From...

June 7, 1999
Web posted at: 10:26 a.m. EDT (1426 GMT)

by David Essex

(IDG) -- If you've admired others' handheld electronic organizers but haven't felt compelled to buy one yourself, the gorgeous color screens on the latest crop might sway you. Those screens aren't just more PC-like than their monochrome predecessors: Some are comparable in clarity and brightness to the best notebook displays. That color costs around $250 extra -- well worth the money if you find monochromes to be too dark and dull for heavy use.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
Computerworld's home page
Computerworld Year 2000 resource center
Computerworld's online subscription center
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
IDG.net's personal news page
Year 2000 World
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for IT leaders
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	Computerworld Minute
	Fusion audio primers

The new, color-enabled version of Microsoft Corp.'s Window CE operating system for handheld devices also has a strong corporate story to tell.

In addition to the color display, it now offers built-in programming tools for custom applications like sales force automation, corporate phone directories and inventory databases. Although Palm Computing Inc. devices and their ilk are still used mostly as notetakers, calendars and contact managers, color makes those applications much easier to look at for long periods.

Color also adds a multimedia dimension, bringing graphically rich games and video to the platform. Businesspeople can use the improved graphics for things like small-scale sales presentations, databases that contain pictures of goods for sale (such as real estate) and Web browsing.

Palm Computing, a subsidiary of 3Com Corp., started the handheld computing phenomenon in the mid-1990s. It still claims more developers, applications and peripherals than any other -- so if you're looking to organize your life around a personal digital assistant (PDA), the Palm is a great place to start.

But Windows CE is coming on strong: Major vendors like Compaq Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. waited for color before launching their first palm-size handhelds and the developer list is growing daily.

3Com won't reveal whether it will offer a color Palm.

The coming year will bring more digital cellular support, Web browsing functionality -- and even ad hoc wireless networks, based on upcoming Bluetooth technology, which will provide a standard way for devices to recognize and communicate with each other. Multimedia content and related hardware should proliferate; Casio Inc., for one, is talking about a color video camera that will plug in to a handheld device's Compact Flash slot.

I tested three of the first units available with the new Windows CE, trying the on-board and bundled CD software, synchronizing contacts and appointments with Microsoft Outlook on my PCs and transferring files.

My favorite was the Casio Cassiopeia E-100, which has the brightest, sharpest screen and the most multimedia features. A close second was the well-designed Compaq Aero 2100, followed by the Hewlett-Packard Jornada 420, which has less power and fewer features than the other two and inferior screen technology.

Casio Cassiopeia E-100
Casio Inc.
www.casio.com
$499

Given Casio's reputation for building quality consumer gadgets, it isn't surprising that the Cassiopeia E-100 blows away the others I reviewed with a better screen, more processing power and storage and multimedia extras that should appeal to businesspeople who regularly use color photographs, dictate memos and listen to recorded information during their workday. The E-100's screen wows with its always-on backlighting and 65,000-plus colors (the others offer only 256). A customizable interface lets you place your favorite applications, like the video player, close at hand. As with the Compaq (but not the HP), there's also an image viewer and a utility for playing MP3 audio files.

MP3 also provides access to recorded business news and analysis from Web sources like National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.

The E-100's 131-MHz processor is the fastest in the group, yet its more graphically rich interface loads applications slower than its competitors. And I'm not crazy about the poorly labeled controls, though the four-direction cursor pad is neat. Its rugged, metallic-looking casing, relatively powerful configuration and amazing multimedia toys make the CassiopeiaE-100 the clear winner in this group.

Compaq Aero 2100
Compaq Computer Corp.
www.compaq.com
$499

Compaq's sleek, silver-and-black PDA has the best ergonomics of the three. The Aero 2100 has only two buttons on its left edge: an escape button and a combination selection wheel and "Enter" button that can be rolled up and down to scroll through screens. Four clear, icon-labeled buttons on the front bring you directly to calendar, to-do list, contact and notepad applications; a big "On" button doubles as a backlighting control.

Like the E-100, the Aero 2100 has an active-matrix, thin film transistor screen that is eons sharper than the uneven, passive-matrix display on HP's Jornada. But Compaq decided to use power-saving sidelighting instead of backlighting, which provides great outdoor viewing but makes the screen look dim even at the highest setting -- a bad design choice in my book. The 70-MHz processor is the slowest of the three, and the Aero 2100's seven to 10 hours of battery life is only slightly better than those of the other two devices, which have much brighter displays.

The Aero 2100 comes with VCA Systems GmbH's Expense Tracker, which transfers to the unit from a CD. It also has the same Audible Content Player as the E-100 for reading downloaded books and periodicals. I'd buy the Aero for its superior usability and design if the Cassiopeia didn't have such fun multimedia tools and if my job entailed a lot of travel expenses and work outdoors.

HP Jornada 420
Hewlett-Packard Co.
www.hp.com
$519

Although it comes bolstered with CD software -- including an Inso Corp. file viewer and a 30-day trial version of Intuit Inc.'s Quicken ExpensAble -- and support for Motorola Inc.'s upcoming FLEX Pager (which brings wireless messages to the PDA), the Jornada is inferior to the others in most respects. It uses older, passive-matrix screen technology that produces streaking, blurring and uneven brightness; has the second-slowest processor at 100 MHz; and the lowest standard RAM and ROM configurations (8M bytes for both), which leave less room for programs.

The Jornada does boast extra screen friction, which gives note-taking a more realistic feel, and a flip-top screen cover. Its backlight is always on, but you can set it to three preset levels and turn off Windows CE sound effects to save the camcorder-style battery's juice.

Still, I can't recommend buying the HP when you can get the Casio or Compaq for less.

Essex is a freelance writer in Antrim, N.H.