Dell Axim X50 Running Linux

Venture37 writes "the guys at handhelds.org have managed to boot the linux kernel on a Dell Axim X50 handheld, the project is at alpha stages, you can grab a copy of the files from handhelds.org or fisherss.com."

Comments

Windows Mobile 2003 SE is Great - So why?

[Deviant]

I have a Dell Axim X30 and I could not be more impressed with MS's latest PDA OS offerings. The unit is cheap, light, fast, stable and with pretty respectable battery life. It has loads of impressive software availible for it. I had a Palm based PDA/Cellphone hybrid for two years and had gotten used to Grafiti - the Transcriber handwriting recognition that lets you just write whole sentances on the screen simply amazing and on an entirely different level. On top of normal note taking and scheduling I can view/edit word documents and excel spreadsheets. I can surf the web including secure online banking sites and check my email with a 802.11b wireless VPN connection. I can watch videos and play music. I can take over PCs using RDC or vnc and connect to them with ssh and ftp. I can read books and manuals in either the Adobe or MS e-book formats. I have never had a problem with any of these things - a testament to how well it has stood up to my extensive use.

From what I gather from the site Linux is nowhere near there on most, if not all, of these points. For your average user Linux might be there on the desktop, and it is my desktop OS, but it certainly is nowhere near there on the PDA. I enjoy tinkering with my PC OS but when it comes to my PDA it has to just work and it is for getting serious work done quickly. It is the device I turn to when all else fails to get the job done. This is one Linux user that is not going to be running Linux on his PDA. I think it is many years away from being close to functional in the way that I need it to be and the way MS's product is today. I give credit where it is due and MS is due it for their Windows Mobile OS.

Re:Windows Mobile 2003 SE is Great - So why?

[Mr. Hankey]

You have a point about Linux for typical PDA use. I've used Linux on PDAs in several incarnations but I'm still most productive with my PalmOS-based Sony Clie. It does everything I want, is easy to use and has been very stable. On the other hand, I think it's great that there is further development with Linux on mobile devices such as this.

Although most people may not know this, the port of Linux to the iPaq brought forth several nice embedded systems and even commercial products. Fluke for example created a Linux-based wireless network scanner using an iPaq. We use one at work, it's much lighter than a laptop and works with much less configuration. Odds are the device would have been slower to market and probably have had fewer features if the Linux port to iPaq handhelds had not existed.

This story may not be interesting for everyone here, but to state that a Linux port to the PDA is irrelevent would be short sighted at best. There are many possibilities for a device which can be hacked up and turned into new products, and that's what excites me to see stories like this.