About two months ago, I started to entertain thoughts of getting myself a PDA - both as an organisational and an entertainment tool. I wanted to improve my time management during my research year of my studies, and also to keep a journal/log of my research work. Furthermore I am also planning to use my PDA during my clinical years as a medical student. (I've seen all kinds of 'medical' calculators, programmes and even textbooks!)
What I was looking for in the PDA?
For my PDA I was looking for a general purpose, multimedia type PDA with VGA-based screen (as opposed to QVGA screens - the difference are the 'sharpness' of the text that I'll read on the screen). There should also be adequate PIM function (i.e. organiser function). Though some would argue that Palms are better for PIM, I personally feel that it makes not much of a difference really, since many people would install additional software to improve the organiser functions anyway (note that I'm a first time PDA user, and have never used a PALM device before other than a brief stint with an old TREO phone). I was also looking for a PDA with good memory expansion capabilities at a mid-ranged budget. That would mean I get relatively good value for the performance and features which I'm looking for. The one other I was looking for was built-in WiFi-support (but Bluetooth wasn't necessary though it's hard to find a PDA that has WIFI without Bluetooth support).
So what's in the box?
- the pda
- slip cover
- quick manual
- owner's manual
- usb cradle
- charging adapter
- AC power cable
- one 1100mAh LIon battery
- Dell Axim companion CD - which incls. many trial software for Dell, some extra games (both trial and free - free ones are Microsoft based, trial ones incl. Enigmo a 3-d game only for the x50V)
First impressions
Whilst many thought it looked nice, I thought it could have looked a lot nicer. I rather have a single tone instead of two-tone black and silver but I guess that's mostly a matter of preference (well, not that you have a choice of choosing other colour schemes). I really liked the rubberised grips at the side of the Axim which aids in holding it. Slip cover is alright although there's no belt-clip etc, so it has to be hand-carried or put in another bag. Also, whenever I need to use the PDA, I have to remove the slip cover and put it somewhere else (e.g. pocket, bag), which could be inconvenient at times especially when my other hand is full too.
It feels rather solid, and slightly bigger and thicker than I anticipated it to be (that's the disadvantage of buying Dell - if no one you know have the Dell Axim, it's quite impossible to judge it's size, thickness and the feel of the unit from the computer screen). Still, it fits rather nicely in my hands (and they are rather smallish) so I guess I can't complain too much.
Upon switching on the Axim, the screen looked fantastic! Of course, I haven't seen the HP4700 screen, so widely touted as one of the best PDA screens, but I don't think Axim is that far behind! Graphics is sharp and very bright. Usually, the brightness is turned down in order to conserve battery power.
After two months of use
I noticed that the black plastic used on the Axim was easily smudged by fingerprints. It looks a bit tacky to me sometimes. I rather something more metallic, but probably that would drive up the price further.
So far I've found the Axim to be a fantastic PDA. I haven't had the opportunity to play video files with betaplayer (though I have it installed) since I really don't have enough space for videos. I bought an expansion 512 MB Secure Digital (SD) card which has been rapidly filled up with all kinds of junk. Playing music is a breeze with Windows Media Player although the playlist interface could do with some more tinkering. It is difficult to select songs I want to be played compared to other free music players which I've tried since.
Reading ebooks on this PDA is easy on the eyes, with the text generally very sharp. In very bright sun light, the screen becomes harder to read, but I believe this is the same for all LCD based devices. Medical students will rejoice to the fact that PocketPC devices can read iSilo-based textbooks, many of which could be found for free (and yes, they are authentic, non-pirated) at www.meistermed.com. Better yet, x50v with its VGA resolution displays text crisply compared to Palm and other QVGA PocketPC.
Bluetooth worked like a charm for me - I managed to receive some files from my uncle (He had a O2 mini) after a few minutes of setup. I have not tested WiFi in a proper environment yet, but attempts to make a peer-to-peer (i.e. adhoc connection instead of infrastructure) with my laptop PCMCIA WiFi failed. Both my laptop and PDA said a connection was established, but only once did I manage to access the Internet via the WiFi adhoc connection.
I'm a little disappointed with PocketPC (Windows Mobile 2003SE) in general, with its poor synching abilities with the PC via ActiveSync. Synching is cumbersone, slow, and takes up too much system resources (my computer slows down significantly when ActiveSync starts up). Other than Activesync problems, I was quite disappointed with the bundled Pocket Word and Pocket Excel. Both used their own format for PocketPc by default, and Word was unable to open some of the bigger documents that I had. Some formatting were lost - basically everything was a mess. Documents written in PocketWord displayed all right in Microsoft Word xp.
The trial edition of Enigmo, bundled with the Axim X50v, is really quite fun and challenging (for me at least!). The 3D graphics were quite impressive, for a small device like this. Hopefully, more games will take advantage of the built-in graphics accelerator and soon, my PDA may be able to challenge PSP (the portable Playstation recently released)! A trial version of universal remote control software is also bundled, which I guess would make x50v on par with the multimedia-based HP Ipaq rx3415/3715 series of devices.
Battery power is an issue with this PDA only when I start using it on full brightness continuously. I have not gotten myself a backup battery yet, but Dell Australia sells it for AU14.30 which is pretty reasonable (for 1100mAh capacity). As long as I charge my PDA everyday, it has more than enough juice to last the day. Of course, using wireless is another thing. The Axim did not allow me to switch to Wireless mode (Wifi) when my battery level was about 30%. When battery power is low, the Axim can be charged either via the direct cable or from USB cradle. Problem with the USB cradle is that it doesn't charge when AXim is switched on (i.e. synching with the PC). Sometimes I forget to switch off my Axim after synching, leaving it on the cradle only to find the Axim's battery not charged the next day (note this was a problem I complained about for my Nikon Coolpix 4200 digital camera as well).
Dell has continuously released new firmware to update and to fix bugs found in the Axim. Recently Dell released A05 edition of the firmware, downloadable from Dell website. Many people however are choosing to wait for the release of the new Windows Mobile. Dell has confirmed that they’ll be allowing current Axim x50 users to upgrade their Windows for a fee. Updating firmware or installing new Windows edition requires backup, a hard reset and reinstalling programs all over again.
Conclusion
It's a great PDA at a good price. Definitely recommended
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 447 Recommended for: Gadget Lovers - Trendy and Hip
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