Casio Pocket Viewer PV-S250

The Casio Pocket Viewer is actually a series of PDAs. All
models in this series have the same basic architecture, but differ in features.
We got our hands on the PV-S250 model, which has a slim design, and serves as an
effective Personal Information Manager (PIM) for those on the move. It has its
own operating system and 2 MB of flash memory, which ensures that your data is
retained even if the batteries pack up.

The
PDA’s display is dot matrix and backlight illuminated. The backlight can be
manually controlled or timed to switch off automatically. You can control the
interface either with the provided stylus, or by using the action-control
carousel on the top-left side. The carousel ensures easy navigation through
commonly-accessed menus.

The Pocket Viewer uses two AAA-sized batteries and claims to
have a battery life of 180 hours. It also has auto-power off to conserve power.
This retains the last screen you’ve accessed, so you don’t need to delve
into the menus again after turning it on.

When you start up the device, it does its basic settings like
touch panel alignment, contrast adjustment, language and home time settings. A
touch on the Menu tab brings up all menus like the Scheduler, Pocket Sheet,
Contacts, Memo, Quick Memo, etc. we found the Quick Memo function very useful
for quickly scribbling down any information, say a phone number or a message.
You also have shortcut tabs to some of the menus on the lower strip of the
device. Navigation through individual menus is easy and self-explanatory.

Text input to all required fields is through a small
keyboard-like matrix display, which activates characters when you touch them
with the stylus. Due to the small display, however, it takes some time to get
used to the layout.

The Pocket Viewer comes with a software counterpart for the
PC–the PC-Sync Software. This has the same layout as the interface on the PDA.
A cradle is provided for synchronizing data with the PIM data on your PC. The
Quick Data Copy feature lets you copy text from your PC to your Pocket Viewer.
Thus, you can quickly transfer long text messages, e-mail, etc, and go through
them later.

An added feature in this model is its ability to handle
spreadsheets. It can store and synchronize Excel data from your PC. The Pocket
Sheet menu handles a 999-row by 26-column spreadsheet and also gives you basic
capabilities, operations, and functions to edit it.

The menu bar option can be invoked at any time to switch to a
different function. It has a system menu for modifying date or time settings,
sound, memory management, capacity check, contrast, data communication settings,
etc. The Pocket Viewer also has a password-protected memory area, where you can
work on all functions and applications.

You can also find updates and additional software
applications for the Pocket Viewer on Casio’s Website–www.casio.com.

Ashish Sharma

at PCQ Labs