Final evolution of the Casio BOSS organizers
Written: Jun 15 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful wide LCD screen, big keyboard, uses AA batteries
Cons: Not extendable. PC link not always included.
The Bottom Line: Worth considering as an incremental improvement over previous similar Casio models, but a bit bulky and expensive compared to other organizers.
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| Ames100's Full Review: Casio Executive B.O.S.S. SF-6700 |
I've had several of the Casio BOSS Digital Diary organizers over the years, and I've always found them pretty useful - not as interesting as a PDA which can by extended by adding custom programs perhaps, but fine for keeping my schedule and contacts. Kudos to Casio for keeping the user interface the same through all the generations since the late 1980s, even though they must have been tempted to update it and "improve" it.
The SF-6700SY is part of the latest-generation (and perhaps last generation?) of the Casio BOSS Digital Diary series which began in the 1980s. The current models runs from the SF-6500SY (128 Kbytes memory) through the SF-7200SY (2 Mbytes of memory). These models appear to be all identical except for the amount of memory.
The SF-6700SY support all the traditional functions of the Casio Digital Diaries: Telephone contacts, Memos, Schedule, Calendar, Expenses, ToDo list, Reminders (anniversaries), Home time/World time alarm clock, Calculator. This model also includes a unit converter and a few simple card games.
Unfortunately there is no way to extend the built-in functions. The Casio BOSS Digital Diary models are not programmable and do not support downloading new programs. A few of the very early models supported plug-in program cards, but Casio dropped them long ago.
The outstanding feature of the SF-6700SY is the excellent wide LCD screen. It has the best contrast and detail of any screen I've seen on an electronic organizer, and the width of the screen allows a few extras like viewing 3 months of calendar data at once, or a full page width of text. It has a backlight too.
If you get the PC backup kit with the serial cable and PC Sync software, it's pretty simple and convenient to synchronize the diary contents with the PC database. Data exchange over the serial cable is fairly slow at 9600 bps if you have a lot of new data, but it only sends changes on future syncs. The PC Sync software isn't very fancy, and it uses a proprietary database, but at least it lets you export and import data in common data-exchange formats. Unfortunately Casio doesn't seem to include the PC backup cable and software with the SF-6700SY in some markets. In that case you can build your own cable and download shareware software from the internet, but it adds to the price, and these models are already pretty expensive for a basic non-expandable organizer.
The keyboard is improved from previous generations, but the small size and the lack of tactile "feel" still makes it not quite good enough touch typing. It's better than most other organizers though.
This unit uses standard AA batteries, unlike the previous Casio generation which used AAA batteries, and the ones before that which used those expensive little watch batteries. That's a relief when it comes to replacing the batteries every few months, but it does make the diary bigger and heavier. I don't think anyone would try to keep this one in their pocket - this is more of a "briefcase organizer" than a "pocket organizer".
This model (and the others on the same model line) are a nice incremental improvement for long-time Casio BOSS Digital Diary users, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. It's a bit bulky and expensive compared to other organizers of similar capability, and I'm not sure the nice screen and keyboard make up for that.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 80
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Epinions.com ID:
Ames100
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Member: Doug Ames
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 93
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
An engineer who likes thorough product research and testing
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