Pocket PC wars

[androxylo]

I just want to raise the topic that probably has to be discussed every November: who is the winner to be picked going into holiday season?

The Axim 51v is pretty old, and it's unclear if Dell will come with any upgrade in the next 2 months.

HP just released some new companions, which seems to be mixed.

Asus is releasing another GPS ppc, which would be much cheaper without GPS, especially for many users who (like me) already have separate bluetooth GPS.

Is that still the old dusty Axim still the best choice? I would hate that...

[ADBrown]

Well, it's hard to advise you without knowing what you plan to use the device for, but speaking completely off the cuff:

I'd say go with the X51v. Despite it's age (which is only just over a year) it still has specs which are hard to beat. 256 MB ROM, VGA, dedicated video processor, all the rest. It's unlikely Dell is going to release anything new this year, the iPaqs are unremarkable if you're not looking for dedicated GPS, and the other best PPC on the market is the Loox N560. It's cool, but you're paying extra for GPS, for it being an import from Europe, and it doesn't have the CompactFlash slot or video processor of the Axim.

[androxylo]

I wonder why Dell has no plans to upgrade x51v? Is it so good? Do they cut the budget? Do they plan to drop this market?

About GPS - I think it makes sense to buy a device with build-in GPS only if GPS will be the primary use. If you need GPS only occasionally then a separate Bluetooth device will save you a lot of money, because you can use it for many years with different PDA's or notebooks.

[ADBrown]

I wonder why Dell has no plans to upgrade x51v? Is it so good? Do they cut the budget? Do they plan to drop this market?

There have been rumors all over the place, but no official information. At this point it seems that Dell is content to keep selling the X51 line without investing in an upgrade--not hugely surprising, considering that there's no new OS, and no new processors available. So call it probably a combination of not wanting to spend the money, and the X51v still being more than good enough to compete.

About GPS - I think it makes sense to buy a device with build-in GPS only if GPS will be the primary use. If you need GPS only occasionally then a separate Bluetooth device will save you a lot of money, because you can use it for many years with different PDA's or notebooks.

I can see your point, though I personally have a bit of a taste for internal GPS, as it would be convenient for me to have it any time without having to remember to bring my BT GPS receiver. But most current devices with built-in GPS are too much of a compromise in terms of other features. The Loox N560 comes the closest, having VGA, WiFi, etcetera, but I'd be hard pressed to give up CompactFlash and the video processor.