Casio replaced their older EM-125 version with this model... I have experience with both and will talk of them in this review.
Let's just cut to the chase by saying that the EM-500 is an incredible handheld computer that should help elevate Casio back to the top tier of PDA makers.
Does it sound good? Does it look good? How does it feel in my hand? Is it fast?
WHAT'S IN THE BOX
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Let's begin with what comes in the Cassiopeia EM-500 box. This is only a list but we'll take a closer look at each item later in the review.
Cassiopeia EM-500 Pocket PC
Cassiopeia USB Cable
Black vinyl slipcase
Rechargeable Battery Pack
Backup Battery (CR2032)
AC Adapter
Koss headphones
Microsoft ActiveSync CD-ROM
Cassiopeia Applications CD-ROM
Audible CD-ROM
Casio enhanced CD-ROM
Microsoft Outlook 2000 license
Pre-installed Software
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AOL Mail
Casio's Menu Program
Card Backup Tool
Button Assignment Tool
Casio's Mobile Address Book
Casio's Mobile Calendar
Mail Setup Tool
Remote Control Earphone Utility
Software included on the Casio Applications CD
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BTask 2.0
Mobile Video Player
Mobile eMailer
Packet Video
ZioGolf demo
Mobile Video Converter and Player for the desktop
Enterprise Harmony '99
MailSetup Manager for the desktop
IT'S A MULTIMEDIA POCKET PC
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The M in EM-500 stands for "multimedia" and Casio is convinced that targeting this niche will pay dividends. So let's talk about the EM-500's audio and video capabilities.
Audio
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Casio was the first manufacturer to deliver stereo sound in a handheld computer. Starting with the E-100 back in 1999, the sound quality of the Cassiopeias has always been very good for listening to digitally encoded music files. However, the one shortcoming Cassiopeia users have expressed in the past was that the maximum volume was simply not loud enough. Most users resorted to hardware and software amplifiers, like the Boosteroo and Conduits PocketPlayer, to increase the volume to an acceptable level.
Fortunately, Casio corrected this with the EM-500. The EM-500 is noticeably louder than the E-115 but some people will still need a little boost when they take it out on the street. I suggest investing in a good set of stereo headphones with a built-in adjustable volume control.
As far as the sound quality, the EM-500 has noticeably more bass and less treble than the Jornada and iPAQ, which makes it sound fuller. With some help I performed a blind test of the sound quality of several Pocket PCs and found the EM-500 to be the most pleasing.
Casio also made a subtle improvement in regard to the headphone jack. It is now located on the top of the EM-500 rather than on the side. This makes it easy to slip the EM-500 into a jacket pocket and still listen to music.
And I should also mention that the EM-500's headphone jack is a perfect fit. It grabs the headphone plug firmly, unlike the iPAQ's slightly loose jack, which causes the headphone plug to rattle around on occasion causing some minor static.
Speaking of headphones, Casio includes a set of Koss headphones ($6.99) with the EM-500. These padded earbuds slip securely over the top of the ear. You can also purchase a pair of Koss deluxe stereo headphones from Casio for $24.99.
I use the EM-500 as an mp3 player for my car. My CD player has an auxilary input (rca jacks) in which I plug the EM-500. The sound quality through my system is quiet good. If I kept my eyes closed and someone was going back and forward between CD's and the EM-500, I wouldn't be able to hear the difference... PLUS MP3'S ARE FREE!
Video
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Casio has arguably had the best handheld screen in the business. Its 240x320 pixel, 106 dots per inch (DPI) screen is crisp, bright and clear, and the colors are rich and vivid. It's also the only handheld LCD capable of handling 64K colors.
The EM-500 appears to utilize a slightly updated version of the Casio TFT screen used by its predecessors. Casio is the only PDA manufacturer (we can soon add Sony to this short list) that makes its own LCDs. It makes them for its Cassiopeia handheld computers as well as its line of handheld TFT televisions.
Casio has obviously worked hard to produce the best video experience. From video memory to the LCD controller chips to the video driver software, every aspect of the video chain has been tweaked for maximum performance, and it shows. The only downside to the EM-500's display is that it is non-reflective but Casio has improved the screen since the E-100 and now it appears to be more readable outdoors in direct and indirect sunlight. I use my EM-500 in the car for both maps and MP3's, I can always see the screen, and I live in Florida. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to keep these things in the sun anyhow, but in car use works great.
And indoors the EM-500's display can't be beat.
Buttons
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Casio retained the layout of its buttons and navigation pad (called the "Cursor button" by Casio), which are perfectly arranged for playing games. In fact, with the EM-500 they've actually improved the playability of the navigation pad (which functions as a "joypad") by adding sweeping hills in addition to the tactile bumps. While admittedly I'm not an arcade-style game lover, I was told by a close source (my 11-year-cousin) that the EM-500 is easily the best game-playing device of the current Pocket PCs. And who am I to question such an expert source!
The function buttons continue to work the same as the E-115, launching Contacts, Calendar, and Casio's Menu Program.
On the left side, the Power button and the Record button are still there and recessed to prevent unintended activation, and the Action control dial is there too. But the Start button found on the E-115 is gone.
The left side buttons were put there for one-handed operation. I still prefer the Power button on the front of my PDA and prefer an up-and-down toggle to a tiny scroll wheel, but these are minor nits in the grand scheme of things.
Ports
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The headphone jack, as we mentioned earlier, is now located on the top of the EM-500 rather than on the side. The AC adapter terminal (the EM-500 doesn't recharge through a cradle) now takes up the spot vacated by the headphone jack.
Casio also moved the microphone from the front bottom of the E-115 to the top of the device, alongside the headphone jack. But the EM-500's infrared serial port (which is the speedier IRDa version 1.2, by the way) is unfortunately still on the lower left side of the device, rather than where we'd like to see it--at the top.
A new port in town is the USB port at the bottom of the EM-500, which replaces the serial synchronization port. Casio went the way of the Palm m100 by including a synchronization cable with the EM-500 rather than a cradle (but you can purchase a serial or USB cradle from Casio for $39.99 if you wish.) However, Casio's cable has smaller USB connectors on both ends and does not require a sync button since Pocket PC synchronization doesn't use a button for activation. Casio tops the whole thing off with a light gray rubberized tab that covers the connector and gives the EM-500 a smooth, finished look.
But it's the new MultiMediaCard (MMC) slot, which replaces the CompactFlash slot, that has drawn the most attention. This 7-pin slot takes postage stamp-sized cards that currently comes in capacities up to 64MB. These work exactly the same as CompactFlash cards but are smaller. They easily pop in and pop out of the EM-500's slot and are immediately recognized by the device.
The EM-500 comes with a MultiMedia Card slot. It's a well-designed spring-loaded slot that, once again, Casio tops off with a color-coordinated rubberized tab.
One note, Casio includes a last minute EM-500 Power Control program on its applications CD which prevents the EM-500 from being powered off if the device is MMC is being detected. We highly recommend you install this preventive app.
Speed
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The EM-500 contains the NEC Vr4122 64-bit MIPS RISC microprocessor running at 150 megahertz rather than the Vr4121 at 131 megahertz used in the E-115. The Vr4122, along with Vrc4173 companion controller chip, are said to make the EM-500 one-third faster than the E-115. Sorry, but in my "real-world" tests, the extra 19 megahertz (and the Vr4122's larger cache) were just not that noticeable.
In my opinion, both the E-115 and the EM-500 are quite fast. It is like arguing the speed difference between a 600 MHz Pentium III desktop computer and a 700 MHz computer. To the average user the "real-world" differences are unnoticeable.
Is the EM-500 as fast as the iPAQ? Not quite. But again, in my tests I couldn't notice a highly discernible difference in speed between the iPAQ and the EM-500.
Memory
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The EM-500 comes with 16 megabytes of RAM and 16 megabytes of ROM. Add a few applications and you'll soon find yourself down to 8 megabytes of RAM. We certainly wish Casio had made this a 32MB device.
Battery
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Battery life on the EM-500 seems quite good. It took only 3 hours to perform the initial full charge of the EM-500's 1100MHA lithium-ion battery. I haven't yet performed a full drain test but I'm having no problem getting up to 7 hours of continuous use.
Look and feel
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The EM-500 is available in five colors: red, green, yellow, blue, and slate blue. The colors have a nice matte finish so they look professional rather than like the newest Game Boy.
The EM-500 is an appealing, yet understated, handheld computer.
Size
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It feels just right in your hand. It is thin, but not too thin. It is lightweight, but not too lightweight. It is contoured, but not too contoured.
The EM-500 has a non-slip casing and a ridge on the right side that's designed to work as a grip for your fingertips (if you're right-handed- which I'm NOT!!!!!)
For those of you who still need the numbers, the EM-500 measures 3.2" x 5.1" x 0.75" and weighs in at 7.6 ounces.
Bottom Line
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The Cassiopeia EM-500 is an outstanding handheld computer with a peppy processor and a magnificent display. Casio took the solid base of the E-115 and made just enough changes (new slim look, USB, faster processor) to create a winner.
The downsides are a screen that isn't totally viewable outdoors, only 16MB of RAM rather than 32MB, and the awkward location of the infrared port. And until there are MultiMediaCard accessories the MMC slot is useful only for storage.
Still, the EM-500 is truly a multimedia wonder.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 349.99
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Epinions.com ID:
wutang2364
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Member: Wouter Reyniers
Location: Bradenton
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 10 members
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