Archived from ListenSmart.com, November 26, 2003. Historical; not current advice. Software, prices and links are as they were then.
Source: Wayback Machine capture.
Handheld/PDAs
Windows CE Devices
Casio Cassiopeia E100
Homepage | Purchase
The Cassiopeia E-100 offers a dazzling 16-bit active matrix color display with an impressive 320-by-240 screen resolution, 16MB of RAM, and a stereo headphone jack. Besides keeping track of appointments, phone numbers and to-do lists, the E-100 adds multimedia options that let users record voice memos, play color games, download E-mail, listen to stereo music and view images and video clips. It also includes an infrared port, a CompactFlash slot, and an integrated speaker. But the feature that really sets the E-100 apart is its stereo-out jack. After a quick install of Xaudio's free MP3 Player for Windows CE, the E-100 can be used to enjoy stereo, near-CD-quality MP3 files downloaded from the Web.
Palm Devices
Price: $249 Homepage | Purchase
For a reasonably low price, you get a substantial amount of memory (8MB), and a proprietary expansion slot, allowing you to add additional hardware and software with minimal effort. Handspring claims it has lined up a number of manufacturers to create additional cartridges, such as modems, pagers, voice recorders, and MP3 players, by the end of the year. The Visor Deluxe offers familiar apps, including Address Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, Find, and Expense and also comes with a couple of new software helpers, such as advanced versions of Date Book and World Clock, which shows four time zones at once. The Visor Deluxe's syncing cradle requires a USB connection to your PC, so people who have older computers without USB ports will have to purchase an optional serial port cradle.
Price: $299 Homepage | Purchase
Compaq's $299 Aero 1530, which began shipping last month, is a real value. By forgoing the color screen that added expense to previous palm-size Windows CE-based PDAs, Compaq has created a slimmer, less expensive PDA. The sacrifice is well worth it, given the price and improved battery life -- more than 12 hours in tests. Compaq has simplified navigating through applications with its QUtilities program management applications. The Aero includes voice recording, audio playback and a rechargeable battery. It also comes with Microsoft Corp.'s much improved ActiveSync 3.0 synchronization software, which is easier to use and more reliable for synchronizing data between the PDA and a desktop PC.