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Review of the new Dell Axim X50s

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the activate-lust-gland dept.

bargainPDA writes "We have posted an in depth review of the new Dell Axim X50 line which includes three PDAs. The high end X50v features a 3.7" VGA display, CF and SD slots and dual wireless. Dell has done well to beat HP at almost every level and looks good considering palmOne's Tungsten T5 snafus. "

23 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Why no GPS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Now I have to maintain another battery set and drain the PDA battery much faster just to connect an external bluetooth GPS receiver to the X50.

  2. Interesting... by javaman83 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But can it run Linux.

    I figured I might as well get that out of the way.

    1. Re:Interesting... by MikeXpop · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually that's a question to which the answer is interesting.

      If you were thinking about running linux on your ppc, it's a good idea not to buy this. Dell hasn't released information about the hardware to make Linux on it feasable.

      --
      Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
    2. Re:Interesting... by mav[LAG] · · Score: 5, Informative

      That hasn't stopped various hackers from getting a demo working for the X5. If enough people are interested in these models, the hardware will be reverse-engineered and Linux ported.

      --
      --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
  3. WOW - rtfa by squaretorus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm reading the article and my eyes hurt already and we havent moved on from the appearance of the damn thing!
    In case you can't be bothered to read the first 50% of the review - its kinda shiny, and a bit curvier than the old one. Hmmmmm curvy shiny things...

  4. Still unsifficient by mirko · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The tests leave no doubt that the sharper screen and faster processor on the X50v can eat into its battery life. However, I also ran another test, this time optimistically, designed to find out what the maximum battery life of the X50v is. I turned the screen to the minimum level of brightness--which is actually still quite bright--and left the processor mostly idle, as it would be for simple tasks like reading, typing, and PIM.

    X50v maximum life: Approximately 8 hours, 30 minutes

    My first "modern" PDA was a Palm III, it had 4 weeks autonomy, 2 when playing SimCity in Black and White.
    I really loved it but it eventually fell one time too much.
    I also had a Zaurus SL5500 which autonomy was even more pathetic than its sluggishness.
    Now, all the other PDA I saw hardly have more than a working day autonomy, I think this is not good as this does not even make these suitable for camping or for long travels...
    Besides the Tungsten C, I am not sure I want a PDA. But it only caus' it's got a keyboard and wifi.

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
    1. Re:Still unsifficient by cofaboy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My first PDA was a Palm III, lasted 7 years of general abuse before finally giving up the ghost.
      Figured I wouldnt replace as I didnt need it .... 3 days later I'm down Dixons getting a new PDA. Found out that my life revolves around the damn thing sad but true. Bought a Clie cant remember which one; very nice to use, light loads of cool features, and against normal Sony stuff unreliable as hell. 1 week later after 15!! lockups back at Dixons replacing it with a Palm Zire. This turns out to be about the same as a Palm III and covers everything I need.

      --
      In the end, It's all bovine dung you know
  5. Summary of all the reviews by MenssanA · · Score: 5, Informative
    Engadget are maintaining a list of reviews as they come in. So far there's 11 reviews listed which I've reposted here for you. Check out the original at http://www.engadget.com/entry/9927137581414458/. Here's the list:
  6. nothing about microphone quality by js7a · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As usual, the PPC reviewer completely fails to listen to a recording of silence for the presence of buzz from backlight ballasts to near to the microphone leads. WHY???

  7. I'm still using my Visor Deluxe by Jason1729 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's still seems better than any PDA on the market. The most important feature to me is that it take standard batteries (it takes AAA's). I have 2 sets of NiMH ones and a set of alkalines as spares. One set of rechargables is always charging, the other is in the PDA. When the set in the PDA dies, I use the alkalines as a backup until I get home and swap the ones from the charge into the PDA. I'm still getting 3-4 weeks on a charge.

    I had a Treo 90 for the colour screen but the internal Li-Ion battery wouldn't last through a 4-hour flight as an ebook. If I forget to charge it one night, it's useless the next day.

    Jason
    ProfQuotes

  8. /vertisements by Gentlewhisper · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Anyway why are we seeing more and more of these posts here?

    Yet nobody mentioned the Fujitsu Siemens Loox 720?

    --
    Online backup with Mozy, sounds like Ozzie, but more!
  9. What is up with the stupid MP3 Players? by bigman2003 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have an Axim X30. I carry it around all the time, and use it fairly frequently. One of the main things I use it for is an MP3 (wma really) player. As a music player it does a pretty good job- in fact, I put the iPod skin on top of Windows Media Player, and it works just fine when using my thumbs to navigate through songs, etc.

    Of course, it can do more than just play music- I can surf the web, get e-mail, etc. etc. I've noticed that more and more restaurants offer free wireless internet access, and I use this about 1-2 times a week to check my e-mail. Just to make sure that taking a long lunch will be okay, and there are no emergencies dragging me back to the office. (or better yet, I won't get caught taking a long lunch...because replying to an e-mail is just like saying "I'm back in my office")

    I even have some pictures stored on it, and if I really wanted to, I could put on some video.

    So my question/comment is this- if Microsoft makes a product like this (the software) then why the heck would we want to buy their over-sized lesser-functioning media players?

    I don't have one of their new media players- but as far as I know, the functions are:

    - plays music
    - plays video

    Well, their PocketPCs can already do that. And now with the VGA PPC, the video can look pretty damn good. With a PocketaPC I can play a game, or use Excel, or whatever while I listen to music. I keep my contacts, appointments, etc.

    So why not just sell a Pocket PC with a different marketing twist- aimed as a media player, that also does other crap?

    While my PPC is not as nice of a media player as an iPod- it is a better media player than 80% of the dedicated devices I've seen. But you you add in e-mail, this devices zooms to the top of the 'useful crap in my pocket' category.

    --
    No reason to lie.
  10. With a saturated market by aussie_a · · Score: 5, Insightful

    reviewers should really mention one thing "why should/shouldn't I go out and buy this to replace my current PDA." Now I'm not the type of person that will do that even if they do tell me. I'll replace my PDA when it stops working, until then I've got a great PDA. But let's say someone did destroy it tomorrow, I'd be looking at this review and go "nice price tag, what's so good about it that I'd want this one as opposed to another version of my recently-destroyed model? I see no extra features at all, let alone a killer feature. I do see a decrease in battery life, yet this is a good buy? Is this reviewer on crack or on the take?"

    [/rant]

    With so many positive PDA reviews being posted here I'd like, just once, to see a review that says why it's so much better. All I see "this is as good as all the current PDAs, but it's new so therefore it must be a good buy."

    1. Re:With a saturated market by dubstar · · Score: 2

      What I would really like to see is a review of any of these PDA's after they have been in use by someone like myself for several months..

      The X5 I have is a big piece of crap as far as I am concerned. Battery life sucks, and it needs not one but two proprietary batteries - however, even if you do have them both charged you can still lose all your data unless you purchase a CF card. The screen also sucks to read anything from in an outside setting - it's like they polished that mother up, and I am pretty sure you could seriously injure someone's eyesite if you happened to tilt it in the wrong direction on a sunny day.. It seems to me it's either a case of horrible design, or design done specifically to sell add on parts. Either way, I doubt I would buy a Dell PDA after experiencing this one - which I fortunately didn't pay for, it was a review model (which reminds me I should probably send it back to them now that I think of it).

  11. Good for a couple of hundred days... by hughk · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Another problem is that most Li-Ion cells are only good for a couple of hundred recharge cycles. Unless you are into MP3 from your PDA, you may not need to charge everyday.

    The problem is that a device that fails after just two-hundred working days isn't very useful, even if the battery is easily replaced.

    --
    See my journal, I write things there
    1. Re:Good for a couple of hundred days... by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Informative

      Another problem is that most Li-Ion cells are only good for a couple of hundred recharge cycles. Unless you are into MP3 from your PDA, you may not need to charge everyday.
      The problem is that a device that fails after just two-hundred working days isn't very useful, even if the battery is easily replaced.

      Actually, Li-Ion cells don't really suffer too much damage from discharge-charge cycles (as long as you keep them partially charged all the time). Full discharge/charge cycles are bad on Li-Ion cells, though.

      *HOWEVER*, Li-Ion cells do age. For every day that the Li-Ion cell "lives" since the date it was put together by the battery factory, it wears out. They wear out faster if they're fully discharged (not significantly, though). So they'll last around 3-5 years since their manufacture. (Thus, buying spare batteries now to combat the effects of aging in the future is futile - i.e., a waste of money unless you need it now). Especially something to consider when buying refurbed items since the battery may have aged into significant loss of capacity while the device sat on the shelf.

  12. All PDAs disappointing by firefarter · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've got a Sony TH55 myself, but I'm pretty unenthusiastic about it.

    Can it be so hard to build a device that fully implements vCal? Stuff like tentative appointments, categories, etc. Why has syncing data hardly improved since the first Palm Pilot?

    Seriously, the Psions were better at calendaring than most of the new PDAs!

  13. Palmtops becoming less portable by chamilto0516 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I can't figure out where the palmtops are going the way they are. The first palmtop I had was a Palm Pilot (followed by a Hanspring Visor Delux and now, my favorite, Palm Zire 31). Palmtops (and even Palm themselves are mostly guilty of this) are leaving their core appeal: portability

    How you might ask? Something is portable when I can:

    1. Take it with me-Because of all these features, the devices are getting bigger and not necessarily smaller. Do we need two expansion slots? My laptop has 2 expansion slots (PC Card), couldn't a palmtop get buy with one?
    2. Use it after I take it with me-The original Palms could run weeks without a battery replacement and these new palmtops are proud of the number of HOURS the allow you to use the device. How portable is it if you feel you have to take an AC Adapter with you if you plan on being somewhere doing something, God forbid, all day long.
    3. Replace it after I drop it from when I took it with me-It is a PALMtop. Things fall out of palms. What is with the price of these things. I have seen people putting a $800-$900USD (depreciated value) laptop carefully into a padded laptop case while they are less careful than these new palmtops that cost $300-$600USD. The prices are getting closer and closer together. Portable to mean means that I can whip the thing out of a shirt pocket, use it and toss it into whatever gym bag I have next to me or wear it on my belt (given the width of doors in the US and my girth this must be very frightening for my Zire) which I would never do with even a very small laptop.

    I consider my Zire 31 the better of the devices. I have an expansion slot, it is as small or smaller than the first palmtop I owned, I can go up to a week without needing a charge given normal usage and if (when) I break it, I need to spend only another $149USD to replace it. These new palmtops are just smaller laptops, not more advanced palmtops.

    --
    Magic Eight Ball: Outlook not so good., Hmmm, how about Excel and Word?
  14. Mabey Dell can finally offer choice... by WareW01f · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm a Palm guy, mainly out of utility. I got a Palm III when they first came out mainly to replace the cheap 256k organizer I had (which was a gift) and also with the hopes that I could code for the thing. I had it for 6 years. It was insanely useful for reading and held most of my info. I had realized though that it was an organizer first, and a computer second. While I did finally upgade to a TT (mainly for size) I'm still only using the thing for the PIM functionality. That what I've liked about the PalmOS... it's kept that focus. Now with the advent of VGA, WiFi, and hard drives. What you have is *NOT* a PDA, it's a PC. A laptop really (with the battery life of one to boot) It's time to commit to the OS wars in the "PDA" space. Dell is in the perfect position to make a device that has the choice of PPC, PalmOS(Cobalt that is) and yes, even Linux. As a hardware vendor they owe it to themselves. I would buy one of these today... if it had Cobalt or Linux on it. (mainly do to legacy apps I need) I know people that say the same about a T3 running PPC. I say it's time for choice. The Dell's and PalmOne's of the world have nothing to lose but sales!

  15. Slashdot: news for consumers by hopethishelps · · Score: 2, Insightful
    In all this, there's been just one post that asked "does it run Linux" and it seemed to be intended as a joke.

    I'm not just a drooling consumer, I expect to be able to write code for any computing device I buy. The question, "Does it run free software?" is not a joke, it's important to me. If it isn't important to Slashdot editors, I respectfully suggest that Slashdot's byline be changed. "News for Consumers. Stuff for yuppies." would seem to be more accurate than what it currently says.

    1. Re:Slashdot: news for consumers by LilMikey · · Score: 2, Informative

      The question, "Does it run free software?" is not a joke, it's important to me.

      As far as PalmOS devices go, the answer is yes. The PRC-Tools toolchain is all GPL and can take full advantage of PalmOS. Honestly, Palm has decently embraced open source while not actually using Linux on their devices. On the other hand, I'm not familiar with any way to get an app onto an Axim without using a Microsoft compiler. That is until they get Linux running on them and as quickly as the Axim target is moving, I wouldn't hold your breath.

      --
      LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
  16. It kills me, but Jobs is right. by otis+wildflower · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Steve Jobs really pissed me off when he canceled the Newton, to this day it has the best handheld UI bar none. I think it could have been huge (no pun intended) if it had survived long enough to add smaller and larger formfactors, color, wireless.

    I seriously doubt he foresaw the whole pda/phone thing, like the P800, Treo, E680, etc. But, I think he has a point when he talks about how the stuff we need to do with an organizer (todos, events, calendaring, contacts) can be done in a phone.

    I think the main problem with that though is changing wireless standards, frequencies, etc, which require software radios.

  17. And the geeks are ignored. by Raptor+CK · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm not surprised, really. There aren't enough of us to make a difference.

    Even so, here's what I want out of a PDA, and the Axim comes close, but not close enough.

    1) Wifi support, including WPA, and ideally, some VPN software. I move between multiple wireless networks, some more secure than others. WEP and WPA support are a must.
    2) Multitasking. I'm a Palm user, but I'd love to leave programs running in the background properly. (IM programs can do this, IRC and SSH programs cannot. There's a good reason for that, however.)
    3) 80x24 terminal emulation. I don't really care about the resolution, as long as I can read a full terminal's worth of information.
    4) An input system that allows, minimally, Control and Escape in addition to keyboard input.
    5) Enough battery power to get me through the day, and possibly halfway into the next day. I'm okay with charging my battery daily, as long as I can get to the end of the day in the first place.
    6) Applications! SSH is key here. An X server wouldn't be bad either, as I sometimes need to manage some LDAP directories, and I'm a little faster flipping through a handful of nodes in a GUI. Toss in a *good* pressure-sensitive touchscreen, a simple painting app, a good diagramming tool, and a decent notepad, and some kind of handwriting recognition. Hell, make the system fast enough, and I won't even *care* about handwriting, so long as I can read what I write.

    Ideally, what I want needs to function similarly to a paper memo pad, as well as a wireless SSH device, and a built in video camera would be nice. I can't imagine how I got by without a camera on hand at all times. It's great for grabbing data when I have no time to write it down. Voice memos are similarly important. Syncing via bluetooth would be nice, but not crucial. Persistent data access is a must, so add a flash backup system if needed.

    Give me about 256 MB of space to work in, and I'll generally be fine. It's not for watching DVDs, it's not my MP3 jukebox, it's a tool. I use it to gain access to data, much of which won't be stored locally anyway. Just leave me space for my notes and thoughts, and everything else can get pulled from the WLAN as needed.

    --
    Raptor
    "Procrastination is great. It gives me a lot more time to do things that I'm never going to do."