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Casio is the latest of a string of personal digital assistant (PDA) makers to introduce Pocket PCs featuring Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 operating system.

Launched in Hong Kong yesterday, the HK$4,600 Cassiopeia E-200 Pocket PC has hardware features and functions that impress more than Compaq's improved iPaq 3800 series.

PDA geeks will be thrilled with the device's expandability and connectivity capabilities.

The E-200 comes integrated with two expansion slots - SD and Compact Flash, which allows the device to take many modules on either standard.

Available as an option, users can buy a PC Card jacket that slides onto the back of the PDA.

All three slots - SD, Compact Flash and PC Card - can be used simultaneously, giving the device unprecedented capabilities.

Yuzo Suzuki, managing director at Casio Computer, said: 'This device was built with connectivity and expandability in mind so that professionals can have a truly mobile office.'

With so many slots users can listen to music stored on an SD card, while surfing the Web using a general packet radio services/

global system for mobile (GPRS/GSM) PC Card and wirelessly print out Word documents through a Bluetooth Compact Flash card to a Bluetooth printer.

Another useful innovation on the E-200 is the USB connector built into the E-200's docking cradle, which allows the user to attach PC peripherals, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a printer and a digital video camera to the device.

The E-200 is about the same size of the iPaq, but weighs slightly more at 190 grams.

However, the iPaq has just one SD slot and users need to add an expansion sleeve to take Compact Flash or PC Card.

Inside the case is a 206 megahertz StrongARM processor with 64 megabytes of Ram. There is also 32 MB of built-in flash Rom, so the operating system can be updated in future.

Casio claims up to 10 hours of use from the rechargeable battery though it really depends on how the device is used.

According to a recent report by the Gartner Group on hand-held companions, there has been a 9.5 per cent drop in hand-held computer shipments in the third quarter as economic problems and weak consumer demand have taken their toll.

While Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and Palm saw their market share slide, only Handspring and Casio made significant gains. Casio, which also ships Pocket PC-based PDAs, saw its worldwide market share soar to 5.6 per cent from 3.3 in the second quarter.

'Casio intends to be the top supplier of information data appliances,' said Mr Suzuki.

He said that future Cassiopeias would sport more multimedia-enabling features and the PDA might eventually depart from traditional PDA form to more wearable and ergonomic styles.

More computer makers are entering the already crowded PDA market believing the promise of wireless Internet and 2.5G and 3G (third-generation) networks will spur growth of mobile devices.

Last week, seven Taiwanese computer manufacturers licensed Microsoft's Chinese Pocket PC 2002 operating system and were poised to introduce various new models of Pocket PC.

The hand-held companion market will grow at 44 per cent year on year from last year to 2005.

However, the sector will look increasingly like a two-horse race between Microsoft's Pocket PC OS and Palm OS. Symbian has shipped 17,718 units of its EPOC operating system to Asia-Pacific this year but will come down to 9,487 by 2005.

According to International Data Corp analyst Manny Lopez, hand-held companions running the EPOC OS will chalk up negative growth of 30 per cent this year compared with 96 per cent growth last year for the Asia-Pacific region.

The decline deepens next year to minus 36 per cent, improving in 2003 to minus 8 per cent, minus 4 per cent in 2004 and minus 5 per cent in 2005.



PDA functions top those of rival iPaq range to provide truly portable office