Rating: 
Summary: Give it a second look
Review: When I bought this it was because I wanted a cheap PDA, and it was windows based. To put it plain and simple I thought it was too cheap. So before I sent it back I did some research, had I done that first I would have bought it sooner.
Find out what I am talking about and get this thing before there aren't anymore left. Yes it has its limitations, but for the money, you can't beat it. Trust me, this little thins is the "little PDA that could." You will not be dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: I love my BE-300
Review: I've had my BE-300 for 2 months and I love it. It kicks PDA-butt for the price! The PIM is straight-forward and logical. In fact, the calendar feature is MUCH better organized than the one for the much pricier Sharp Zaurus (my husband owns one.)Handango (the only company to sell BE-300 software) offers some useful add-on software. I changed the start menu to a nicer looking one with a Bengal tiger (STARTMenu for [money]) and I also added a program called Listmaker which can turn basic text memos into checkbox lists -- very useful. In addition, I have a 128mb compact flash storage card -- which holds oodles of mp3s and jpgs. The photo viewer doesn't always recognize my jpgs which is annoying. Still, it's a very powerful and customizable machine for about [money]. Other PDAs at the same price either don't have the memory and expandability or use AAA batteries or sacrifice color viewing. I would have bought this without the MP3 player, but that is a nice bonus, and the sound is quite good. My only complaint is that you can't get the variety of software that's available for Pocket PCs -- the Casio version of Win CE operating system isn't compatible with the garden variety of PDA Win OS...still, since the basics (calendar, contacts database, memo with handwriting recognizer, world clock) are robust and the added attractions (mp3 player and compact flash slot for added memory or extra gadgets like a digicam) are nice...I can happily live without some of the fluffy fun stuff that's available to more expensive models.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING: Will not run PocketPC software!
Review: The BE-300 runs a Casio-specific embedded WinCE, and WILL NOT run all the PocketPC software that runs on the iPaq, the Toshibas, etc. The reason this device is cheap is because it only has 16MB ROM/16MB RAM. PocketPC requires 32MB ROM/32MB RAM.
Rating:
Summary: If Amazon reviewed this correctly it would be OUT OF STOCK
Review: This inexpensive PDA is about as versatile as they come Mobipocket Ebooks (including tons or refernce works), Audible Audiobooks (Audible.com), news and mp3 content from Mycasio.com --- expandible memory via Compact Flash cards or IBM Microdrive, Personal Information Manager software, games
can synch with MSOutlook, can hook up to a portable keyboard and on and on and on. The tech info that says not Audible compatible is WRONG. It is. There is some 3rd party software available and they permit a "skinnable" menu interface i.e. XPOD KCmenuII and soon a very small Linux - you can create whatever look you want. Caveat - dont attempt using two different PDAs (USB) off the same computer. The PC software gets confused and wont link the 2nd PDA. (Bummer) This baby is A) not so spendy and B) versatile if you check out your options.
Rating:
Summary: Wife loves it!
Review: My wife is an RN/Supervisor. Many days she complained about the postit notes all over her desk. Many meetings she had to remember, contacts and so on. I personally bought the palm V when it first came out to help with my job duties as a Network Engineer. The casio BE-300 by far, exceeds what I used and is great for what it does. Don't always take opinions from others about putting this device down. Some base their review on wanting a ($$$$)PDA for less than half the price, and it does not do what the most expensive PDA does. With the casio be-300, you get EXACTLY what you pay for, and much more. It can store your contacts, appointments, and memos. Play games and listen to MP3 songs! Its not slow at all and worth every penny!
Rating:
Summary: I like it
Review: Its a wonderful first time pda to use. Im still gettin familiar with it but im gettin to take a liking to it. I recommend it to anyone who doesnt really demand a lot of performance but still wants good features.
Rating:
Summary: Okay for the money, but it's too restrictive
Review: At first, I loved it. But I slowly discovered that the daily planner was not very customizable. 1) You can't choose the color of the fonts in the planner(they are pre-determined) and some of them are too faint to see. 2)It automatically scrolls down your appointments, and there is no way to turn this feature off. 3) You can't download just any Windows CE software...It only accepts Casio software. 3) It's slow. 4) There doesn't seem to be any way to jump to different dates. You can only jump to today's date. 5) I miss the "find" feature that palm OS machines have.
Rating:
Summary: Casio Be 300
Review: I purchased the unit a few weeks ago, so far it has been great. I would highly recommend it. I have used it for contacts, task, calendar and photos. I read some of the reviews before I made my purchase, and they had some problems with connecting to the computer, I have not had any problems. I am running Windows 2000 ( I did have NT, it will not run on NT with the USB cradle provided, because NT does not support USB connections). I have also used the photo viewer, which work great. I use a Sony digital camera that rcords the images at 640x480, which I believe is the max. resolution for the Be 300. I have not tried to use the internet or email funtions at this time. The only downside to the unit is the 16MB storage, I had to purchase a 128 MB flash card. So if you are going to buy the BE 300, go ahead and get a flash card.
Rating:
Summary: A Surprisingly Good Unit at a Great Price
Review: I previously owned 2 Casio Pocket planners, and had to get something new after I damaged my last unit. When I surveyed what was out there, I was disappointed to find that the typical Electronic/Appliance and Office Supply stores around town carried mostly Palm devices, with only a miniscule assortment of Treo and Sony models, in addition to a few wildly expensive "Pocket PC" type devices.
Then I found the info on the Casio BE-300.
I was somewhat concerned when I read the mixed nature of the buyer reviews, but decided that I could work with the kind of negatives that were mentioned.
Once I received it (3 wks ago) and started using it, I was very happy I bought it.
--Beautiful color display, great resolution;
--16MB RAM is one of the larger standard memory capacities around
--Using a modified Windows-CE OS (instead of the Palm OS) frees up display space for easier use and beter viewability.
I had only one minor problem synchronizing with Outlook. I followed the bundled PC Connect software instructions, and ran into only one issue - the program wouldn't accept the Mail synchronization settings. I later realized the reason was probably that my business mailbox exceeded 200 MB at the time, and would have crashed the Sync process anyway.
It took me a half hour to get through that problem, and when I went to sync folders, it took just a short while to sync my tasks, Calendar, Contacts, and folders. I guess I'll have to delay setting up e-mail until I can trim my mailbox.
I also synchronized a folder of very complex, large Excel files. I downloaded the PTab program from Casio's website, and can now edit and manipulate large, formula rich business spreadsheets. I was amazed to find that I can work directly with fully functional formula entries on a pocket unit this small.
Speaking "small", the BE-300 is actually a bit smaller than my previous 64k(!) planner.
The only two disadvantages that I can see are the fact that I had to buy it over the net, instead of trying one out "in the flesh"; and I wish the expansion slot had room for a cover that would fit with a flash card in place. (Just concerned that pocket lint could get into the connector area and cause problems.)
I'm looking forward to the future when I can learn and start to use some of the Internet type functions of this unit.
I am tremendously pleased with the unit, and think that anyone who's interested in excellent value for a bargain price should buy from AMAZON and try this unit out.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It!
Review: So I ordered the BE-300 on a monday and it was waiting for me at my doorstep by wednesday (standard shipping!!). Its true that the PDA itself does look a bit, how shall I say this, "cheap" with its silver and black painted plastic cover, let's be honest its no sony clie. But this come expected with the amazingly low price tag. The flip cover that is included is pretty "cheap" looking too. I invested $20 for a really nice leather case. Back to the topic, the screen display is amazingly vivid and clear. There is a reflection of yourself agasint the glass, but if you get some protective stick-on sheets for the glass, it really reduces the glare, so no problem there.
Ive been scheduling in my classes with great ease. Although, I'll problaby purchase the software for adding in HW assignments off the My Casio website. And since Casio did write their own program to run this PDA, its gonna be hard to simply buy additional software or games at a softwarre store. But if you are using this as a simple organizer and not a High Tech super computer Toy, everything that it comes with is more than enough I sync my Microsoft Outlook on my PC to the PDA and that way I don't need to type massive amounts of data on that mini display keyboard.
And, for everyone who has loads of mp3s on their PC...its transfers right to the PDA with a click of a mouse. Just make sure you put the mp3s into the correct folder to send to the PDA, and make sure the PDA puts it in the corrct folder to play it. I havent put any pictures or movies on my PDA yet, plus I dont think I have enough memory for that ( I have 16MB + 32 MB card). Let's see, I guess the only draw back with the BE-300 is the warranty. The company offers a 1 year limited warranty, but I would feel 10x more comfortable with a service plan that replaces the PDA if say, one days its fails to turn on or my battery drains itself. Ive heard so many horror storys about PDAs in general and how they just die after a few months. Im crossing my fingers. But overall, Im really satisfied with the BE-300 cuz its simple to use , has a color display...I mean so what if its a casio, its a name that has been around for years. You will be pleasantly surprised with what you get with your money.
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