New x50v. Must-Have Accessories???

[Robb Bates]

Follow up to my screen protector post.

What accessories MUST I have?

SD card, got it. GPS, want it. Screen protector, getting it. I have a belt case that I think will be OK for the x50v.

I'm curious about the VGA-out cable. At $69-ish I doubt I'll be getting it any time soon. Are there any third party equivalents?

Robb

[Radimus]

if you are getting GPS, or even if not, an automount.. I got the Cup Holder mount.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=A0380088&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=6071&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx


an FM transmitter for MP3s in the car

Either the Rhinoskin Aluminum case, or the iHolster slip case
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=80370895&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=6068&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx
http://www.yourmobiledesk.com/products/proddetail.cfm?prodID=2277&catID=47&subcatID=813&sscatID=na&mfrID=97


Depending on your professional needs a CF Network card and or CF Modem

[Sven Johannsen]

I'm curious about the VGA-out cable. At $69-ish I doubt I'll be getting it any time soon. Are there any third party equivalents?

Robb

Not that I've seen, and it is a wonder why. The cable really is just a cable. The right connectors and a pinout diagram and you could make one for spare change. The X50v has a mirror function in ROM which will display the screen on an attached monitor/projector.

The kit though comes with a full version of ClearVue suite (a $30 value), supposedly optimized for the X50v and it's 2700 video chip output. It does work quite well, but I would have liked the option of just buying the cable.

[DuallyDave]

The new Sirf III chip that is just coming out seems to be hot, I've pre-ordered the Globalsat BT-338 Bluetooth GPS receiver. More info at gpspassion.com. I've had an Axim X5 for a while with the Holux 240 CF GPS card, my new X50v should be showing up at my door any time now! :)

[Mona13]

Extra battery. I have an extra and even though I watched a 1 hr tv show on the plane yesterday, read an e-book, played games, etc. I didn't have to worry about battery power. Turned out it the original battery lasted the whole trip. It got down to 50% power. But, it was nice to have a backup and to not have to conserve power.

Mona13

[MROX]

I'm totaly with Mona.
While I was travelling, I had enough with the original battery to watch a movie (thanks to the wonderfull Betaplayer), listen over 60min of music, play chess for at least 45 min, and read many pages.
But I started to think, "what if my next flight is late... Maybe I should manage in a better way my battery life?"

You DON'T want to manage. Get a spare battery!
In fact, this is what I'm going to buy right now...

See ya!

[Len M.]

The X50v is a power hog especially when running at full speed.

You might consider getting an extended battery (2200 mAh).

And while you're at it, get a hard case that accommodates the X50v with the extended battery mounted. PDair now makes one.

Aluron sells both at reasonable prices:

http://www.aximcases.com/store/aximx50.html

And a USB cable is worth the $8 or so it'll cost you on eBay. You can use it instead of the cradle, and also use it with a generic USB wall wart or car charger plug to recharge.

[Don't Panic!]

A case is always nice to have. Lots to choose from now which wasn't the case when these puppies were first introduced. 8)

[Kowalski]

a foldable keyboard, stowaway bluetooth keyboard would be nice,
and for the battery, i would use a bettery extender if didnt have a device with good runtimes(ipaq 2215)

[Targaid]

a foldable keyboard, stowaway bluetooth keyboard would be nice,

Dell do a BT keyboard, but...

$100 for a keyboard? Who are they kidding? And, sorry, but I don't really see the need for a keyboard on a PDA to be wireless. It's not as if it's ever going to be used away from the unit and the battery power is such a big issue that anything that takes juice when it's not needed is A Bad Thing.

[Jon Westfall]

a foldable keyboard, stowaway bluetooth keyboard would be nice,

Dell do a BT keyboard, but...

$100 for a keyboard? Who are they kidding? And, sorry, but I don't really see the need for a keyboard on a PDA to be wireless. It's not as if it's ever going to be used away from the unit and the battery power is such a big issue that anything that takes juice when it's not needed is A Bad Thing.

I picked up my ThinkOutside Keyboard on Amazon for aorund $79 if I remember right. Lots less than what it was listed for on ThinkOutside's site for sure. When I'm down at my Fiance's house visiting for a few days, my laptop sits nicely in its case most of the time - my x50v, BT keyboard & mouse function great, especially when we're "on the go" with friends in that area and I just have a few min. to check email.

[lorettaboy]

Check out the PalmOne wireless keyboard, I love mine. You should be able to find one on ebay for about $35.
http://search.ebay.ca/palmone-keyboard_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8

[Targaid]

Yeah, but it's still wireless!

I just can't see the point in it not being a direct connection...

[Stephen Beesley]

Yeah, but it's still wireless!

I just can't see the point in it not being a direct connection...

The main advantage for me is the ability to use the keyboard with the PDA in landscape mode. Particularly useful if you have a VGA pda (like the x50v :D) and are running in true vga mode.

I have not seen any "connected" keyboards that allow you to do this.

One downside of the BT approach is that you cannot use it on a plane - which, given the generally cramped space, is otherwise the ideal place for using a PPC and keyboard.

[joefuture]

Given the much higher cost of BT over an IR keyboard, I'm leaning heavily towards IR. Can anyone recommend some good IR solutions and let me know what the big downsides are? Do any of them let you use landscape mode?

[Stephen Beesley]

Given the much higher cost of BT over an IR keyboard, I'm leaning heavily towards IR. Can anyone recommend some good IR solutions and let me know what the big downsides are? Do any of them let you use landscape mode?

Well the Stowaway IR Keyboard looks very good - I have not actually used it but it seems pretty much the same as the BT one in layout.

I have got a Targus IR Keyboard and while it is a lot bigger than the Stowaway offering it does a very good job. One thing to note with this keyboard is that it does not have any arrow keys. Instead it has a cursur button whith a mouse type pointer on the screen. In some situations I have found this a great feature (such as opening menus etc without having to use the stylus) but sometimes you just want an arrow key!


As for whether you can use them in landscape mode that really depends on where the IR port is located on your device. Certainly the Targus model allows for quite a bit of movement of the IR "eye" so that I could use it both ways with my Toshiba e750 - which has a side mounted ir port.

HTH

[ppcinfo]

For accessories, I'd recommend the following:

Bluetooth Transceiver for laptop - If you want to sync with a laptop while on travel, a USB Bluetooth Tranceiver is a must. It eliminates the need for carrying a syncing cable or bringing your cradle. I just bought a very small transceiver from newegg.com for $10 US (after a $10 rebate).
512 MB SD Card - When traveling, I like to watch movies on my Axim X50V (wmv format). 40 minutes of compressed video takes up about 80 MB of storage, so having a big SD card to contain a few movies is a must.ppcinfo

[PPC BLD]

One downside of the BT approach is that you cannot use it on a plane - which, given the generally cramped space, is otherwise the ideal place for using a PPC and keyboard.

Why doesn't BT work on a plane?

[Jeff Rutledge]

One downside of the BT approach is that you cannot use it on a plane - which, given the generally cramped space, is otherwise the ideal place for using a PPC and keyboard.

Why doesn't BT work on a plane?

It's not that BT won't work on a plane, it's that you can't use BT on a plane as it falls under the "may interfere with various aircraft equipment" heading.

[PPC BLD]

Ah yes, the list. I always thought that list encompassed too many things. Maybe the plane controls are a 'BT device', controllable through a PDA link :D

[PetiteFlower]

If the keyboard uses a hardware connection, it will block the power socket so you wouldn't be able to charge your device while the keyboard was plugged in. Also, unless the keyboard has its own battery, if it's physically connected to the PDA it will suck the battery from the PDA, probably more then a BT connection would.

[Mitch D]

[It's not that BT won't work on a plane, it's that you can't use BT on a plane as it falls under the "may interfere with various aircraft equipment" heading.


Given how often Jeff spends on planes these days I have mental pictures of him with a cockpit sim loaded on his x50v and using his keyboard to spin donuts in the sky... 8O

Scary thought :wink:

[Stephen Beesley]

If the keyboard uses a hardware connection, it will block the power socket so you wouldn't be able to charge your device while the keyboard was plugged in. Also, unless the keyboard has its own battery, if it's physically connected to the PDA it will suck the battery from the PDA, probably more then a BT connection would.

One of the great things with the original Stowaway keyboard was that you could plug the power charger into the keyboard and provide power through the keyboard to the device.

[Targaid]

If the keyboard uses a hardware connection, it will block the power socket so you wouldn't be able to charge your device while the keyboard was plugged in. Also, unless the keyboard has its own battery, if it's physically connected to the PDA it will suck the battery from the PDA, probably more then a BT connection would.

The keyboard I had for my Palm IIIx drew power from the PDA, but a miniscule amount. Even if I had to buy one that took a battery I'd rather have that than have anything that took power from my Axim's supply. I can't see a keyboard taking more power than the BT, though.

Ultimately, it's the notion that I can buy a full-sized keyboard for my PC for £5 if I want, but am being gouged for a third of the cost of my PDA for a keyboard for it that is getting my dander up. Taking a rough price of £1000 for a pc that would mean £333 for a keyboard! Even the wireless desktop sets are much cheaper relatively-speaking and they include a mouse and a charger. Nope, PDA keyboards are a rip-off IMHO. :devilboy: [/i]

[PetiteFlower]

Well, making anything technological smaller always costs more money.

[Targaid]

Come on, Flower, don't make excuses for them!

Sure miniaturisation has been used as an excuse in the past. The folding mecahanisms do push the cost up, too. I realise that. But I've seen desktop keyboards smaller, illuminated and BT equipped for less than we're getting charged.

Fact is we're getting scalped and it's mostly our own fault. The must-have-new-toy-now-&-never-mind-the-cost brigade ensure that early adopters get charged high prices. The fact that most PDA & related sales are seen as business expenses means that prices are also inflated because of that. Buy anything that's going to a business rather than a 'regular' person and the price generally gets inflated.

Also, to go back to the original gripe, one of the added costs is the BT hardware and software. The development costs for drivers to cope with a range of machines surely bumps up the price and BT is just not needed on a PDA keyboard. I say again, it's never going to be used from 10 metres away.

But there is one reason for it: connectivity between devices.

If the companies stopped trying to force us to stick to their products by using proprietary connectors then anyone could produce a keyboard (or other accessory), BT & IR would be pointless instead of a work-around. Hell, they even change connectors with every new model and make us all by new accessories. We all grumble, but go out & buy the new machine and replace all our toys because we're held to ransom and so many are convinced that they must have the newest model.

It's like with desktop machines. Most are used for word-proccessing, spreadsheets and databases. There's been no need for companies to upgrade for years other than they've all been convinced they have to be "cutting edge". I'm sure there are plenty of IT specialists out there who work in places like Universities that will tell us how much waste there is in these systems and sales pressure is all that's behind it.

Sorry to rant, but this really gets my goat. Especially as a friend recently told me about the thousands of pounds worth of machinery regularly dumped by his Uni in the name of keeping up. I'll shut up now and go & grumble in the corner. :evil:

[PetiteFlower]

I'm not saying you're wrong of course. Note that the cost is most of the reason that I don't have a folding keyboard for my PDA now, and I don't plan on buying one unless I can find a really good deal. But I would rather have one with bluetooth, personally, because of the proprietary connector issue. More importantly though I insist on any keyboard I get to have the full 5 rows of keys; none of this sharing the top row of letters with the number keys, I want to be able to type just like I'm at my PC if I'm shelling out for a portable keyboard.