08-02-2006, 03:00 PM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Dell, What's the Story?
"Dell halted R&D development of PDA products since the middle of 2005, when Dell's Taiwan Design Center (TDC) completed development of the PC vendor's last Axim-series device, which was manufactured by High Tech Computer (HTC), according to market sources. According to the sources, Dell's TDC switched all PDA-related R&D resources to the notebook segment in the middle of 2005, following the company's plan of reducing the number of its R&D staff at its handheld device division at the end of 2004. Dell has not announced new PDAs for almost a year and PDA products that it currently offers are old models that were introduced in 2004, indicated the sources. In addition, the PC vendor has not shown any moves in the PDA phone and GPS-enable PDA segments, the sources noted."
In April, there was a rumour that Dell ceased PDA R&D. Well, more rumours from multiple sources (as posted by DigiTimes today) is now making this bit of news seemingly more factual.
We haven't seen much from Dell lately. The company pleased X51/X51v users recently with a ROM update, but X50/X50v users running the poorly implemented Windows Mobile 5.0 were still left out to dry. As for the device itself, while being a top-notch PDA, the X51/X51v is still regarded as a dot upgrade. We haven't seen anything revolutionary in the past year or so, and with all the news floating around these past few months, it looks to stay that way for an indefinite period. Come on, Dell - be upfront and tell us, your valued customers, what's going on... :roll:
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08-02-2006, 03:39 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 147
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I couldn't agree more.
I keep hearing rumors about Dell releasing a convered device but have yet to see anything that backed that up as fact.
Personally I think it would be a shame for Dell to completely drop out of the market. I like the devices and have been quite pleased with them.
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Clinton Fitch ~ MVP-Mobile DevicesPrincipalClinton Fitch (Dot) Com!
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08-02-2006, 04:06 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 107
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I wonder if the reduction in R&D is due more to the fact that pace of development in the PPC segment has greatly slowed rather than anything else. Perhaps Dell has been relatively silent on this point for just that reason. Maybe they are no less committed to the Axim, but with the reduction in the rate of progress they think it would be prudent to redirect resources to other projects for a time.
Just some thoughts.
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08-02-2006, 04:07 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 110
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Sony did exactly the same to CLIE PDAs - no support announcement
in just two months after new PDA model release.
I would never buy anything from Sony or DELL.
AFAIK DELL Axim users prepare now class action lawsuit.
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08-02-2006, 04:10 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 85
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by x51vuser
Sony did exactly the same to CLIE PDAs - no support announcement
in just two months after new PDA model release.
I would never buy anything from Sony or DELL.
AFAIK DELL Axim users prepare now class action lawsuit.
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Suing for making business decisions you don't like????
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08-02-2006, 04:24 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 165
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Re: Dell, What's the Story?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Darius Wey
Come on, Dell - be upfront and tell us, your valued customers, what's going on... :roll:
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Dell doesn't have "valued" customers (emphasis added in above quote). You are nothing but a past $ figure to them. And by $, I mean they made very little off a lot of people. With coupon codes and deals forums all over the place, many people got the Axims at rock-bottom prices. If anyone paid more than $300 for an Axim, they overpaid. Dell is simply in it for the money, and they have no interest in communicating their intention to kill a product, no more than they have an interest in you as a valued customer. One thing we can all agree on... the stand-alone PDA is dead in the US market. Sad, really. 
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08-02-2006, 04:58 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1
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I don't understand why people are upset with Dell for killing a product or productcategory (non-connected pda's) that clearly seems to be going rapidly down in salesfigures anyway. Dell is killing it because people aren't buying them anymore, it's just as simple as that.
One could argue why they don't step into the phone/pda-combo market, but I can understand why they don't do that because those are sold mainly through completly different channels (network-operators ecc.) than the usual pda's they have been selling so far.
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08-02-2006, 06:28 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 151
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I think it comes down to this whole cell phone scam. Why can't I just buy my dream device for around $300 and use it with any carrier I want without any contract or at the most, a 1 year contract. Unlocked phones are waaaaay over priced just to get people to buy into this whole contract scam. There is no way to justify an unlocked pocketpc phone for $800 when you can buy a more powerful Axim for less than $300. I just think that the phones and the carriers should be separate. Dell would probably create a converged device then. But why should they when you will have to belong to a specific carrier for 2 years just to be able to afford it and use it.
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08-02-2006, 06:43 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,108
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Re: Dell, What's the Story?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by signothefish
With coupon codes and deals forums all over the place, many people got the Axims at rock-bottom prices. If anyone paid more than $300 for an Axim, they overpaid.
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$300 is still profitable for Dell. If it weren't, they wouldn't be selling that cheap.
Honestly, I think everyone's getting paranoid. "Dell Axim X51v goes unreplaced for 300th straight day--fall of western civilization imminent"? A slower replacement cycle would be better for them, because the longer a unit is in service the more profitable it is, having paid back the R&D cost.
If they really are ditching the market, I'll yell at them louder than anybody, but until there's some kind of solid evidence of that, I'm not going to sweat too much.
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08-02-2006, 06:53 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 113
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Alas, sigh!
Well, my first PDA was from Toshiba and they went out of the PDA business, so I switched to Axim from Dell and now they are getting out of the PDA business. It looks no better from HP.
I am far more happy with my X50V from DELL but now feel that when this dies it will be an end of an era. None of the MS mobile phones seem to have anything close to the power and ability of the X50V. So it seems there may be less alternatives.
I am considering a small tablet pc instead.
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