09-20-2005, 05:00 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,386
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PocketNow and MobileTechReviews Each Weigh-In on the Dell Axim X51v
I know. I know. We tend to be rather obsessive-compulsive about our posting topics. One day, we can't stop yapping about the HTC Universal and the next day it's all about the Dell Axim X51v. Well, we can't help it if the Dell Axim X51v reviews are flowing like water now! First, we start off with the PocketNow X51v review which is STACKED with pictures, comparison photos, and screenshots. Overall, they seem to love the device. Most of their gripes were focused on Dell's featureset (e.g. no phone capabilities, no hard drive, no Bluetooth networking profile) as opposed to any issues with the quality and/or execution of the device itself.
Next up is the MobileTechReview X51v review which is much heavier with the commentary than it is with the pictures. You'll find some rather detailed benchmarks to complement the analysis. Overall, they also seem to be pleased with the device. However, as was the case with Mr. Dunn's review (posted earlier in the day), they just can't find any compelling reasons for current X50v owners to upgrade. So what do you guys think? Is this a case of Dell shortchanging themselves or is this all about Dell continuing a great thing?
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09-20-2005, 05:46 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 165
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It's more about Dell continuing a great thing. Dell is not an innovative company. They are a marketing company that sells computers. If they can modify a product slightly to continue to generate revenue, that's just what they'll do. I just don't see Dell getting on the cutting edge of anything. It would be a risk, and Dell just doesn't take risks. They wait until a product has been in the market for a while and then they come in with their own offering. They are focused heavily on mass selling of their products, with deep discounts and heavy market penetration to squeeze the others out of business. It's a marketing strategy similar to Wal-Mart's. Look what they've already done to HP.
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09-20-2005, 05:57 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 41
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This is just a point release.
I think Jason had it right in his opening statement: the X51 and X51v are just point releases... minor improvements to a great product. No phone? No hard drive? That's not what this release is about. Consolidation of the product line, technology refresh... little things are the intent.
Other than WM5, I'm amazed this is receiving so much press. The real story here, from what I can tell, is Dell's software department's lack of QA testing. How did WM5 get out the door with all these problems? Let's hope they fix it before too many newbies get their hands on it.
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09-20-2005, 06:31 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 437
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Re: This is just a point release.
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Originally Posted by cscullion
Other than WM5, I'm amazed this is receiving so much press.
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I think it's because of the prerelease hype that was started by Brighthand who suspected that the Dell Axim X51v would be Dell's new Pocket PC with an integrated hard drive.
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09-20-2005, 07:15 PM
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Oracle
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 880
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I don't see what all the excitement is about, from what I am reading this is a incremental upgrade... from the existing x50V. The additional memory is nice but not a big selling point... nor is WM5 from the first set of reviews. What is surprising is the general consensus that the product is flawed... mainly with regards to the OS and yet they all give it a thumbs up... what is with that?
I also have never understood the why everyone seems to feel they need persistent memory and a built-in hard drive... having a modular design serves me well... and gives me more flexibility to manage my hardware.
As for Dell not being an innovative company I totally agree... those companies in my opinion were Sony and Toshiba... and unfortunately they are gone in the palmtop market. What Dell does well is create a good... (not a great) device at a competitive price...
What Dell has done here is to beat everyone to the market with a WM5 device... and it seems that they are sticking with the philosophy that the key is to get it to the market fast... and we can fix it later. Something we as consumers come to accept with almost everything... most noticeably with software... i.e. upgrades. And they are probably right... they are going to make money just because they were the first there, but can the competitors be far behind...?
I have said it before... I am not a big fan of the big rom small ram device... I like having ram... if I need a place to store my files permanently I will use a storage card. Storage cards do fail... but guess what... so does rom. In the end... it is all about creating a good backup strategy and using it faithfully.
Do I need WM5... not yet... I have not seen anything compelling enough to make me want to switch... and where is the native True VGA...? Now that there are multiple VGA devices on the market... all of which are high-end devices for their respective manufacturers you would feel MS would have done some implementation for it.
The more they seem to imply that we have moved evolved to bigger and better things... the more I feel we have the same old device in a new dress and makeup. I fear we may have even gone back half a step... I know we are definitely shuffling sideways... to nowhere in particular.
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09-20-2005, 07:32 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,108
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Re: This is just a point release.
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Originally Posted by cscullion
Other than WM5, I'm amazed this is receiving so much press. The real story here, from what I can tell, is Dell's software department's lack of QA testing. How did WM5 get out the door with all these problems? Let's hope they fix it before too many newbies get their hands on it.
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It should be noted that these problems only appear in a portion of the pre-release press units that were improperly flashed before being sent out by Dell. The rest of the press units work fine, and the problem won't be present on the production level units.
Anyway, I don't see what the big deal is about it being a minor update. The X50v was already arguably the best WM device on the market--Dell didn't fix what wasn't broken.
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09-20-2005, 10:38 PM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,389
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ripper014
I have said it before... I am not a big fan of the big rom small ram device... I like having ram... if I need a place to store my files permanently I will use a storage card. Storage cards do fail... but guess what... so does rom. In the end... it is all about creating a good backup strategy and using it faithfully.
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I love the memory upgrade. You cannot store files in ram anymore. With the way WM5.0 works this is the same as a wm2003 device with 320mb of ram! (and using the slider to allocate 64mb as program and the rest as storeage) 8O
more internal storage is always good. Now I don't have keep my sd card in the slot for my pocket pc to function. I can take it out an put my sd camera in! 
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09-20-2005, 11:13 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 41
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Re: This is just a point release.
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Originally Posted by ADBrown
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Originally Posted by cscullion
Other than WM5, I'm amazed this is receiving so much press. The real story here, from what I can tell, is Dell's software department's lack of QA testing. How did WM5 get out the door with all these problems? Let's hope they fix it before too many newbies get their hands on it.
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It should be noted that these problems only appear in a portion of the pre-release press units that were improperly flashed before being sent out by Dell. The rest of the press units work fine, and the problem won't be present on the production level units.
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From Jason's review, it seems that there's a big problem with the included CD. That concerns me just as much, if not more than the reported problems with the device itself.
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09-21-2005, 01:27 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 41
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What you have to remember is that Dell and other PPC Makers are trying to get the product out and give the reviewers some lead time to do our reviews. The units we get are most of the time, early engineering samples and sometimes the "ROM" that is on the "Released" model outdate our review units by 2-5 releases. That's not an excuse for poor quality, but can be a factor at times. Sometimes we do not get any of the "retail" stuff, including user manuals and CDs.
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09-21-2005, 02:56 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 113
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ripper014
I don't see what all the excitement is about, from what I am reading this is a incremental upgrade... from the existing x50V. The additional memory is nice but not a big selling point... nor is WM5...
I have said it before... I am not a big fan of the big rom small ram device... I like having ram... if I need a place to store my files permanently I will use a storage card. Storage cards do fail... but guess what... so does rom. In the end... it is all about creating a good backup strategy and using it faithfully.
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I think the big news is the fact that this is the first widely available WM5 device. I'm with Jason Lee on this one. Persistent memory is a great thing once you get use to the idea. If I'm not going to be able to plug-in my device for an extended period of time (think campout), I can power down my device at night and not lose any battery life. Plus the idea of a large amount of RAM seems great until you realize that a device with 128 MB RAM will lose battey power almost twice as fast as a device with only 64 MB when the unit is left in "suspend" mode (screen off and CPU idle). Until battery technology drastically improves, it makes no sense to put more than 64 MB RAM in a device.
And now that RAM is only used for running programs and not storing them, 64 MB is more than enough for almost any situation. 256 MB ROM gives me enough room to install all my programs on the device itself and allows me to move memory cards in and out of the device without losing any functionality.
I think the X51v is a big improvement over the original X50v. Sure, WM5.0 will have a few bugs at first, but Dell has always been good at offering incrimental updates as soon as Microsoft makes them available. This will be my next device unless another competitor can offer something better at a similar price.
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