Update 28 October 2007 Casio Cassiopeia PA-2400
(w
)1998
Ok, so it's 2007 on my soulescale and the Casio Cassiopeia PA-2400w is about 8 years of age.
That may be an eternity for an android like my companion but is it for this device. I wonder, is it old and useless, obsolete, an dinosauric whimp?
True,
(if thats your thingy
) the design of the PA-2400 is not the sink of current day fashions and trends. But it is not that bad. It is an design of the previous century, not the one from Eiffel, but one of the modern age bulckyness, pracktical use and bussines sent.
It is an fairly bulky construction, made of very a durable plastic with a thick metalgray paint finish and naive electronics. But in whole no thicker then your current day mobile phone. And it has no frivolous colors nor other fancy destractive additions.
On top there are three buttons
(Power/suspend, light and SIP
), some openings for loudspreaker sound release and two LED's
(Charge and alarm
). Other elements are: Two PC-slot entries, one serial connector. Then there are the Infrared light, a power and a barcode connector, contrast adjuster wheel, a little voice recorder button, the battery pack and dockstation contacts. And of cource the touch-pen. Sound a lot, but I ashore you, you'll never see then all at ones.
Different times, different needs. They are very standard items to the times.
Knock, knock...Its gray and it has an screen of 480 by 240 pixels, but looks 4 grayscale..what is it?
Old and booh-ring? ;/
I am gray
The specs of the Casio Cassiopeia PA-2400w are to current standards more then modest. Its 80Mhz SuperHitachi processor may not sound that exiting, but its fast enough to run Windows CE 2.11 on its 8 Mb ROM an 8 Mb shared RAM. When booted up about 1,5 Mb of RAM is used by the system files and applications. That leaves us about 6,5 Mb of RAM which we can use for our own needs. It's not much, but it is expandable. You can add more RAM by inserting an bigger RAM board. That is, if you can find one "now-a-day's" as they said. There is the available CF type II slot, which can hold an max of 512 Mb. Luckely CF cards are abundant availlible. Thanks to electronical photograpic camera's the market of the CF card is very much thriving and prices for an standard 512 Mb cards are as low as they ever will get. A good 512 Mb CF will not set you back much. An other option you could make use of, is an MicoDrive, but I would not recommend its absurde power usage. They are faster, but I don't think you will need the speed on this device. A good CF card will do nicely.
So, that is a bit more promising, and sounds a lot better then 6,5 Mb, now does it! Still, if you consider all available RAM to program memory, then there is only a mere 7 Mb free. Does not sound that lot to me. We will see if this will do when we go on.
For the time being I use an older 64 Mb CF card, which came lying around, and plugged it in the CF slot on te side of the device. O dear, the device just crached, as they called it!! It will not start..no boot-up!... Help??
Musclefix. This device needs to be suspended before you can put the card into place. This happens automaticly when you remove the lock on the back. One's the lock is in to place, do a "soft" reset by use of the little hidden pressor on the back. The device will detect the card on boot-up, and will use it from then on.
I also put in an PCMCIA 6-in-1 card adapter in the slot that is available on an other side of the device. This way I can hot-swap SD or other media cards at will. It is much more convenient, and you don't have to have the PCMCIA card in there all the time. After all it is extra weight. To make it work I slided in an 1 Gigabite "SD" card. The OS will asks if you want to use the card inserted or not. This is an power saving options that was well considered at the time. This option is always availible as smail icon on the task bar. Press yes, when asked. All set..
So storage space should be sufficient for now. I have about 1014 Mb and some available. I absorbed and realised some moments before I got started. In more fitting tongue. I did some research, so the SD holds some tools, documents and eBooks. I will transfere them to the CF card.
After transfere and installation of the applications to the CF card, I still only used up about 1019Kb of storage RAM and 1283Kb of Program RAM, nice! Most programs are installed on the Cf card to preserve RAM storage.
The CF card holds now about 44 Mb of data. Transferring the documents and other stuff takes some time, but it is probably a one time transfere or in any case not daily. You can always use the cardreader and your PC to transfere data. It will be faster. The CF Card I used is probably as old as the PA-2400w itself, so don't take to much attention of this information for it is an informational extra.
If you realize or "get" an Casio Cassiopeia PA-2400 that comes with no charger, don't wory about not finding one. The Cassiopeia PA-2400 series can be charged with any 21st century universal ac|dc adapter. Just set the polarity correct
( as states on the side of the device
) move the slider to 4.5 or beter yet 5 volts and you are set.
This will charge the Lithium Battery Pack
( PA-2120LI
) in about 2.5 hours. As for the back up battery, you can find them in any local tec-shop. Just ask for an rechargable Lithium cell type 2430. Thats a standard battery type description used by most vendors.
Note; I had to widen the availible power pin insertion hole, to accommodate the pin of the 4.5v connector
( 5v is not availlible in my "universal" adapter
). No hassle, but carefully, use a "knife" an go ones or twice around an cut the plastic away. You did it all ready now. All tide!
Here, here, let it be noted. I was impressed with the screens performance in open air. Not only did it not fade out, but it really is very clear to look at. Probably because of the TFT's two layer design
(every layer display's 2 grayscales
). 'in lower voice': Light passes trough them and reflects on the screens reflective back. This way you get an depth view with shadow, which ads to the clarity of the picture. Text is very crisp and pleasant to read.
The screen is of an robust design. I'll bet you it will keep on going for atleast several decenia. It will probably get you through your fallout trip to the oriental site at 2015, which will follow after this one. In any case, this makes the PA-2400 a perfect companion to read with outdoors. It was one of the reasons I took this project in the the first place.
The green backlight on the otherhand, was at first glance a bit disappointing. And I do not think it was very exiting in 1998 aswell. I too am used to look at bright lit screens be it CTR or flatscreens, but I have to say that, when lying in bed and doing some fiddling on the Cassiopeia PA-2400w, I find her soft green eye pleasing to meet. It's an soothing color and in total darkness not at all aggressive to the eyes. On thing that is a bit annoying about the light is, that you have to use a hardware button to turn the backlight on. There is no software option that runs the light automatically. Only a powersave option to turn it off. If you want to use it in the dark you need both hands to put it to on. Also if an alarm activates in the dark then you have to put out two hands to see the message. Probably an battery saving option, but so is not using the light to. Maybe there's an hack for this, We'll have to look into that.
Sitting on my desk, looking for an eBook reader
(software application packet
) for the Cassiopeia PA-2400 was at first glance a bit disappointing. Mobipocket
(MP
) the well known eBook reader, is still available for sh3. That is a good thing, for the release was fairly recent. I installed MP's last release so I could flip the screen to the right and make use of the long end of the device, because annoyingly enough, this function is not standard available for the Cassiopeia PA-2400. Which is really sad. The device has a perfect form factor to use in fliped mode, there's even space available for grabbing claws.
(standard is widescreen
) Our beloved HPCFactor.com Moderator C:Amie pointed me to an Casio support site which holds some promesing updates. Among them an rotate "tool" for 90, 180, 270 degrease and home screen rotations. Enthusiastically falling into the sad, I must say it does not work. Probably only for one of the previous model like the PA-2400u.. And thus it will not work on the PA-2400w devices other than to create an very inconvenient system lockup and total reset necessity.
Sadly, Mobipocket didn't do the trick nider. For some reason the rotate function does not work on the PA-2400w. Not just that but the applications background within the application is totally unreadable and I was not able to fix it. Bummer... It is is a nice reader, but I am forced to move on.
Luckily I remembered a nice application called "µbook", an other eBook reader with an flip function. This one does work perfectly and is highly configurable too. Flips to all possible 2D directions, full screen, fonts, annotations ect.. Perfect. Great job!
My Cassiopeia PA-2400w is now an eBook reader!
I was not kidding my self about the usability of this ancient device, all dough I use the same Windows CE 2.11 on the Vadem Clio
( that's an other happy stream
) to write this little adventure. The PA-2400w does not have an hardware keyboard. That is a shame. It does mean that writing big text is totally out of the question. Infrared keyboards could be a solution if you can find one that works on the sh3, and small enough to be interesting. Remember. Do not be an anomaly, stack says. And maybe if its small enough it could be made to stick on the back. Hmm... Infrared keyj_board. Noted.
If you are thinking of using the SIP or Onscreen-Keyboard you will need to update the sipmanager
(Onscreen keyboard application
). In standard configuration the buttons are uncomfortably small. They can be updated not only to a bigger format, but other language layouts too.
(Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, French and US...but no BE :/
) The installation is much simpler then implied in the readme.txt accompanying the application. And no registry hack is necessary. Just drop the required .dll
( after renaming it to sipanel.dll
) the .exe and the .h files in the /windows dir and reset you device
). Thanks go to C:Amie for this update!
The text recognition software, on the other hand, is installed in ROM and it works great. It does recognize well, but after some testing I decided that the device is just not fast enough to keep up. Using the SIP, it was able to enter text in the devices much faster. It could be the engine of the standard smartwriter application. I could try Calligrapher, but this will put a serious bite in the available memory.
And you wi not be ableto use the SIP hardware button, without an registery entry.
Anyway, about usabilitys like internet and email. These may have been exiting features some 8 years back on a device like this. At this day, I do not now. It is possible to use them still. Now-a-days with your mobile's infrared on the road, it works like 8 years back still. I tried it with Google and Gmail, but other sites work to. Be it that IE 3.01 is a very obsolite brower to be used in these days. You are still able to browse the net in deed. Most sites wil not render right dough, but the information is availlble. Most sites work only after installing the 128bit security update and an working OBEX Infrared driver
(some PDA use OBEX, OBject EXchange, also termed IrOBEX, which uses different protocols to communicate
) Just setup a new dial-up/network connection to linkup your phone to the PA-2400 before you start.
(You can use an wireless, Bluetooth or NDIS configurations aswell, but for now I don't have one for this device. Wireless will make the PA even more usable
)
Now all you need is an infrared able phone with modem and an Internet account. For me, I use my track pod and linkt to central pile to check my mental state. That's the way to go now-a-days, but you can always download your POP mail if you install an email applications, which support "secure" connections.
True my current day phone is an an little computer too, and I use it for email. That should make the PA-2400 even more obsolete. But the screen of the PA is three times larger then my PDA's and easier to read, without having it eating my face. Eye projecting devices only came to the mass in 2014. For now, the Casio's screen will be readable at comfortable distance.
There are a lot of other optional expansions availlible for the PA-2400, some state before. NDIS, Wifi or maybe Bluetooth and use it as an wireless terminal or as domotica accesspoint. Or use it as an remotecontroler for you appliances
(which I did not see in working state yet
) Put it in the kitchen against the wall to keep kooking recepice, or cocktails mixes.
Use it as RSS reader at the morning koffie. Plug in an radio card or photocamera...
Or you can just put it on your desk as an clock and set the alarm to this moment, in case you are drifting away right now.
I find these all fascinating toughts of the nineties. Still...
Well, all considered so fare, the only function to me is still the reader function. An the occasional Chess and other relaxation applications. Don't get me wrong, that what I like about it. And it serves me nicely. Thank you. All that said, the device still holds a lot of applications I think I need on them. For some reason I think I need a computer in my head... go figure the freak.
Except for Office applications and eBook reader, It also contains an fairly good English dictionary an thesaurus
( I can't write, so I have to read
) It also contains an fairly large Wikipedia in mdx format. All these are for Mdict's current day release 2.4. Also French, Chinese and Japanese Translators
( I am fascinated
), ListPro, SpreadCE, AseePic demo, UltraG, PUnzip, some system tools, flavour: Tascal Registry, DeClock, ResInfo, Gsfinder+,Total commander, TapRight And TCPMP... Yes I forgot the multimedia aspect of the device. 'shrugs shoulders'
Version 0.71 of the TCPMP player is still availible for the sh3. Audio like MP3, Ogg, Wav to name a few and video like avi, mpeg but no mpeg4
(MP4,3GP,M4A
) this plugin was removed from the package due to reasons of... I you can find it, it wil let you play these formats, but dont get to vascular about this foresight. The speed at which it will play is hardly, not to say not wourth, the trouble. I was able to play some avi movies at 12 frames 208*114 in mono 22050hz...but putting sound off and quality to low really improved frame rate ;0
) No, it is definitely not made to be an movie player. Like Job said "It's an music player with a bonus". I'll will test it some more to see if there is an more suitable compression of use. But really, who care's. Its still in 4 grayscales, remember.
The good news is it plays music. The loudspeaker isn't that great at any standard, and if this is hardware problem, then it could be fixed. The problem is that horrific moaning constantly going on each time it has to make a sound. Over and over again... Apparently all my CE 2.11 devices have that same problem. It is an very interesting economic aspect of the sector. If you could fix that and put in an stereo out jack, well then we have an portable audioplayer.
Anyway, I am not going to spend a lot of noise or a sigh about sound on the Cassiopeia PA-2400w. MP3's or Ogg files at 64 kbps contant bitrate seam the most usefull compression... Some background music is always nice I suposse. If you can get the moan out of it, that is. As I said, there is not much to be said about sound other then, Its a bonus.
Maybe an modplayer would be a good idea. I'll look into that too.
Of cource it is a great Pim device to organise appointments, set tasks and to hold your contacts up-to-date. The Pocket Outlook version in ROM is still apt to current use. Databases that hold the pim information can be synced or backt up with your PC through Activesync, SD card or what ever means you use to transport data with. There are thirth party tools still availlible for this function.
End of day
At the end of the day it is still kinda hard to say if it is still usable in 2007. Except for the reading, dictionary encyclopedic purposes which is excellent still, I have yet to use it in an more productive way other the eBook reading. I have used it on a bus
But again only to read, but then there's a lot to read! I know, it has no color screen, multimedia is just about out of the question. Amusement is varied but colorless, Chess is nice. It would be great to rotate the screen, that would make thing somewhat different.
On a personal note: I love it! I must say, it is an totaly underestimated forgotten classic. An under dog in some aspect if you please!
I had the PA-2400 on vacation with me, no hassle at all. And a lot of ebooks to go though! Yea, yea, you own an Ipaq or other more advanced dingy
(I love them too
), but its no comparisment without killing a Sun with a misthopescare. I am tellling you, in full broth-day-light this baby performs without distraction and overkilll. I could put it down like "yesterdays paper". That is current-day progress for you my dear sire-isses.
Remember these words, you found the on HPCfactor.com.
For more technical use I'll have to get back to you, I will be looking to get me an extra one and dissect it, pimp it up and maybe integrate some exotic things into it. All in good technical fashion and fun.
Check back for any gruesome progress.
For now I would like to thank you for your time. I hope you enjoyed it a bit, and maybe found some use in it. If have any Questions, Suggestions, Tips or whatever, feel free to post them or just send me a mail or feel.
We would be more than happy to read all about your experiences with
(or without
) the Casio Cassiopeia PA-2400
Be tide.
Most kindly,
Your HPC fashionata,
B Boweb.
)