Customer Reviews

Casio PV-400PLUS Cassiopeia Pocket Viewer Handheld Organizer

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I started looking for an inexpensive PDA to help me remember appointments and daily work schedule stuff. I intended to buy either a Palm III or a Handspring Visor, figuring that [it] was a good price compared to all the other prices I'd seen. Thank goodness I searched the Internet. I came across the Royal daVinci and the PV-400Plus, both cost [the same]. I bought the daVinci, and like what it offers, despite a minor glitch it had. You can get an optional mini-keyboard, you can upload new features into it, and it syncs with MS Outlook. Then I found a local store that had the Casio and decided I'd compare them. The Casio is half as thin, doesn't have a mini-keyboard (yet), you can't load new features into it, but it comes with what I needed. The one-handed dial is a bonus for looking up something quickly, and its size makes it easier to find a wallet case for (it'll fit into almost any Palm case). It syncs perfectly with MS Outlook at the touch of a button, using 95/98/NT, whatever. It comes with everything you need right out of the box. I kept the Casio and took the daVinci back the next day, and I've been loving it every since. Several of my friends are now re-evaluating their PDA options. As long as you don't need a PDA you can connect to the Internet with, I highly recommend the PV-400Plus.

I was looking for a PDA and found out how expensive they were. I first bought a Royal DaVinci and the sync program did not sync right and it crashed three times. So, I returned it and bought the Casio PV400 plus. Its is such a great PDA. If you are using it to retreive memos, contacts, and notes its perfect. If you want to cruise the net, buy a palm. It has a Data Copy program which is very useful. You can high light entire pages of texts online or a document, and it transfers the enitre text and splits it page be page on the Casio. This is useful because most PDA's will get only a number of characters an loose the rest of the text. Also, the software is not glitchy. I have had it for 7 months already, and it has not failed once. I even dropped it hard on a marble floor, and the screen did not break, data was not lost. It still works perfectly. Not even a scratch on the body. I recommend the Casio to anyone. Its very helpful in daily life. Casio really focusses on pratical use instead of the bells and whitles that most of the public does not use. Pro: 4 mb of memory, cradle, stylus, software, schedule, 5 memo sections, expense tracking, quick memo, todo, 7 phone files, secret area, back light, one hand use, games, and much more Cons: Backlight turns off every 15 seconds, but saves battery consumption (practical) Note: Has a bigger display than palm M-100

I bought a casio pv200A last year and loved how user friendly it was to use. Two months ago, I bought the new pv400A. This PDA has several features that alot of buyers overlook. I wanted a PDA that I could put in my shirt pocket comfortably. Almost all of the other "palm" units were somewhat heavy and thick. I suggest that anyone considering buying a PDA try putting it into their shirt pocket for awhile as see how it feels. This is where you will in all likelihood carry your PDA for many hours during the day. This casio unit is VERY THIN AND LIGHT (compare them in the store), so having the casio in your shirt pocket will be comfortable compared to the much thicker and heavier palms. Believe me, this is important. Also, when in dim light, the WHOLE SCREEN BACKGROUND lights up very brightly just like the indiglo watches. Try this with the other "palms", and their screens almost vanish because the characters light up against an unlit background. In a dimly lit car interior (very common use for me), the casio is easy to read. I liked the FLASH MEMORY feature because if the batteries died, you didn't lose any data. I also liked the casio feature that remembered previously entered words, so as you typed, the screen AUTO-COMPLETED your words and sped up data entry. The casio features are very user friendly and logical. The scheduler appears uncluttered, and moving from screen to screen was easy. I don't know if other palms have secret areas, but this casio feature really helps me with passwords for websites, etc. All in all, a great value. Some of these issues may seem small, but over time they become very important to users.

The other day, while looking at Palm 111 series PDA's, I ran across the Casio PV-400. In comparing the units I discovered the size of the Casio was smaller and thinner allowing it to fit nicely in my shirt pocked. I decided to try the Casio and "I LOVE IT".

If you don't need a lot of advanced features this should be the unit for you. I can't think of anything I don't like about it. It has a thumb operated scroll feature that is really neat.

I am buying (3) more for my family.

Sincerely,

M. F. Ronk

If all you need is schedule, to do's and contacts this is the product to get! I pulled down the Harmony s/w from Casio to get it to hook up to my Outlook 2000. Took a total of 5 min to get it up and running. Syncs my calendar on the fly. Why pay hundreds of $$$ just to know when your next meeting is? People at work have looked at it and gone out and bought it, as oppose to going with a Palm or a CE PIM. Strongly recommended.

I bought two of these units and really like them. One was for me and my Lotus Notes, and the other for my wife who uses Outlook.

The problem, and the only reason for my one-star rating is that the third-party software that you need to use for syncing Notes makes Notes unstable and creates crashes. The software company actually acknowledges that they "had" a problem. After several attempts at fixing the problem with their technical support, including a full reload of Notes I gave up and ordered a Visor.

We are keeping the one for my wife. We give it 5 stars when used with Outlook.

After holding out for a PDA that I would be comfortable with I found the Casio PV-400PLUS. I'm glad I waited. It has all the features that I need; no, you can't surf the net and it isn't in color, but it doesn't cost 500 bucks either. My only (minor) complaint is the 3rd party software that is glitchy and not user friendly. After trying to figure it out I gave up because it really isn't terribly useful anyway. The Casio PC link software is all you really need anyway. A perfect little handheld unless you are a corporate attorney who really uses all the bells and whistles the big, heavy units have. PS, it uses cheap AA batteries that last a looong time.

Neil Davis

I am a big fan of the Casio PV series- my wife bought me a PV-200 a couple of years ago, and it changed my life! It had all the features I need. I don't need email, infrared beam transport or the other bells (I have enough high tech dodads in my work), and the price was great. However, after persistent problems with the touch screen, I decided to upgrade to a PV-400 Plus. I got it on sale at Office Max for a great price. But guess what? This one not only has a very fickle touch screen but it keeps losing my data through memory problems. Casio says I have to send it to Japan to be repaired, but I think I'll just bite the bullet and buy a Handspring or Palm III this time.

I've had a very good experience with the pocket viewer. I like the way the various menus are laid out and the included features. Although this device does not allow add-on programs, I really have not missed this feature. The pocket viewer has a good scheduler that supports repeating items and multi-day events. I don't find data entry with the little on-screen keyboard a problem. I can keep up with a friend who uses a Palm with handwriting recognition. The "quick memo" feature is very handy... no more scraps of paper. The long battery life and flash memory (keeps your data without power applied)are good features. The included PC software works as promised. Data can also be transferred from the windows clipboard into the memo area. It's a little awkward to use, but with this feature and the 4MB memory, I have moved a lot of text into my Casio with no problems. It must be pretty sturdy...I've dropped it 3 times onto the floor and it still works! Some things I don't like are that the backlight will only stay on for 15 seconds, and that accessories such as an extra cradle or stylus have been near impossible to find. If you don't need the programmable features of some of the other PDA's this is a good choice. The large amount of memory available coupled with well designed functions works for me. I've been using it every day for about two months now with no problems.

I started shopping for an inexpensive personal organizer after I developed shoulder and neck aches from carrying around a two-pound day planner all the time. I considered everything from the ten-dollar 'calculators-on-steroids' to the mega-bucks PDAs. The cheap ones didn't have all the options I wanted -- calculator, scheduler, alarm, phone/address/e-mail and memo -- but I didn't want to have to promise my firstborn for a bunch of bells and whistles I didn't need, either. In the end, I settled on the Casio PV-400Plus because of its size (small enough to slip in an evening bag), weight (lighter than my cell phone), sleek style, four megs of memory, easy-to-use PC synchronization and stellar product reviews received from publications like the Wall Street Journal. I'm glad I did -- this product is by far the best value for anyone looking to replace a bulky planner. No, I can't surf the web or send e-mail with it, but last time I checked, my day planner couldn't do that either.