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Handhelds Hardware

Review of the new Dell Axim X50s 95

Posted by CmdrTaco 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. "
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Review of the new Dell Axim X50s More

Review of the new Dell Axim X50s

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  • I'd rather buy a Compaq iPaq.
    Everyone I know who has one of these Dell turds is bitter, angry and late for their appointments.
    • I think Dell is angling to pick up a lot of HP iPaq customers with these new models. The styling is similar to the "classic" silver iPaqs before HP went for the all grey look.

      Also there are a lot of dissatisfied iPaq owners out there who are upset that HP are not releasing a firmware upgrade to Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition.

    • Re:Dell Axim, huh? (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I am actually posting this from an Axim X30. It took me three units before I got one without defects, but I am happy now.

      I am still late for appointments, but that has more to do with Slashdot than my PDA.
    • Typical statements:
      Dell has crappy built quality/not robust
      Dells are unreliable
      Dells perform badly compared to similar machines
      Dells wear out fast
      etc

      I see these arguments on /. all the time, but don't understand or have experience of this. At work (around 2,000 fat terminals) we use Dell desktops, damn cheap per box, perform swiftly - a WinXP environment - no complaints from users r.e. performance. Sometimes a HDD knackers, but that's about all reliability-wise, absolutely no PSU related problems - f

  • Why no GPS? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @05:52AM (#10511927)
    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.

  • Interesting... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by javaman83 ( 144935 )
    But can it run Linux.

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

  • WOW - rtfa (Score:5, Interesting)

    by squaretorus ( 459130 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:01AM (#10511943) Homepage Journal
    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...

  • Still unsifficient (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mirko ( 198274 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:02AM (#10511946) Journal
    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.
    • Now, all the other PDA I saw hardly have more than a working day autonomy

      Try the Clié TH-55 , battery life is just insane.
      Too bad Sony pulled them off the market, they just made the best PalmOS PDA ever with the TH-55 and then they decide stop selling them outside of Japan.

      • Re:Still unsifficient (Score:2, Interesting)

        by cofaboy ( 718205 )
        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
    • I had a Pilot 1000 years ago...7 or 8 years even.
      I had to change batteries in that thing maybe once every month, and I used it quite extensively for games.

      Now, I have an Axim X5, with the extended capacity battery. I went on vacation for about 5 days, played jawbreaker for about 2-3 hours per day and some light mp3 playage. LCD was set to lowest. In the end it was about 50%. Meaning it could last about a week and a half- a far cry from the pilot, but then it has color and can play mp3s.
    • 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.

      • Could you define recharge cycles? I have a 1 1/2 year old Axim X5 with a Lion battery and it certainly seems to still be holding a charge. I dock it at work except when I leave my desk for a meeting and take it with me. Works great. I've never needed to drain the battery more than half way since on vacation I rarely use it as an MP3 player. My kids don't let me listen to music and PocketPC's don't have a powerful enough amplifier for my concert-rotted ears.

      • Re:Good for a couple of hundred days... (Score:5, Informative)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot.worf@net> on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @10:52AM (#10513584)
        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.
        • Li-Ion has actually worse performance than NiMH for the number of full charge/discharge cycles. The good thing is that they don't suffer from the memory effect so they can be topped up.

          However, when frequently on the road, I was unable to get more than a couple of years out of a notebook Li-Ion cell before the performance dropped to about 50%. I have been more careful with the IPAQ which I now still get reasonable performance out of after three years. It only spends a long time in the cradle about once

    • "My first "modern" PDA was a Palm III, it had 4 weeks autonomy, 2 when playing SimCity in Black and White."

      I started on a Palm, and quickly noticed I mainly used it to play games. So I upgraded through the years and realized the only reason I needed a faster pda was for playing games so now I have a x30 that plays SNES and Gameboy Advance games at 30fps with no problem.

      The X50 is great, but my main problem is the lack of buttons: the x30 has a total of 7 buttons along the bottom along with the directi

      • "now I have a x30 that plays SNES and Gameboy Advance games at 30fps with no problem."

        Is that with the 624Mhz model? I tried Morphgear on a 400Mhz X5. It was choppy with the sound on and no problems with the sound off. Also, the directional pad on the X5 feels cheap and flimsy so I gave up on using it for gaming.

  • loox 720 (Score:1, Interesting)

    by RockDude ( 815358 )
    How does this compare to the Pocket Loox 720?
    • How does this compare to the Pocket Loox 720?

      Between this and the loox, I will get the loox.

      It looks cuter, has a camera, and usually Dell stuff has buggy software. Fujitsu... well, fujitsu makes good stuff!

      The loox is pricey though, costs more than the iPaq HX4700 even!

      And availability in the US outside of Europe is patchy at best.
    • The USB Host feature of the 720 is a killer!

  • Summary of all the reviews (Score:5, Informative)

    by MenssanA ( 90843 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:11AM (#10511965) Homepage
    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/ [engadget.com]. Here's the list:

  • nothing about microphone quality (Score:3, Interesting)

    by js7a ( 579872 ) <`gro.kivob' `ta' `semaj'> on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:11AM (#10511968) Homepage Journal
    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???

  • I'm still using my Visor Deluxe (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Jason1729 ( 561790 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:12AM (#10511973)
    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 [profquotes.com]

  • /vertisements (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Gentlewhisper ( 759800 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:44AM (#10512031)
    Anyway why are we seeing more and more of these posts here?

    Yet nobody mentioned the Fujitsu Siemens Loox 720?

  • What is up with the stupid MP3 Players? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bigman2003 ( 671309 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @06:58AM (#10512064) Homepage
    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.
    • The real question for me is, "Why not put a hard drive / 1GB built in memory in a pocket pc?" Yes I can put a microdrive and fill my CF slot. But why not just build it in. Space is not the problem, because they make 1 GB SD cards that are down to $70 now. So it's not a price problem either. Why, ohh why can't the just put a built in 1 GB SD card some inside it, or a 4 GB Microdrive?
    • I use Pocket Music, http://www.pocketmind.com/pmfp.htm/ [pocketmind.com] with my X30 for OGG and MP3 playback. After adding a 1 GB SD card I'm able to play a good set of tunes while still being able to do all the other things mentioned in the parent. In addition, I turn on WIFI and use the PocketMusic app to pickup stations like KEXP Seattle, etc. Very nice feature.

  • With a saturated market (Score:5, Insightful)

    by aussie_a ( 778472 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @08:02AM (#10512292) Journal
    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."
    • 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 su
  • 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!
    • I have an HP 4355 and have been very pleased with its performance so far. Great battery life, integrated Bluetooth and WiFi leaves the expansion slot open for additional memory. It has a built-in keyboard that's not bad. I use it to watch video and play music. If I were on a long flight I'd probably spring for the 49 after market extra battery.

      The things I don't like about it are that it's MSFT centric and you are quite right about the data synching. It's not any better than my first PDA. The chargin

  • Palmtops becoming less portable (Score:5, Interesting)

    by chamilto0516 ( 675640 ) * <conrad.hamilton@nOSpam.gmail.com> on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @08:34AM (#10512470) Homepage Journal
    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 [palmone.com]). 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.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • You are correct. In hindsight, I am quoting two different times. My Zire 31 will run probably 3-4 hours playing MP3s, 6-8 (or more) if I am reading an eBook or a week or two if I just use it as I used to use the original Palm devices (Calender, Contacts, Tasks and Notes only).

        I will say that the wireless capability make it both more and less portable but right now because of cost (of the unit), battery life and wireless network coverage (not the device's fault but our fragmented wirless networks and cover

  • At the company I work for; we are about to buy several of the X50v's for inventory control. We are going to purchase compact flash barcode scanners for them and have everything uploaded via wireless. Overall, much cheaper than many scanners, Intermec or Telxon, and seem to look a bit nicer than the HP Ipaqs in my opinion, even though I have an HP Ipaq.
    • Unless you're planning on buying the X50v for the VGA, you're probably better off buying a older Axims with CF (the X30 only has SD) and saving some cash.
      • Integrated CompactFlash® and SDIO Expansion Slots

        It does have both slots in the X50v. Read all the specs first please.
        • We are going to purchase compact flash barcode scanner...
          So why do they need the SD slot of the X50?
          I'll admit that there are also SD barcode readers, but then they could buy X30s and still save money over the new X50.
        • I'm well awate of the specs. As an X30 owner, I've been tracking the development of the X50 for weeks.

          I was simply offering a suggestion since the X50 doesn't offer much over older models.

          Next time, if you don't like my suggestion STFU instead of being an ass.
    • kinda fragile.

      The handhelds made by Symbol are palm compatible, with barcode scanners built in, and you can drop them, drench them, and really beat the crap out of them...

      for one source, see http://www.ptshome.com/palmbarcodescanners.shtml buying top of the line for inventory is nuts, buying ruggedized items is smarter.

  • Mabey Dell can finally offer choice... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by WareW01f ( 18905 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @09:00AM (#10512645)
    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!

  • Slashdot: news for consumers (Score:3, Insightful)

    by hopethishelps ( 782331 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @09:03AM (#10512674)
    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.

    • i loved my apple newton. it was big, but cool. never been able to find a free (or commercial) blackbox (the laser and marble game) replacement. i did inadvetantly find a neat window manager looking for it though ...
    • 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 [sourceforge.net] 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 w
    • Almost all PDAs, including all Palms and PocketPCs, have the ability to run "free" (beer and speech) software.

    • STFU you damn nerd.

    • 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.

      Your post is a

  • There's a great quote when he's talking about the new Windows Media Player for PPC:

    I must say that I'm not at all thrilled with Windows Media Player 10. For one thing, I find it's interface unpleasent. For another, it has a downright aggrivating habit when listening to music with the screen turned off. Every time you pause the music, the screen turns on. And it doesn't turn off when you unpause the music. It just stays on. I assume that this was done to prevent people from accidently leaving the machine o

  • Running Linux on a device like this would be nice. But with the latest Palm Tungsten T|5 disappointment, I couldn't help but wonder if there was a future for porting Palm OS (preferably Cobalt) to some of the newer PPC devices. Then we could get the simplicity of PalmOS, but the competitive range of hardware available for PPC.

  • It kills me, but Jobs is right. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by otis wildflower ( 4889 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @11:22AM (#10513895) Homepage
    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.

    • I think that's the one thing that would make me upgrade my old m105 to something more modern: if someone figured a way to run NewtonOS on modern Palm hardware. I'd be all over that.

      HBH
    • I'm sorry, but I cannot agree that Jobs is "right".

      He not only killed the Newton, he refused to allow third-party Newton fans to buy the Newton and keep it going. At the time I thought that was because he was planning to introduce an Apple-branded PDA, but clearly he had no such plans. So the Newton wouldn't really compete with anything he had to sell; so his refusal to sell it must have been for another reason.

      I have seen many people claim that he killed the Newton because it was never "his" project in

  • And the geeks are ignored. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Raptor CK ( 10482 ) on Wednesday October 13, 2004 @11:48AM (#10514139) Journal
    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.
    • Even so, here's what I want out of a PDA, and the Axim comes close, but not close enough.
      The Hiptop [danger.com] comes closer: it gives you 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and GPRS instead of WiFi for #1. Why don't you try one while you're waiting for the ultimate to come out? (There's also a VNC client on #6, for when you absolutely have to...)
      • GPRS doesn't get me where I need to be, though, which is on a tightly firewalled WLAN which lacks a VPN uplink.

        I'll admit that it's very close to what I want, but it's just far enough to really get in the way when I have real work to do. On top of that, I'm not thrilled with the lack of support for it through T-Mobile. Too much of a geek toy, not enough of a techie's toolkit.
    • It;ll cost 6k, still interested?
    • With regard to option: 1. WM2003(SE) both support WPA & VPN natively. Furthermore there are commerical clients for VPN, etc. 2. Multitasking on my X5 works well enough. I regularly leave AIM open with multiple ftxpbrowser windows open while listening to music with GSPlayer. I keep most of my data on an SD card/ROM so I have enough RAM free to not feel lag. 3. PocketPutty works great (and is free) for all my SSH needs. It can be connected in the background while you do other tasks. It is lacking por
  • I'd love to see one of these with an onboard 40gb HD so that I could upload and preview my photos with it on the road, AND have the features of a PDA in one unit (eg, IR for controlling my camera), wifi, etc. My ideal features set would be:

    VGA screen
    40gb HD
    wifi
    IR
    Compactflash slot
    10 hrs of batter life
    GSM would be good too
    priced at about $600-$800
  • Why is it that Dell is not offering USB host with thier PDAs. It would be great to attach a mass storage device to the pda on the road. Mostly for pics, video and audio. :(
    • Personally, I'd like to use any old cheap USB keyboard! (OK, it wouldn't be that portable, but still... for occational use it would be good).
  • I'm waiting for Dell to make an Axim like the little NEC palm top - with a keyboard and it opens up "Wide Screen" like. Then I'd buy one. Linux, yes, you can run Linux on them. I put Linux on my iPaq.

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