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Handhelds Hardware

Dell Handhelds Released 288

Posted by Hemos from the palm-is-shaking dept.
watzinaneihm writes "Dell has released its Axim X5 handheld as as promised . At $299 after rebate, a reasonable buy, price-wise. "
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Dell Handhelds Released More

Dell Handhelds Released

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  • What about... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:41AM (#4696193)
    the other $199 handheld after rebate? Why no mention of that?

    • Re:What about... (Score:2, Informative)

      by Flabby Boohoo ( 606425 )
      It was a summary comment... the link provides the details.

      I mean, you found the information after clicking the link, right?

      • > It was a summary comment... the link provides the details.
        > I mean, you found the information after clicking the link, right?

        Yes, but the whole point of the summary was to communicate that Dell has Pocket PC device available and that it's very cheap. $199 conveys the cheap part better than $299, and the only difference that I see between them at first glance is that the cheaper model has less memory.

        I agree with the original comment poster that it's strange that they didn't announce the $199 version, and the user would have then clicked through and seen that they also had a $299 version. I believe the question was valid.

        RP

    • Re:What about... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Mwongozi ( 176765 )
      They obviously didn't pay CmdrTaco [168.143.181.42] to endorse this product.

  • The name (Score:4, Funny)

    by red_dragon ( 1761 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:43AM (#4696210) Homepage

    The name is Axim, as in "Axe him", not "Axmin" as in "Axe the admin"... uhm... OK, so there's little difference between the two. Fine.

  • Linux (Score:5, Informative)

    by e8johan ( 605347 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:44AM (#4696214) Homepage Journal
    Intel X-Scale Processor at 400MHz/300MHz, 32-64MB SDRAM Memory, 32-48MB Flash. Looks like it could run Linux quite easily. I've got a similar design [karo-electronics.de] just next to me here running it quite happily.
    • Intel X-Scale Processor at 400MHz/300MHz, 32-64MB SDRAM Memory, 32-48MB Flash. Looks like it could run Linux quite easily.
      Not necessarily. There's a lot more to porting an OS than just whether it can run on the processor and whether the system has enough memory. Dell needs to release specs on the system's firmware, hareware/communication protocols, etc. The nice thing about iPaqs is that Compaq released all their system specs, which is why you can run linux on almost all iPaqs (see the Familiar [handhelds.org] project).

      So, Dell, how 'bout the specs? I'd love a $200 linux handheld!

  • Price (Score:5, Funny)

    by Patik ( 584959 ) <.cpatik. .at. .gmail.com.> on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:44AM (#4696215) Homepage Journal
    For $399 can I get one without a giant red bow? I'm not sure the extra bulge in my pants is necessary.

  • Axmin? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Zech Harvey ( 604609 )

    Will they be having a Wolverine model with retractable WiFi antenna? Or perhaps The Beast, completely Blue....tooth. Or the Cyclops model with a long-range IR port. ;)

    (not to be pendantic, but it's Axim.)

  • Guess the OS (Score:3, Funny)

    by InodoroPereyra ( 514794 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:48AM (#4696247)
    Let's see ... oh!, Microsoft® Pocket PC 2002 Premium ! That's very surprising coming from Dell. I'll sit back and wait for the Wal-Mart $100 Linux handheld ;-)

  • looks nice (Score:3, Interesting)

    by andynms ( 564072 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:49AM (#4696250)
    Looks nice, but nothing really special or new. If I hadn't just bought a Toshiba, I might have picked up one of these. It'd be nice if they'd make a ruggedized version for field use too. My company currently has to go to companies like Symbol and Intermec for ruggedized Pocket PC devices. (We get nearly everything else from Dell.)

  • Available in the UK (Score:5, Informative)

    by johnburton ( 21870 ) <johnb@jbmail.com> on Monday November 18, 2002 @09:51AM (#4696264) Homepage
    I emailed dell last week to see if, or when these would be available in the UK. I got back a reply saying they'd passed my message on to the appropriate person but other than that no reply for 3 working days now. They can't want to sell them very much.
  • Is it just me or is it not possible to get the one on the right down to $199??
    it says starting at $199, but when you go to "customize it" there is no option you can dumb down anymore, and it says $249... lame dell

    • Re:Dell's Prices (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      That price is BEFORE the $50 rebate (read the page carefully). So after rebate it is indeed $199.

    • Re:Dell's Prices (Score:2, Informative)

      by Dukebytes ( 525932 )
      Actually that would be "typical Dell". Their web site sucks for the configs. Well it is nice that you can config it on the web site - but a lot of the times some of the parts are wrong and the price is never right during the config.

      Save it to a cart and you'll see the rebates - then call Dell and give the rep the cart number and have him/her send you a quote - its ALWAYS cheaper that way.

      Duke

    • Is it just me or is it not possible to get the one on the right down to $199??
      it says starting at $199, but when you go to "customize it" there is no option you can dumb down anymore, and it says $249... lame dell

      My screen also says "Price before $50 mail in rebate".
  • Dell must have gotten a very big discount on PocketPC 2002 [slashdot.org]...

  • The cheaper one is most interesting (Score:5, Interesting)

    by uradu ( 10768 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:00AM (#4696323)
    This should be the first handheld with TFT color, 32MB RAM and two expansion slots for under $200. Except for the porky-looking dimensions this should beat the pants off Palm or Sony. Maybe Sony will lower the price on the PEG-SJ30 to under $200 in response.

    • Size matters... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Viewsonic ( 584922 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:41AM (#4696585)
      While I dont mine the WINCE OS and the apps etc .. The size of all these things are just too big to carry around. Compared to a totally slim Palm, it's like night and day. I have yet to find a nice slim and AFFORDABLE WINCE handheld...I own a Cassiopia and it's mostly a clock now because it pulls my pants down around my ankles when I put it in my pocket. Belts are for the weak.
      • > The size of all these things are just too big to carry around.

        That's what mainly puts me off WinCE devices also (that, plus the lofty prices--I refuse to carry a $600 item in my pocket that could be ruined by slamming into a desk). I've become pretty pragmatic about OSs in general, and as long as there's a decent amount of software and good programming tools available, I don't really care what religion the device runs.
      • Try the Viewsonic V35 [viewsonic.com]. It's the thinnest Pocket PC available, and seems to be on par with Palm thickness wise.

        Check out the preview on Pocket PC Thoughts [pocketpcthoughts.com] for more info.

      • Re:Size matters... (Score:2, Informative)

        by ergo98 ( 9391 )
        While I dont mine the WINCE OS and the apps etc .. The size of all these things are just too big to carry around. Compared to a totally slim Palm, it's like night and day.

        Have you tried out a Toshibe e310 or e730. They're as slim as any Palm (literally), and far more powerful to boot. I have an e310 and it's been a fantastic experience.

      • Re:Size matters... (Score:3, Informative)

        by the gnat ( 153162 )
        I actually liked the iPaq even with PocketPC 2002- all sorts of things I consider crippling annoyances on Windows (over-dependence on icons and GUI) work very well there, and the familiarity of the interface is a plus. It seemed to run very smoothly, too- must have been a huge leap from CE. The screen was gorgeous on the model I tried, and the machine actually felt reasonably fast. I've never been much impressed with PalmOS handhelds (except for the awesome clamshell Clie models, and they have problems too). But I'd normally rather have my pubic hairs plucked out than use Windows for any length of time, and I loved the iPaq the first time I used it.

        However, these things can get out of control in a hurry. My coworkers bought the entire PCMCIA cradle, and at that point it won't fit into any pocket outside of a large winter jacket. Then we threw in my wireless card, and we ended up having this ridiculously obese little gadget with an antenna sticking out that wrung every last bit of life out of the batteries in a few minutes. This was only partially compensated for by the coolness factor of controlling our NT PDC through Windows Terminal Services on the iPaq.

        I'd once thought that high-end handhelds needed Microdrives before they became truly useful, but Flash memory is so cheap that a much more fragile hard drive would be superfluous. Still, I'd like to have one of these (or rather the Zaurus, since I'm a Unix programmer) with integrated 802.11, which would enable me to throw in all sorts of other gadgets and/or a shitload of memory and still have full connectivity.

  • Obligatory Palm question (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mr_Silver ( 213637 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:05AM (#4696356)
    Given that yet another manufacturer has released yet another PPC, can anyone speculate why there is this rash of companies eager to jump on the PPC bandwagon but only Sony who are with Palm?

    (yes, I know there is Handera and Handspring, but one has pretty much vanished and the other is doing smartphones)

    How did Microsoft manage to attract all these companies and Palm fail rather miserably? What is MS doing that Palm isn't?

    • Re:Obligatory Palm question (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Junta ( 36770 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:11AM (#4696392)
      Two things:

      1) It's MS. Unfortunately, that in and of itself given equal footing will typically cause many companies to ditch anyone else. They see the computer industry and don't want to end up on the losing end if MS does the same thing in the handheld market.

      2) Palm's m68k platform quickly became underpowered after their release. Despite this clear fact, they kept going on it. Only recently with the release of their Tungsten handheld have they made strides toward a more powerful platform (ARM). It may already be too late, but this is the direction Palm has to take to even regain equal footing. That being said, among many managers especially the name Palm carries some weight and they will buy Palm brand PDAs while only comparing the specs to other Palm products...

    • Re:Obligatory Palm question (Score:5, Interesting)

      by johnburton ( 21870 ) <johnb@jbmail.com> on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:13AM (#4696404) Homepage
      Basically palm introduced their PDA a few years ago and they were good at the time, but they've gone nowhere since. PPC's are a generation later and are more powerful, have better software, faster, more memory and are more compatible with the software people use on their computers. Basically the palm you can buy now is identical to the one you could get four years ago except it's in a new box and has a bit more memory maybe. Because the pocket pc things are "bigger" machines, a lot more of the interesting software has been developed for them. The new palms look a bit better but they still seem rather outdated compared with their competition. Their new OS6 when it comes out next year looks interesting though.
      • where does battery life fit into this? It's been my major reason for sticking with Palm despite all of the additional power/features/flexibility that is available with the PocketPC platform. Do you think that consumers don't care that a PocketPC device needs to be charged every night? Or is the marketing shifting attention away from this fact and toward the additional functionality?
        • Charging every night isn't a big deal to many users. My personal belief is that cell phones have trained people to plug in electronic devices regularily and/or buy "travel" chargers. Even people that own units with AAA batteries seem to use NiMH more than alkaline.

          Personally, I'd really like a hi-res color display (as opposed to the 160x160 gray scale on my m125) and that is the only compelling reason to upgrade right now.

    • Re:Obligatory Palm question (Score:5, Interesting)

      by AKnightCowboy ( 608632 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:16AM (#4696415)
      What is MS doing that Palm isn't?

      Marketing? I'd much rather have a PPC than a Palm these days. The 802.11b adapter for the Palm sucks, there's no decent web browser and it's nothing but an expensive datebook. The PPC on the other hand has a nice windows media player, pocket internet explorer, pocket office apps, compact flash slots to accomodate 802.11b wireless cards, etc. Yea, we can all pretend to hate Microsoft, but the PPC stuff is just fabulous. Xbox, Pocket PC, mice, keyboards, etc. If only Microsoft could turn a profit in these other areas where they actually DO produce something cool and not lame old Windows and Office it'd be exciting.

    • Re:Obligatory Palm question (Score:5, Funny)

      by tmark ( 230091 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:19AM (#4696431)
      What is MS doing that Palm isn't?
      Making money ? (cymbal crash)

      (sorry...still stung after the Palm IPO debacle)
      • Actually, according to Microsoft's recent SEC filings
        they are losing money on PocketPC stuff. Only the
        Windows PC OS line and the Office application suite
        line are making a profit. They are using their deep
        pockets to subsidize a take-over of the palmtop
        world. It's amusing though, because this market
        is *tiny* compared to the cellphone market, where
        they are tanking bigtime, so the WinCE line is very
        unlikely to turn a profit for a loooooong time.
        If the desktop and office lines should begin to
        lose margin, I smell an investor lawsuit over
        WinCE and the X-Box.

    • Re:Obligatory Palm question (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Cyn ( 50070 )
      I don't believe dell has restricted itself to PPC only - unlike many of the other PPC Licensees. That doesn't mean they will be making any Palm devices, just that they can. [could use same hardware too... hmmmmmm - tho screen would need to change]
    • I don't know if I'd look at Dell's selection of OS as any indicator of market trends. Dell has been a PC clone manufacturer since Day 1, and doesn't really seem to be doing any R&D on other operating environments other than the obligatory Linux install for a low end server.

      I think the reason for attraction to Microsoft is that most hardware manufacturers are looking for fatter margins than $100 PDA's, and their sweet spot seems to be the $700 pocket replacement for a laptop. Palm's price point is more of a personal or consummer device, which maybe is more attractive to a company like Sony that knows how to make money in that space.

    • Palm has had management problems; the visionary folks who founded the company split off to form Handspring, leaving Palm in the hands of bean counters. The bean counters have a cash cow, but they've been resting on their laurels a bit too long.

      Meanwhile, MS poured money into research and development to come up with something much better. PPC2002 with accompanying hardware is pretty formidable now. MP3 playback, brilliant color screens, lots of business software.

      I've tried to be loyal to Palm, moving from III to IIIxe to a PalmOS based Handera, but I've just about had it with Palm's lack of a clue. They kept changing the form factor, obsoleting useful and expensive accessories such as Kodak's PalmPix, modems, hip cases, etc. The Zire is a joke; no backlight, no expansion, missing two of the traditional four buttons, a weird rubber flap that won't stay flipped back. The Tungsten seems somewhat promising but it's mighty expensive and seems a little clunky compared to the slick PPC competition.

      Handspring seemed to be going somewhere for a while but they've gotten sidetracked into the phone thing; they made their name on expandability, but their Treo product doesn't even have an expansion slot. Sony is stuck in their not invented here mentality with their stupid memory sticks. If the Clie had CF and/or MMC slots it would be just about ideal.

      I think the field is wide open right now. MS obviously has the advantage; they can just keep pouring money into PPC and improving it year after year, and they can strike deals with vendors like Dell to saturate the market. There's nothing to stop MS from attacking Palm at the low end of the market; a Power PC Lite with a $150 platform is technically possible; if MS pushed this Palm would rapidly disapper, methinks.
    • Given that yet another manufacturer has released yet another PPC, can anyone speculate why there is this rash of companies eager to jump on the PPC bandwagon but only Sony who are with Palm?

      Apropos of nothing, I see that Fossil [fossil.com] is gonna make a PalmOS watch. The specs [fossil.com] say 160x160 screen... square, no Graffiti area, and not surprisingly there aren't as many buttons as a PDA so I don't know how much to trust their claim that all Palm apps will work (or rather I wonder "for what value of work?").

  • But.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by leomekenkamp ( 566309 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:08AM (#4696367)
    But what's that red thing on the left topside? Some sort of redtooth antenna?

  • Dude! You're getting a *.*!!! (Score:3, Funny)

    by imag0 ( 605684 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:08AM (#4696368) Homepage
    Please place all the "Dude! you're getting a..." missives right under this thread for accurate accounting. Thanks!

  • Palm Death? (Score:5, Funny)

    by squaretorus ( 459130 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:13AM (#4696403) Homepage Journal
    Average response around the world to this announcement being passed on by IT department:

    Dell do a handheld? - like my desktop and laptop? Is it black? Does it have a nice carry case? Will it 'work with my laptop'? OK I'll have one! Sweet!

    Suit gets a new toy
    IT get something else to support thats likely to break a lot
    Corp spending rises again

    Bingo! Worlds problems solved in a oner! Poor old Palm.
  • Is there any way to sync a PocketPC on Linux?
    Is there an emulator to run Palm OS apps on PocketPC?
    Is there a Java runtime environment for PocketPC?

  • Battery life (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Koos Baster ( 625091 ) <ghostbustersNO@SPAMxs4all.nl> on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:23AM (#4696453)
    Hmm. Either 1440 mAh (standard) or 3400 mAh (optional) Li-Ion rechargeables; but a back-lit screen, 400MHz XScale, 64MB ram, and a Microsoft OS. Will this thing be usable for more than one hour without an adapter one year after I've bought it, or is this yet another handheld that's supposed to remain at my desktop?

    --
    In theory there is no difference between practice and theory
    But in practice there is

    • Re:Battery life (Score:5, Insightful)

      by thatguywhoiam ( 524290 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @12:17PM (#4697475)
      Will this thing be usable for more than one hour without an adapter one year after I've bought it, or is this yet another handheld that's supposed to remain at my desktop?

      Since they don't quote any specifics about battery time on the site, I'd say the latter.

      To those of you who are bemoaning Palm/Sony's 'abysmal lagging' in terms of specs, I suggest you put this particular factoid in perspective.

      While the Palm hardware platform has not evolved much, the battery life (to my mind) is a gigantic make-or-break feature. Palm's problem is that the first version of what they made worked pretty well, and subsequant versions too well. 5 years worth of appointments, phone numbers, and to-do lists, and the battery goes for weeks and weeks. That's it. That's what it does. It does this really well.

      PocketPCs are really just glorified minilaptops. Which is why the Newton failed. The Enterprise people might appreciate them but for most others they simply do not do the job. Sure, more than powerful enough, but what good is all that power if it dies 1 hour into a plane trip? All the l33t specs in the world will not help a dead PocketPC. And a wimpy Palm will keep doing what it says it does.

      Colour displays and multimedia are all fine and good, but I'd never ever give up battery life. For what Palm professes to do, it works great. The PocketPC platforms are seriously overdesigned IMHO.

      • PCMag's review [pcmag.com] puts the battery life at 8 hours. Not weeks-long like Palms, but more than enough to last a work day. I'm sure that life would be reduced to around 2-3 hours of continuous use if you had a CompactFlash 802.11b card running, but hell, that's something you can't even do with a Palm (ok, except for that old, enormous $300 802.11 add-on module), so it's not a comparable issue.

      • Re:Battery life (Score:2, Informative)

        by ozonex ( 143284 )
        From a Review at pcmag.com [pcmag.com]:

        "The X5 boasts dual expansion slots for SecureDigital/MultiMedia cards and CompactFlash Type II cards. It has a removable, rechargeable battery rated at about 8 hours per charge. The value configuration comes with a synchronization cable. A docking cradle with a battery charging slot for a spare battery is a $40 (street) option and comes standard with the performance configuration."

  • I was looking and I noticed something that I hope isn't just a wierd thing on Dell's site. When you click to configure the handheld, the price of the higher-end model is 329. Now, $329 - $50 should equal $279, which would be the actual price, NOT $299. So, the nice model is even cheaper than stated, or so it seems.

    The other question would be backlighting. I've seen lots of color PDA's, but the problem is always backlighting. The Yopy [yopy.com] for example has a nice display, runs Linux, but without backlighting it's hard to read. With backlighting, battery usage goes way up. Dell's site says something about "backlit powerbutton", but I see nothing about a backlit screen. However, either way I wonder how long the thing can continuously run, with or without backlighting. That's another thing missing from this site. Good on price, bad on details. I'll have to wait till a bit more information is out.

    Last note - it's hard to compare these to the Compaq iPAQs. [compaq.com] Though more expensive, the iPAQs are solid pieces of machine with a good history. It's unknown yet how these perform, and whether these have all the "features" that iPAQs have. This goes back to that backlit question.

  • for the conspiracy theorists (Score:3, Interesting)

    by F2F ( 11474 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:28AM (#4696483)
    wonder why no mention of the new HP iPAQ released today with the very same price ($299) http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28146.html [theregister.co.uk]..

    and this one runs a host of other, non-MS operating systems...

  • Product Review (Score:3, Insightful)

    by toupsie ( 88295 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:34AM (#4696521) Homepage
    Its a PDA. It runs Pocket PC 2002. It only works with Windows. It costs $299. Yawn.

    This not a new PDA, just a faster retread from a company that never produced a PDA before.

  • CNET review (Score:4, Informative)

    by andynms ( 564072 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @10:37AM (#4696545)
    Here's a review from CNET [cnet.com].

  • The Answer to *WHY* Is Obvious (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dbretton ( 242493 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @11:08AM (#4696790) Homepage
    If you look at the problem from the correct perspective.
    That perspective, of course, is corporate computer sales/leases.
    One of the things which Compaq brings to the negotiations table, when dealing with large computer leases/purchases, is the ability to toss in WinCE PDAs (iPaq's). Many times, the PDA's are sold at a cut rate, or given away to sweeten the deal. This is a nice benefit for companies, and is an area where Dell has been lacking.
    Now they can offer WinCE PDA's at a significantly cheaper price than the iPaq's. This removes one of the few selling advantages which Compaq held over Dell.

  • of ports and batteries (Score:2, Interesting)

    by fermion ( 181285 )
    First, I wonder what the battery life is on these puppies. Even the X-Scale is an ARM, Intel is not known for making chips that sip power, and MS is certainly not know for it's power management. I wonder if I will get the several days I am used to on my rechargeable Palm. Why don't PDA vendors list battery life anymore?

    Second, this seems to be a prime example of customers being forced to pay for crippled technology. Although Dell get our appreciation graciously allowing us access to our own data by including unprotected memory, is then any end user reason to waste money and real estate on secure digital slot? Does anyone really want to spend $100 on crippled memory? I assume that unlike other PDA vendors, they are not using integrated slots. I could be wrong because the detail in the copy is pretty limited.

    I aso assume that this will only work with windows, probably only windows XP and 2000, and will include MS viral licensing for updates.

    I am not MS or dell bashing. I don't really like any of the PDA options right now. If I ran windows this machine would be good inexpensive option. It just seems that we have gotten overrun with feature we don't want and don't need. For instance, we want a bigger battery. Instead, we got an extra crippled slot.

  • Sharp contrast (Score:2, Informative)

    by rjamestaylor ( 117847 )
    The Dell is nice, but I can't wait to get my hands
    on a new Zaurus.

    I'm lookging to migrate a Palm OS app to a new
    platform that is handheld and browser based. I had
    been thinking to go PocketPC and develop towards
    PocketIE (which is closer to MSIE 3.0 than
    anything else), until I saw a pre-release of the
    new Zaurus at a medical technology seminar
    recently.

    Its hardware is very similar to the new Dell, with
    the exceptional addition of the sliding case with
    thumb board. Better yet, it comes with a powerful
    version of the Opera browser.

    Of course, it's based on Linux already, so no need
    to wipe PokeyPC off first. I saw the office-app
    components (RTF editor, Excel-like thingy) but
    didn't really get a good look at the overall
    system. I hope to remedy that shortly.

    (FYI - The Zaurus, made by Sharp inspired my title)

  • With pricing and features like this, Dell is sure to force some changes in the PocketPC market. First and foremost: pricing. I think it's great that Dell's undercutting the other vendors with the Axim, as PocketPC handhelds are so overpriced it isn't even funny. I currently own a Palm handheld (IIIxe) and I'm due for an upgrade. I might be persuaded to go PocketPC as opposed to Palm for that upgrade, if the price is right. I think they're appealing more to people like myself who may be seeing their handheld as more than just a PIM, but as an extension of the PC. If Palm won't cater to that, I'll go elsewhere (even if it's powered by a Microsoft OS).

    What's everyone's thoughts on this? Are there other Palm users seriously pondering switching?

    • (even if it's powered by a Microsoft OS) Ooooh, that is bound to get you seriously scorched in here. I feel the same way about the PocketPCs being overpriced - I would much rather buy a full-size computer than spend $400-500 on one of those devices. I feel that Palm definitely tries to fill a "PIM only" type of market, even with their higher-end devices.

      If the prices were better, I'd definitely pick up a higher end - PocketPC, Clie, etc. etc. but in the meantime I'll stick with a base model (like the m105 I have right now). On the other hand, I'd probably waste too much time on a higher-end gadget and start getting smacked for not paying attention at auctions, etc. - much like I do now even with the lower-end device (thanks to Acrobat Reader for Palm OS!)
    • As a Palm user perhaps you should take a look at their new hardware/software direction. If you want to cram a PC into a form factor that it wasn't meant to fit in, then by all means go for it. Now if you want a handheld that works so well that people are still running 5 year old models, only scaled up to newer hardware and with more features, then look at Palm.

      You can't tell me that the latest Sony and Palm gear isn't damn sexy. Its smaller too!

  • How about some reviews... (Score:5, Informative)

    by dbretton ( 242493 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @11:18AM (#4696872) Homepage
    here's one [pcmag.com]

    here's another [zdnet.com.au]

    and another [geek.com]

  • Product Differentiation (Score:5, Insightful)

    by PureCreditor ( 300490 ) on Monday November 18, 2002 @11:24AM (#4696929)
    Has anyone noticed that Dell's A5, like most other PPC devices out there, contains nearly no product differentiation. They only differ by CPU and RAM, and some devices have identical specs.

    Product differentiation is key to broad audience acceptance. Sony Clie's are popular because they have regular (T) and clamshell designs (NR/NX). Nokia phones are popular because their designs differ, on top of specs. Notice how most Samsung and LG phones are clamshell design, which immediate removed it's appeal from half the people who prefer candy-bar style phones.

  • I noticed that Dell offer an external fold-up keyboard with this device, making it as useful as a lightweight notebook if you're like me and prefer typing than writing. It seems to be the first portable PocketPC device with such an option (I've seen the keyboards for the Palms and they work really well especially when taking notes).

    THe missing feature? No PCMCIA slot so I can't throw a Cisco wireless card in there and do a site survey easily. I'd be restricted to the cards in the CF form factor where there are not as many options/features.

    But it's got a good price. Hell, US$200 seems damn sweet for me. Beats the pants off a secondhand Compaq 206mhz unit for the price.
  • We have been looking for an answer, no luck. Going to try our Dell rep soon. Thanks!
  • Here are a few ideas that would make this device better:

    - Switch the locations of the speaker and microphone. This would allow some sort of CF mobile phone module to be used with this device without having to flip it over.

    - SD/MMC slot to be used for RAM expansion. 64M is just not enough.

    - They should remove that internal ROM and include a second CF slot, possibly an internal one. 48M is not enough memory. I would love to throw a IBM microdrive in there. I realize that there is already a CF slot that I should be able to put a microdrive in, but what if I want to download files to it?


    This device is pretty good. Taking into consideration that it is their first such device, they have done a excellent overall job in its designe. I hope I get one this X-Mas
  • Dell has $50 off on the very first day of sale. this gives a new meaning to MSRP. Dell is the manufacturer, seller, promoter everything. on the very first unit they sell, they call it $50 off. $50 off of what?

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