Pros: Memory, speed, Rubber side grips, general physical features and design are awesome.
Cons: Speaker could be much better quality and offer more volume. Unit died within 14 months!!!
The Bottom Line: Buy one for each member of your family. This is the most PDA for the investment that I've found on the market yet. Total personal organization is finally at hand.
The_Director's Full Review: Dell Axim X5 Pocket PC
The review below was written prior to the unit completely failing after only 14 months. Just outside of the warranty, and just as I began to depend on it daily for my business and personal scheduling. Result? I still stand by all that I wrote below... but don't expect too much of the unit, or any handheld. I'm convinced that I tried to cram too many applications into this tiny computer in my zeal for taking my entire life on the road. Read on, but go easier on yours...
Original review follows:
You know you made the right buying decision when everyone crowds around you whenever you take your PDA out of it's case. Your decision is further validated when an associate at your office has their $600 PDA stolen and tells you they are replacing it with one like yours.
In this case, your friend will spend under $300 this time around. They'll get a lot of organizational power for that meager investment in a handheld computer too. And that's exactly what this amazing device is.
The Axim X5 has finally brought the Personal Data Assistant to the level of a true Handheld Computer. At 400 megahertz of speed, a color display second to none, and with 64 megs of storage ram built in (and 48 more of operating rom) this device can handle any applications and data storage that you might want to throw at it for some time to come. Putting it in the perspective of comparing a PDA with a full size desktop computer... the Dell Axim X5 is as electronically robust as most Apple I-mac computers sold over the last 5 years.
Expandability is one of the best things that Dell built into the Axim series. You have both CompactFlash® (CF) Type II and Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard slots to add everything from storage or wireless communication cards to GPS receivers and cameras.
Mechanically, the unit features an Intel® XScaleTM Processor at 400MHz. This is, again, as fast as many PC and MAC desktops still in use today. The 3.5" high-resolution transflective color display is capable of brightness that is visible on all but the very most direct sunlight conditions. Four buttons on the face called application keys will take you directly to your most often used programs: Calendar, email address book/contact database, email, and the home Programs directory. You get both a navigator button and a scroll dial which allow one finger to duplicate what you can do with the stylus and the on-screen scroll bar, just to give you flexibility. There are also buttons recessed into the side for voice record, reset (like on a computer only everything comes back faster) and headphone mini-jack on the top.
Software includes: Microsoft® Pocket PC 2003 Premium Edition and Microsoft Pocket Office applications Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft MSN Messenger.
The USB Cradle (comes with the 400 mhz advanced Axim) features a second battery charging slot for that optional spare removable lithium Ion Battery that you may never buy... because the darn thing never seems to run out of power!
Other features as listed on the Dell website:
IrDA port (for those of you with infra red connectivity in your lives)
Optional 802.11b wireless CF card for network or WiFi connectivity
Optional keyboards (if you're entering a lot of data on the go, I highly recommend this time-saving addition. Try the folding models for space saving efficiency)
1 Year Next Business Day Advanced Exchange Service
Shopping around online is necessary to purchase the X5, since Dell computers and accessories are not readily available at most retail outlets. Shopping tip: Dell will sometimes put reconditioned items up for significant discounts with full warranty. These are great deals if you catch them at the right time. But usually you can't. These deals disappear from Dell's website faster than doughnuts at a breakfast meeting for police officers. However, don't lose heart if you never catch Axims on the reconditioned sale page at http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/topics/segtopic_axim.htm because they'll be showing up in droves a day or so later at http://www.ebay.com for not much more. Mine came new in the box from a Dell authorized Ebay reseller for around $280 including shipping. That's over $50 less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price.
At this price and with this much processor, speed, and extensive feature list, the market should be following Dell's lead soon and taking the price of powerful PDA's lower, into the affordability range of many more people. I'll be happy when the PDA is no longer a handheld and is merely a thin wristwatch or lapel pin that you talk to - like in Star Trek - and it can talk back.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 280 Recommended for: Business Executives - Powerful and Professional
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