Portable Addons Battery Case
I have always been amazed that my Casio Cassiopeia A-11 was so unsuited to its task; so much so that I have been looking for excuses for it ever since, although without much success. To be fair, the successor CE 2.0 model from Casio, the A-20, is far more admirable, but the A-11 lacks all possible redeeming features; the best that can be said for it, in the immortal words of Sir Humphrey, is that it is courageous. If there was a Microsoft award for Total Deficiency in Usability, the A-11 would be a surefire winner.
The defect ne plus ultra was that it was unable to drive my PC Card modem through a successful connection, yet was supplied without a mains adaptor, and to add insult to injury, had a non-standard power supply connector. This limitation is due to the 2 AA cell power supply built in to all CE machines; anything that can help to allieve this lack of capacity has to be a good thing.
I'm of the general opinion that PDAs need cases like motorbikes need stabilisers, but there are times when nothing else will do. Some PDAs need a case to protect their screen, or their casing from scratches; but the added bulk is usually enough such that the general effect is that you just lose them more easily. When I use a case with a PDA, it is so that I can keep all the odd cables and cards all in the same place when I am travelling, which is a good enough reason for me.
When trying to get some value out of the Cassiopeia, the battery case supplied by Portable Addons for Windows CE machines caught my attention. It is a leather case with an extended life NiMH battery inside it that can extend the life of typical CE machines up to about 14 hours. It normally comes with an adaptor cable for the HP320 and 360 machines, but adaptors are also available for other HPCs, including the Cassiopeia A-20 and A-11. The case is the size of a large Filofax, the same size as several of the various cases that were made for the Apple Newton, and can take any HPC inside, including the rather large HP620LX (although there isn't a power adaptor for it). On one side is a tacky mat that the HPC rests on; it is sufficiently adhesive that the HPC won't slide about, but not sticky enough for it to pick up dust and hair from the environment. The other side has the normal assortment of pockets and folding dividers to hold credit cards and receipts. The spine of the case has a pouch to hold the supplied rechargeable battery. One end of the battery takes the adaptor cable that feeds power to the HPC, and the other accepts an adaptor cable for a 12V car cigar lighter socket. The part that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket is quite bulky; my car has restricted room between the gear stick and the bulkhead in which the lighter socket fits. Although I could just fit the adaptor in without fouling the gear stick, I had to watch out for pinching my fingers when changing into first and third, and I would often dislodge the adaptor by accident so that it stopped charging.
The leather is of medium quality, so it won't impress any interested fetishists, and the mat isn't sufficient to hold the HPC in place if you should accidentally open it upside down. However, the battery certainly lives up to its promise; I was able to run the Cassiopeia for a couple of hours connected to the Internet, and could have gone on much longer if there was anything of interest out there. The other snag is that there is only a car adaptor for recharging, although there is a mains adaptor in the works.
As I only ever use a case of this type when travelling, to keep together my various cards and pieces, which is also when I am most likely to need the extra power reserves for a modem connection, I don't find the bulk a disadvantage. If this matches your requirements, then it is well worth considering. I'd prefer to see it with a mains power adaptor rather than a car adaptor as standard, which I think will fit most likely users needs rather better. The price may put some people off, but if you compare the price of a similar leather case plus a laptop battery, then it doesn't look so outrageous. For me, the clincher is that it has transformed my old Cassiopeia from an ineffective doorstop into a usable occasional mail client. I'm still going to prefer the HP620LX for travelling email, but it's good to know that I have a fall-back to a different CE HPC if I need one.
http://www.portable.co.uk/ . There are several different models, including one with a nylon covering, with prices varying between £129 and £169.
Words and design by:
Paul Lynch
Last updated: June 8, 1998