If you want a Pocket PC but don't feel like shelling out all of that dough to get one that is top-of-the-line, check out the BE-300 Pocket Manager. Created for students and business professionals alike, the BE-300 gives you the functionality you need from a PDA without the huge price tag.

The beauty of this device is the open development framework based on Windows CE 3.0. Casio even recently held a developers' conference focused specifically on this device so that users would be able to get as much out of it as they could. But don't let the development environment fool you into thinking you're going to get a bare-bones device -- because you definitely aren't.

Now, granted, in today's landscape of 206 MHz processors for PDAs, the 166 MHz 280 MIPS CPU you're getting with the BE-300 may not seem like much. But it definitely isn't too shabby. In addition, you'll get 16 MB RAM and 16 MB Flash ROM to work with, allowing you to customize your applications or even replace some with your own.

The BE-300 connects to your PC or other devices via a USB/serial connector, and you can add memory or expansion modules via a Type II CompactFlash card slot. If you prefer using PC cards to CF Cards, Casio has an expansion PC card jacket to insert in the CF slot as an option.

The touchscreen display is quite a respectable 3.2 inch with 320 x 240 pixels, showing off 32,768 colors. The BE-300 measures 4.76 x 2.99 x 0.70 inches and weighs in at a rather light 5.89 oz.

Pricing and Availability

The Cassiopeia BE-300 is currently available for $199.95.

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