Dell Axim X5 Basic; Color never looked so Cool!
Written: Jan 06 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, performance, display, battery life.
Cons: Lack of storage
The Bottom Line: A clear winner. Dell has done a masterful job melding together price and performance to produce a practical, affordable tool for the masses.
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| vemartin's Full Review: Dell Axim¿ X5 Pocket PC |
For the past year my trusty Palm IIIxe had become more and more difficult to read. My eyes, aging like fine wine, were finding the dark monochrome display of the Palm harder and harder to read, indoors or out. Eventually I gave up, and my Palm sat collecting dust next to my monitor on my desk, unused, but not unloved, the batteries long since spent. Four weeks ago I bequeathed my Palm to my fourteen year old daughter, who I know will make good use of her still laudable features. Shortly thereafter I order a new color PDA. Goodbye Palm IIIxe, hello Dell Axim X5 Basic.
I first read about the Dell Axim X5 Basic in Newsweek Magazine of all places. It was being featured in a short piece about sub-$300.00 Pocket PC’s, along with offerings from Hewlett Packard, and Viewsonic. With an asking price of $199.00 (after $50.00 mail-in rebate) I knew right away that the Axim X5 Basic was too sweet a deal to pass up. And the spouse agreed! So, at the beginning of December I ordered the baby Axim X5 along with a cradle and extra leather case; grand total before rebate $305.00, after rebate $255.00; not too bad for a color PocketPC, whose performance it hard to find fault with.
Advanced v. Basic X5…
The primary difference between the Dell Axim X5 Basic and its more robust sister, the Axim X5 Advanced lies under the hood, so to speak. The Dell Axim X5 Basic boosts an Intel® X-Scale Processor at 300MHz with 32MB SDRAM Memory, and 32MB Intel® StrataFlash ROM memory. The Dell Axim X5 Advanced in contrasts features an Intel® X-Scale Processor at 400MHz, with 64MB SDRAM Memory, and 48MB Intel® StrataFlash ROM memory. It is worth noting that the Dell Axim X5 Advanced ships with a USB sync-cradle (more on this unit later); you get just a sync cable and the power supply with the Axim X5 Basic. The USB sync-cradle will cost you $25.00 extra.
The exterior of the two models are indistinguishable from one another. Both units measure 5.0 x 3.2 x 0.7 inches and weight 6.9 oz which, while larger then the average PDA, it is not overly burdensome. Sans case the unit fit neatly inside my shirt pocket. Inside the case the PDA slides gingerly into my pants pocket with room to spare. In other words, I do not find the size a drawback like so many others reviews have.
Just the Basics Please…
The Dell Axim X5 Basic is an attractive PDA, encased in gunmetal gray with black and silver highlights, and black rubber edges along both sides. The screen is the standard 3.5 inch trans-reflective color display. With a resolution of 320 x 240 the display is capable of rendering some 65,000 colors. The Dell Axim X5 Basic’ screen is no better or worse than other color screens in this class which makes the unit a bargain in my eyes. Brightness and contrast can be manipulated via the PocketPC Operating System (OS) via the Settings/Preferences icon. The lack of an external hardware control for brightness and contrast would have been nice, but it in no way detracts from the enjoyment of this unit.
The top of the Dell Axim X5 Basic houses the Type II Compact Flash card slot, an Infrared transceiver, and a headphone jack, while the bottom of the unit features the connector for synching the unit to your PC and power connector to charge the unit without using the cradle. The front of the Dell Axim X5 Basic features a backlit power button at the top, which changes color and blinks to relay different information to the user. The microphone sits almost invisible to the left of the power button, with the word Dell emblazoned in raised letters underneath. The ubiquitous four application buttons (Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, and Home) are arrayed at the bottom of the unit, centered on a four-way circular pad. The speaker sits in the lower left corner of the unit.
The right side of the unit is sans controls, while the left side of the Dell Axim X5 Basic accommodates the Secure Data Multi-Media Memory card slot, a scroll wheel (useful for scrolling through list one item at a time), a record button, and the reset button, depressible only with the stylus. The back of the Dell Axim X5 Basic holds the two batteries for the unit; the small quarter sized backup battery and the main slim-line Lithium Ion battery.
Like all PocketPC’s, the Dell Axim X5 Basic is comes loaded with Pocket Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Media Player, and Microsoft Reader (for reading ebooks). The Dell Axim X5 Basic also ships with Avant-Go way cool program and a must have), and MSN Mobile.
First Impressions:
I’m impressed! Since the inception of the PocketPC I have coveted the Compaq iPaq. I have always like the PDA’ shinny look, its clean, yet functional lines, and it bright brilliant display. No other PocketPC cam close to replacing the iPaq in my heart, and I lusted after one shamelessly, but could never bring myself to fork over $500.00 for one. Well my friends I lust no more!
The Dell Axim X5 Basic cools my lust for the iPaq by delivering performance I can live with, together with looks, which while not as inspired as the iPaq, certainly have a delicious appeal all their own. The 300MHz Intel® X-Scale Processor is powerful enough to accommodate my modest requests. And while I have noted some lag time when accessing Internet Explorer, these mere seconds are not enough to disparage to overall package, which is sweet indeed.
The base memory is more adequate for my out-of-the-box computing needs, however the memory space can go fast once you start loading third party applications onto the PDA, or you start adding files of your own. To circumvent this problem I have ordered a 64MB Secure Digital/Multi-Media Card in order to store assorted MP3’s and other music files. I will also use the card to back up the Axim X5 files.
The display of the Dell Axim X5 Basic is a blessing; no more squinting, dark lettering, and blurred vision. The display performs well inside or out. The colors are rich and vibrant and the fonts, while small, are perfectly legible even from a distance.
One of the reasons I like the PocketPC platform is because the voice recorder feature is standard, however, the built-in voice recorder is a mixed blessing. I have yet to find a good distance in which to use the microphone; too far away from it and the recording is too hard to hear; too close and the recording is distorted. I will have to find a happy medium through experimentation to get the Axim X5’ to work right, but this is a minor inconvenience.
A word or two about the sync cradle is in order: it’s cool! Made of brushed aluminum the base has a grayish translucent tint and when I insert the Axim X5, the word Dell illuminates the front in bight blue letters; did I say it was cool? There is space for an additional battery in the base, as well as an extra stylus. Power can be connected to the base, and a USB connector secures it to the PC.
My experiences with Microsoft Active-Sync have been mixed. Most of the time the software works as advertised, but I have lost the connection while the Axim X5 is sitting in the base fully powered. Also I cannot get “Notes” to sync; the software reports there is a problem, but offers no guidance on how to correct it. Frustrating to say the least but, not overly so; in other words I can live with it, but eventually I’ll have to find a solution. If the Axim X5 is off when inserted into the cradle it will come on and sync with the PC. Once turned off sync is lost, but is restored once the If the Axim X5 is turned back on.
Music playback through the headphone jack is surprisingly good! Thought not stereophonic quality by any stretch of the imagination, there was no distortion, crackling, screeching, etc.; the sound is quite enjoyable. A lot of course depends on the quality of the original recording. The included Pocket Windows Media Player is a simple interface, but it gets the job done.
Loading additional programs into the Dell Axim X5 Basic is straightforward; it is accomplished via ActiveSync. Install the program to your local computer first and then sync the Axim X5. Finding the program afterwards could be a chore. After I installed and loaded the Adobe Acrobat Reader I could not find the application under the Start Menu where it was supposed to be. After some hunting I eventually found it under Program Files, via the File Manager on the Axim X5. I then create a shortcut and moved it to the shortcut menu.
Battery Life…
The standard battery in the Axim X5 is rated for 10 hours by Dell. The unit ships with two batteries; a main removable Lithium Ion Battery (an optional high capacity Lithium Ion Battery is available), and a small quarter sized back battery. The backup battery is a nice touch. So far through normal use I have run into no problem with power, and I normally spend eight to twelve hours away from the re-charger. Of course I have yet to put the Axim X5 through its true paces, hopefully I will be able to update the review at a later date with more detailed information on this aspect of the Axim X5.
The Axim X5 has a plethora of software enhancements to help save battery power including dimming the display when on battery power, and auto shutoff of the unit after a predetermined user selectable time period.
Conclusions…
The Dell Axim X5 Basic is a clear winner in my book. At an asking price of $249 ($199.00 after rebate), the performance and feathers cannot be beat. The PocketPC platform in general is far and away a much better OS then anything Palm has to offer. Despite the quirkiness of Microsoft Active Sync, and the limited storage capacity of the Dell Axim X5 Basic I high recommend the PDA to anyone who needs the feature set it offers.
Dell has done a nice job of blending form, function, performance and price and released a PDA for the masses, that the masses will feel satisfied using. In my book color never looked so cool; even my spouse thinks Axim X5 Basic is “nice,” and that is high praise from her.
The Essentials {Dell Axim X5 Basic}…
• Intel® X-Scale Processor at 400MHz
• 32MB SDRAM Memory
• 32MB Intel® StrataFlash ROM memory
• Microsoft® Pocket PC 2002 Premium Edition and Microsoft Pocket Office applications
• Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft MSN Messenger capable
• USB Cradle (advanced Axim) with second battery charging slot
• Integrated CompactFlash® (CF) Type II and Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard slots to add storage or wireless communication cards
• Removable Lithium Ion Battery and optional high capacity Lithium Ion Battery
• Built-in microphone and speaker
• Stereo headphone connector
• IrDA port
• Optional 802.11b wireless CF card for network or WiFi connectivity
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199.00
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vemartin
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Member: Vincent
Location: Aurora, IL
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