Perhaps the hardest hit of all Pocket PC manufacturers, when Microsoft announced the decision to base Pocket PC 2002 around ARM-based processors, was Casio, since all of its previous range of PDAs were based around the NEC VR41xx series of processors. The latest PDA, the Cassiopeia E-200, closes the gap towards the Compaq iPAQ that previous models struggled to fill.

The Cassiopeia E-200 retains the 65,536-color capability of previous models but instead of a TFT screen there is a reflective colour LCD, enabling it to be used in all lighting conditions. Powering the Cassiopeia E-200 is the ubiquitous 206MHz StrongARM processor backed by a hefty 64MB of RAM and 32MB of built-in flash ROM, so performance is good and there is enough room for upgrades of the OS. Battery life is very good too, thanks to Pocket PC 2002's more efficient use of power.

For expansion, the Cassiopeia E-200 is well equipped as it comes with both CompactFlash and SD card slots. The Compact Flash slot can accept either Type I or Type II cards, while the SD slot accepts both MMC and SD cards. Both of these can be used simultaneously, so you could, for example listen to music stored on an SD card while you're surfing the web via a Bluetooth or 802.11b CompactFlash card.

The Cassiopeia E-200 can be charged either via the USB cradle or by a standard AC/DC jack so you don't have to take the cradle everywhere. All in all, this is a well-designed and specified PDA that offers some serious competition to the iPAQ, but it is very expensive.