Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC
By Merle Nicholson, Tampa PC Users Group
merle@merlenicholson.com
Pocket PC’s are pretty much alike once you get beyond the basic features. There are some new options available now that are very interesting and maybe just the thing you need to push you over the fence, like it did me.
The newest developments in Pocket PC’s are: camera (naturally), cell phone, faster processors, WiFi, Bluetooth and VGA screens. There are a lot of models to look at with some or all of these features. I can’t keep track of all of the HP iPAQ models, but I’d thought I’d pretty much narrowed my choice down to the HP iPAQ HX4705 ($617.50!) as my base unit of choice. It had all the latest stuff I “need”. I could also look some more and maybe even wait six months.
I wasn’t about to spend $617.50 on a pocket PC! But it intrigued me enough (actually, I REALLY wanted one!) to look around to see who else is making a PDA with the newest Intel 624MHz processor and who else has VGA. I’d read one reviewer article that said that VGA on a small screen like this is useless except in viewing pictures because the small screen dictates that all the elements — buttons, text, borders etc. — must be oversize anyway. Now that I’ve experienced the difference, the VGA has so much obviously superior screen clarity that it has to be the way they’ll all go eventually.
The usual Pocket PC screen size is QVGA (Quarter VGA) at 240x 320 pixels. VGA quadruples that at 640x480 (Actually 480x640 when viewed in normal portrait mode). There is a modification of the Microsoft Pocket PC OS, called 2003 Second Edition, written to accommodate switching between Portrait and Landscape modes.
And, of course, I wanted WiFi, so I can sit in Barnes and Noble and check on the latest HP and Dell stock quotes, and maybe check out my email. Last, why not Bluetooth in case I want a GPS, wireless keyboard or a wireless headset? I definitely do not need a camera or cell phone on my PDA.
I have a Cassiopeia E-125 that I’ve been using continuously since I got it three years ago. A Pocket PC syncs up Office Outlook automatically to Pocket Mail, Calendar, contacts, tasks and notes. I depend on it for appointments and all my personal and business contacts. Drop it in the cradle and the Pocket PC to Outlook starts automatically, and in a few seconds it’s done. I have Pocket Streets and Trips 2002 with a half dozen or more city maps, and I also use it as a personal picture viewer to dazzle people with pictures of my grandchildren.
The OS on my Casio is not upgradeable. And I thought I would use the MS Money that came with it as my checkbook except that I found that it sync’d up only with MS Money 2002 on the PC. I couldn’t buy MS Money 2002 for the PC – no longer available in 2003, and I couldn’t upgrade the version on the Pocket PC with the existing OS, and I couldn’t upgrade the OS. So eventually I abandoned using Money. I have the same problem with MS Reader. I want to buy books online and most books now are protected, so you’re allowed one download each to two registered devices. Guess what. My OS is too old for the new MS Reader. Do I need a new Pocket PC? You betcha!
Dell Axim X50v! It has what I want, and by December 2004, Dell had put a sizeable discount on the price down to $419, and it’s still available as of this writing – 1/30/05. That’s a clear $200 less than the HP – 32% in fact, so there’s no contest for me.
So I figured out how to get it delivered on my birthday and feign surprise that someone mailed me a gift. The UPS guy wasn’t impressed. I think he always gets birthday gifts.
The photo below is of the old Casio next to the new little rocket. The physical screen sizes are almost identical. The Casio’s is perhaps .1” taller.
The specs on the new little rocket (copied and modified from the Dell website) are:
I know I’ll get asked about how hard it is to get connected to the nearest wireless router, so I’ll relate my first connection. I accidentally bumped the WiFi button, a box popped up asking for the WEP security for the network it detected, I typed it in the five characters I use for the WEP and then opened Internet Explorer to the default home page. That was it. After that all I ever had to do is accidentally bump the WiFi button, and it automatically connected. I did go into the setup and turn off the Bluetooth radio for now.
The things I don’t like about it are few. The biggest is the location of the two buttons on the left side; the recorder button and the WiFi connection. I cannot pick the PDA up without touching one of those buttons. They’re not recessed, and they’re sensitive. I don’t need a recorder button. So I have reprogrammed the two buttons to do nothing, and programmed the WiFi button on the front. Now no button does anything if it accidentally gets pressed. My Casio has similar buttons in the same location and they never got pressed because they are properly recessed.
So how good is the new Dell? Fast? As an example, to load my 2MB Hillsborough County Street and Trips map – less than a second. On my old one, I could have completely driven out of the county while it loaded. Actually just fifteen seconds on the old Casio, but it always seemed longer. And clicking through pictures goes as fast as I can go, no delay. I’m extremely happy with the quality of the screen.
During my research into current Pocket PC’s, I’d read more than one warning that some older applications that you may be using may not migrate to the new PDA, either because of operating system differences, or, in this case, screen display conflicts. And particularly if you want to use the landscape feature of the new screen.
My one fear was that my Pocket PC Streets and Trips 2002 that came with the desktop copy of Streets and Trips 2004 would not work on the VGA screen, but it’s great. It’s still QVGA resolution, but I can live with that. MS is selling a revised Streets and Trips For Pocket PC 2005 as a separate product now. I’m considering it, but I’ll more likely go to the Delorme Street Atlas USA 2005 Handheld for $39.95. It’s not clear if it will work on this PDA from their website, but I’ve emailed their support site to find out.
And the last thing I’ll mention is not specifically about the Dell. All Pocket PC’s are not necessarily the same. Because of the variety of processors used, there are differences in the operating systems that will prevent you from migrating from one Pocket PC to another the software you have purchased. Usually on an installation CD you will see three .CAB files, only one of which will be used because that is the one specifically written for your processor. In my case, I purchased a couple of applications for my Casio that has only one setup, just for a MIPS processor. So I’ve abandoned the applications, and in one case I may try to replace it. The best news is that there are literally thousands of high quality programs written for the Pocket PC, and all are pretty cheap, just $5-$15.
The user interface has been improved in appearance, but functionally hasn’t changed at all since Pocket PC 2002. On the new VGA screen, the text is very clear and much easier on the eyes. u