After 2 1/2 months on backorder, I finally received my Cassiopeia/StarTac modem cable (model # CELL300) in the mail from Casio. The CELL300 cable allows you to connect a Cassiopeia EM/E/BE series PDA to a Motorola StarTac ST7000 series, Timeport 8000 series or Talkabout 8000 series cell phone for wireless Internet access from your Cassiopeia.

I have always been a fan of the Cassiopeia, particularly the EM-500 because of its 64,000 color screen, non-bulky size (in comparison to it's bigger cousin the E-125) and adequate processor speed. And the CELL300 cable provided the missing link to wireless Internet access from my EM-500. Sure, I know I could buy an E-125 and a compact flash wireless modem card, but then I have to pay an extra $50/month for 19.2kbps wireless Internet service,  already comparable in speed to my StarTac's built-in modem (14.4kbps). Plus the E-125 doesn't fit in my pocket very easily.

Anyway, enough ranting. Let's get to the review.

Setup
Setting up the Cassiopeia to use the CELL300 was relatively easy. I won't go into detail here, but you basically need to create a dial-up connection on the Cassiopeia to use the StarTac, and make sure that you have Internet access service active on your StarTac (Consult your cell phone's service provider if you are unsure). Once those two things are setup, all you have to do is configure your Pocket PC applications to use the connection. Click here for instructions.

Figure 1: Full view of the Cassiopeia/StarTAC modem cable

In Action
I was fairly pleased with the CELL300's performance. After configuring my Cassiopeia and successfully connecting to the Internet, I was able to download e-mail and surf the Web in real-time from my Cassiopeia EM-500--wirelessly. It was a little slow downloading e-mail, but still fast enough to get the job done. Surfing the Web was adequately fast too--for 14.4kbps service.

Figure 1: Leaving the StarTAC cell phone connected to your belt is the best way to use the cable

Figure 2: Using the CELL300 to surf the Internet in Pocket Internet Explorer

Reliability
My Internet connection via the CELL300 cable was very reliable. But again, reliability depends on your service provider. When I did experience problems, they were related to service issues and not problems with the cable itself. However, I am aware that there were problems with the first shipments of the CELL300 cables, in which Casio fixed in the second stage of shipments. I purchased mine fairly recently and therefore from the second shipment. If you bought your CELL300 cable prior to April 2001 and experiencing connection problems, I would advise calling Casio for a replacement.

Summary
The CELL300 cable from Casio is a great alternative for wireless Internet access from your Cassiopeia Pocket PC--most notably the EM-500 which doesn't have a compact flash card slot (for adding a wireless modem). And if you use a Motorola StarTAC and a Cassiopeia Pocket PC equipped with a Compact Flash card slot such as the E-125, you can purchase a CELL300 cable for $39 instead of $199-$299 for a Compact Flash wireless modem and $59/month for wireless Internet access service.