Dell Handhelds

damnyanks

Anyone got one of those Dell handhelds, the new ones 400mhz or whatever.

They any good ? Why would someone use them ? What can they do ?

Saruman

If you dont know why you would use one.. then you probably never would...

They are handeld computers so what you ususlly use a computer for... even mp3's

damnyanks

Do they play mp3's ? Do they have a HD ? Just curious. PRobably wont get one but oh well

Saruman

Not a hard drive but they use flash mem, probably compact flash... so you could get up to maybe 512 mb flash for them. You can load pics on em.. even very short video clips too. do emails and stuff too. Oh and play games.

Xithus

I got one a few months back (the cheaper 300Mhz model) Its a nice little toy for me anyway, kinda bored of it now

Gett'n a CompactCamera for it though.. Hopefully ill use it a bit more then

flywheel

The Dell Axim is a Windows Pocket PC PDA. It uses flash memory for storage (not a hard drive), and comes in two version one with 32MB and the other with 64MB internal.

It can play MP3s, using the built in Windows Media Player or a third party Application. If you were planning to store a lot of music, you can use memory cards, the Dell can take both Compact Flash memory cards and Secure Digital memory cards. CF cards range in size from 16MB to 6GB!! (although the price goes crazy over 1GB), SD cards are resonable up to 256MB but you can currently get as large as 1GB.

The Axim is a well respected Handheld although larger than most other models, it was the first to bring the price of Pocket PC handhelds down from their high levels to sub $300 before the New Year '02.

To be honest wait a little while. The new version of the Pocket PC OS (Windows Mobile 2003) has just been released (June 23rd) so there are a number of new models coming on to the market from HP, Dell, Gateway and Toshiba (as well as some lesser known brands). The latest (just released this week) iPAQ 221x has all the features of the current Axim plus integrated Bluetooth in a smaller package with the latest OS.

You get as much out of it as you put in, some people just use it as a PIM for their calender and contatcs. I tend to pull as much as I can get out of it, e.g. just back from a trip to the US where I used an iPAQ as my entertainment system for MP3s and Video (converted my Futurama DVDs to MPEGs - you'd need a big capacity memory card though! a 30 min episode is about 80MB), travel guide and map with Vindigo, reading books with the MSReader, off line (cached) browser with AvantGo, on line browser and email client, and IM client via the WiFi hot spot where I was staying using the Symbol WiFi CF Card.

I don't take it out as much day to day at home in Dublin since getting a P800, but if I'm going to be out and about for a full day or travelling anywhere it's packed with me where I go. Also use it around the house on the wireless network for IM or to surf/mail check in front of the TV or in the garden now the sun has come out

This is one of the best sites dedicated to the Dell Axim: http://www.aximsite.com/

You should get some good info there, just bear in mind manufacturers are in the throws of releasing the latest models to coincide with the latest release of the Pocket PC OS.

hth,
BrianG

RicardoSmith

My old Pocket PC broke and I'm stuck using a Palm PDA. I miss the Pocket PC badly. I used to use it for appointments, writing lists, reports etc. I also used it for ebooks and contact details. I also had picture galleries and movies. Never for Mp3's though. I'm lost with out. The Palm just isn't the same....:(

Ro-76

HP have a new Ipaq 1940 out in a few weeks, which is the size of the 1910 (tiny by PocketPC standards) and integrated BT, and an SDIO slot, which will be able to use the new SDIO WiFi cards.

I'm about to take the jump from PalmOS, but am waiting for this new model.

Ro

flywheel

the 19xx series is nice - stopped the Palm camp in their tracks saying Pocket PC were always more hefty / bigger than Plam PDAs, and positioned HP to have a model available around the lower price point Dell set with their Axim - integrating Bluetooth into the consumer level is a great step and into such a small and neat package too

i'm still a fan of CF though as the memory prices and i/o peripherial prices are still (significantly) lower than SD so the 22xx series would be my preference - they have also done a good job producing the 22xx into a pretty small form factor compared to their 3xxx and 5xxx series (and not not much bigger than the 19xx series - about the same height/width but a little thicker)

current 191x owners are a bit miffed at HP as they aren't providing a Windows Mobile 2003 upgrade for them . HP only announced they will ofer an update to the 38xx, 39xx and 54xx users leaving the 191x users out in the cold, but the user community have started a campaign to persuade HP to re-think

interesting article on InfoWorld yesterday outlinging Dell's future handheld roadmap: Dell readies new PDA, Smartphone

Just had a read of their most recent Axim press release, and they are shipping Windows Mobile 2003 on their Axim X5s and offering an upgrade path (for order on CD) to any existing Axim owners. Note: the prices they quote in the release are for the US market.

BrianG

RicardoSmith

Problem with Pocket PC and PDA in general is that the OS upgrade paths can be limited. The Dells seem to be good in this regard. Personally I've been stuck with un-upgradeable OS models in the past. Which means I shy away from any manufacturer that aren't comitted to providing OS updates.

flywheel

In the last PPC upgrade PPC 2000 -> PPC 2002 Compaq were the only one's who offered an upgrade path (For the 36xx series), as they ran on the StrongARM processor, where as the other main manufactures at that stage (HP and Casio) ran on MIPS and Hitachi processors, althgouh they were stung when they initially said they would only offer it for a limited time, but relented under a lot of pressure from user groups and made it an ongoing offer.

This time around for PPC 2002 -> Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC, HP have one of the larger ranges of upgrades on offer for their 38xx, 39xx and 54xx series (that's 5 in total) models. There are plenty of unhappy Toshiba e330 and e740 owners who are pretty surprised that they aren't offering a path even for their higher end e740, unless they feel the pressure from unhappy customers...

BrianG

Zascar

http://www.euro.dell.com/countries/ie/enu/dhs/products/model_axim5_axim5_performance.htm
The Dell 400mhz is a great little gadget, however as Samuran says, you have to really want/need one to get the most out of it. I know people who live and swear by them... In my opinion the Dell is the best all rounder - Although I would say that, I work for them! Seriously, there are other handhelds that are better in some respects, but overall the reviews it has got are excellent. I sell loads of them and I have only ever heard good things (And trust me my customers are on to me within 5 minutes if there is somehting they do not like about anything I sell them)

Some people think it is a bit big comepared to others availible, but the screen is excellent and it is feature packed and hugely expandable... It is selling with Pocket PC 2003 now which is apparantly a nice update. You can geta huge range of add ons like wireless/bluetooth. Personally I have no need for one, but if I did have a job where I needed lots of info in my hand you can't beat one of these. Used in conduction with your PC you can have so much to take with you in it... I used to have a Handspring and these make it look like a kids toy in comparison.

If you want one pm me and I will see if I can get you a discount...