Dell has released a 24 MB ROM upgrade for its x50/x50v range of handhels with fixes in many drivers, including faster 2D/3D performance and read-from-memory-cards performance. The x50v has been greeted as the most full-featured PDA of its class, selling for less than $420 and including a 624 Mhz CPU, 16 MB Intel 3D card (!), gorgeous 640×480 3.7″ screen, CF and SD slots, 64 MB RAM, 128 MB ROM, WiFi+Bluetooth and more. My Take: I recently got one of these babies, and it’s indeed a tech marvel. Only two peeves: no camera and 3.5 hours battery life (double battery life: available as extra, for $99 – sold with a free 256 MB SD card for a limited time). 128 MBs of RAM would have been nicer too.
Dell Updates WinMobile2k3SE for its Axim x50/v Handhelds
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Being a tech marvel and having lots of features is nice for the first few minutes. But how usable is it? Is single-handed use easy or even possible? How quickly can you add a contact/appointment/todo/note/voice-recording? How quickly can you get an overview of any of these?
Those seems to me the really important characteristics of a PDA. Cameras in phones and pdas are generally useless anyway, as long as there isn’t a flashlight integrated.. Maybe it is just me, but the moments I want to take a picture but don’t have a digital camera with me, are in the evening, when I go out with friends. Settings where you *need* a flash.
First, I used to think the same way about digital cameras in PDAs as you, but now that I own an X50v I’ve missed having one. The reason? One can use a built in digital camera to quickly and easily capture information. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been given a handout in a meeting or seminar and have found the content useful enough to copy into my PDA so that it is always available. Many times, it would be much easier to simply snap a picture of the content and go. Even with low res cameras this works if you do it right. Anytime I start copying something into my PDA from another source, I start wishing I had a built in digital camera. If I could just find a small keychain digital camera with Bluetooth, then I could snap and easily download the image into my PDA.
As for single handed operation – I use it all the time single handed without much difficulty – though I can’t speak for the built in apps as I’ve replaced them with better commercial offerings. But all the essentials that you’ve listed are a single hardware-button-click away for me.
I did read in your blog you already crashed you PDA, Eugenia
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Sorry, couldn’t resist
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Seriously, nice little thing this. I have no need for PDA’s, but if I had the money to burn… Oh yes.
>But how usable is it?
Very. I much prefer it compared to all my PalmOS devices (PalmV, Sony T615-C, Sony TH-55). And it crashes less.
>Is single-handed use easy or even possible? How quickly can you add a contact/appointment/todo/note
Same as all other pocket pcs. The fourth button on the front allows you to go quickly to a page that contains all main apps. Also, all buttons are programmable anyway.
>voice-recording?
There is a button for it. Like on the TH55 (the best PDA Sony has ever produced IMHO). Also a programmable button in case you want to change it.
>Settings where you *need* a flash.
There are some camera phones that come with flash from what I read.
Adding flash on a PDA would significantly increase the size of the PDA for no good reason. There was *one* PDA that had flash, two years ago: the sony clie NZ90:
http://image2.sina.com.cn/IT/other/2003-12-12/U70P2T1D267460F15DT20…
That PDA did not sell well because it was so huge, ’cause of the 2 MP camera with flash.
>I did read in your blog you already crashed you PDA
Yup, a third party app I installed (a VNC server, to be more exact) did some internal damage to the OS and it wouldn’t wake up correctly anymore. I had to hard-reset the PDA, 3 days after I received it. But since then, it works like a charm. I am now more careful and I don’t install untested crap on it from random people.
On the other hand, I had similar problems with both my TH-55 and my PalmV. For example, I had to hard-reset my PalmV just 3 weeks ago after I came back from Europe. Lost all my data too.
>though I can’t speak for the built in apps as I’ve replaced >them with better commercial offerings.
I use a lot of the Resco apps, they kick a$$. Will write a review soon about them.
I replaced the PIM apps with Pocket Informant Pro and all others with Resco. Their photo viewer is the best I’ve ever had on a PDA, and I couldn’t survive without their file manager.
Exactly!! In fact, I have now installed both these apps (viewer, file manager) also on my husband’s PalmOS 4.1 PDA, who mostly uses it as a photo-viewing device rather than a PDA. Their gfx viewer is fantastic on both Palm and WinCE.
Eugenia:
A total noob question. Can you sincronize the x50v with Linux or Mac?
Have you consider buy the ASUS A730W? Or was the Dell your first option?
Thanks in advanced:)
I’m with Eugenia- it’s a bummer not to have a camera. The bigger battery would be nice too. I’ve been getting 5 hours or so by keeping the CPU clock down at 208 MHz, brightness at lowest level, no wifi/bt. Works great for reading books and taking notes with Notes + CalliGrapher… Naturally, when I start to browse the web via wifi it goes down, but not too bad.
I just got a 1 GB SD card for a piddly $60 from OfficeMax. No known for good prices on cards, but that’s a good price IMHO.
One big, huge warning- I’ve had two of these X50Vs. Both lasted two weeks and then the nasties settled in- the squiggles, as we used to call it on the Newton. The digitizer stops working right… You write a straight horizontal line across the top it looks like an EKG. No amount of cleaning the screen or re-aligning it fixes it. The problem goes away sometimes but comes back quickly. I’m on my second Axim, and on my second one the problem just showed up today. I’m going to have to call Dell and get another replacement. The first one lasted 2-3 weeks, just like this one.
No other problems other than that. But it’s a really serious problem, and with the digitizer being shot to crap the Dell is just about worthless to me. It’s a problem I’ve only seen in these Dells or older PDAs… The Newtons used to do them after a while. It’s not software- a hard reset doesn’t fix it. Off to call Dell tommorow… Not everyone has this problem, so maybe the 3rd time I’ll get will be fine. Shitty odds, though.
Some forum threads:
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=69316
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=62747
>Can you sincronize the x50v with Linux or Mac?
Yes, using Missing Sync for Pocket PC: http://markspace.com/missingsync_pocketpc.php
>Have you consider buy the ASUS A730W?
>Or was the Dell your first option?
Both units have the same crappy battery.
Differences:
Asus has 520 Mhz CPU.
Asus has USB host port, Dell has none.
Asus has a 1.3MP camera, Dell has none.
Asus has 128 MB RAM, 64 MB ROM.
Asus costs $600
Dell has 624 Mhz CPU.
Dell has a 16 MB 3D card, Asus has none.
Dell has Bluetooth v1.2, Asus has v1.1
Dell has 64 MB RAM, 128 MB ROM.
Dell costs $420
These are indeed the best two PDAs in the market today. HP’s offers suck IMHO compard to these two above. And when HP is actually releasing some good PDAs, they are too expensive.
Overall, the Dell was a better choice. It does multimedia/entertainment way better and it’s significantly cheaper.
The only thing really missing from the Dell is a camera, but I wouldn’t have a use for Asus’ camera either. I need a camera that is able to swivel around its body, so I can take pictures/video in front and behind the PDA. This way, I can use it the way I want it to: as a camera, and as a web camera for IM. But the Asus doesn’t do that either, so there was no need for me to get the Asus.
Also, there is no application today for WinMobile that requires more than 32 MBs of RAM (even the 3D games), so the 64 MBs of the Dell is already aplenty (for now).
Wow, that’s nasty. I haven’t had such problems yet…
I suggest you upgrade the ROM btw. I will be doing so tomorrow.
I’ve got the 624mhz X30. Longer battery life, better wireless range, less–although Dell seems to have rectifified this–buggy than the X50. Either way, Dell makes some QUALITY handhelds.
It’s very encouraging to see Dell providing some updates. A big big problem in the PocketPC community (does this affect the Palm community as well?) is manufacturers turning their back on their devices when it comes to updates, which is incredibly ironic since they are all flash upgradeable these days.
As for usefulness, I have been through half a dozen PDAs from the original Compaq Aero to a gorgeous Toshiba e800 VGA and the only PDA I have used a great deal and has actually become indispensible to me is my O2 XDA II Mini PocketPC Phone. It’s beautiful convergence in a device that really is pocketable (finally).
Argh… I can’t update the ROM.
My PC crashes when the transfer of the BIOS to the Dell gets to 60%. Saving the Dell rom image, works, but uploading a new rom image doesn’t. I wonder if the problem has to do with the fact that I have USB 1.1 instead of USB 2.0 or because the Dell is behind a hub.
Anyone else with the same problem?
Fixed. The problem was WinXP’s firewall! Temporarily turning the Firewall OFF makes the rom update go through fine.
Why does the firewall affect USB transfers? That’s just weird.
No idea, but it was the culprit. It was obviously checking out the ports for suspicious stuff, and so it was corrupting the transfer.
BTW, I have the new ROM installed now, and I must say that the Transcriber/writing on the screen is now FAST. Before, I could see lagging when writing on the screen in free-form. Now it flies.
That’s MSFT for you. The firewall blocks USB, firewire, and all sortsof other odd things. One would think the firewall would only block the network ports. Then again with MSFT putting IIS, and IE into the kernel they probally had to put the firewall into the kernel as well.
I personally never liked the Pocket PC interface. I always thought it was clusmy. Then again i don’t use my palm very often either. The displays are to small to read easily for me. It’s not fonts, it’s space. I tend to speed read, something that can’t be done easily as they can’t display enough information for me.
My cellphone can hold all my phone numbers, and act as a date book though adding entries is tough. I guess I just don’t fit the right demographic.
I have one of these and have been using ozvga to put the device into true vga mode.
http://207.153.195.134/
It really makes web browsing on it nice, though only about half of the applications are usuable in true vga mode. For example Transcriber is unusable (the toolbar is not visible), and the on screen keyboard is really small. But web browsing is great in landscape mode with it.
I just updated the device, maybe it will do a bit better now.
Ryan, was that with the Axim X50 or X50v? I just got an x50 the 2 days ago, so I’m curious.
Thanks!
It is with the x50v…
That’s what I thought. Thanks!