Viewsonic V.35 vs. Dell Axim X5

[AlanNewman]

I was wondering how the new Dell PDA model Axim X5 coming out later this month compares to the Vewsonic V.35? Specifically, the Dell in the same price range ($299) offers a 400 Mhz processor while the Viewsonic only offers a 300 Mhz processor. Also it seems that same comprable Dell model offers two expansion slots while the Dell only offers one. Of the two models and brands listed above, which would be a better buy for the money? Also, do they come equipped with the same software? Also the Viewsonic is made in China while the Dell is made in Taiwan. Does any know who the OEM is for the Viewsonic Unit?

[cmorris]

I think you've hit the advantages of the Dell over the Viewsonic pretty well...

But, keep in mind that it is looking like the Viewsonic will be a fair bit smaller and lighter than the Dell. For a portable device, that can be more important to some than the CF slot. Also, it looks like the Dell will have a sidelit screen where the Viewsonic will be backlit which consensus seems to indicate is superior.

Anyhow, it will all become a lot clearer when folks can actually get their hands on these units and test them out (just a couple of weeks now!)

[dmkozak]

I think the Dell has a replaceable battery, and the Viewsonic does not. But, the Viewsonic has a jog dial, and I don't think the Dell has one. Finally, Viewsonic is supposed to include PowerPoint software and we don't know what additional software will come with the Dell.

[shawnc]

One thing I would add is that the SD slot on the Viewsonic is SDIO compatitible. I'm not sure what that means, but it seems very important to the folks who post on this forum. I think SDIO provides wireless capabilities, which somewhat mitigates the V35's lack of a CF slot.

My question is rather the average (non-power) user will notice a performance difference with the 400 processor vs. the 300? :?: I surely don't want to buy a new PPC that is considered "slow" as soon as it arrives.

[Kirkaiya]

One thing I would add is that the SD slot on the Viewsonic is SDIO compatitible. I'm not sure what that means, but it seems very important to the folks who post on this forum.

SDIO = "Secure Digital Input Output" (I think!), anyway, it means that the slot can accomodate cards other than just RAM.

Generally, this has meant things like BlueTooth, or the new SDIO 802.11b (WLAN) SD cards, or possibly an SDIO modem (if somebody releases one). A normal (Non-IO) SD slot only accepts memory (RAM or ROM) cards.

Since the Dell models (the $300 one anyway, not sure about the $200 one) have CF slots, it's not really hyper-important that their SD slots are not SDIO - you can use the CF slot for a wireless, or networking, and reserve the SD slot for removable storage.

For me - I like thin, so I ordered the V35 already (my old, now broken-touchscreen iPaq, was a bit thick, all in all).

[enemy2k2]

I haven't yet seen any reviews of the viewsonic or even mention of it popping on any site other than Amazon and some other one I can't remember the name of. Apparently they were supposed to be released Nov.1? The auction for my Diamond Mako just ended today, hopefully the buyer will go through with it.

Viewsonic and Dell are both backlit screens, but I read a post on here by the owner of the site that the Dell has only one LED lighting the screen rather than two. I'm not sure what effect that would have on viewing. The Viewsonic's screen has already been rated as excellent.

I find myself no long enamoured with the Viewsonic, slinky as it is. The Dell, just from viewing pictures, gives me more an impression of rough and tumble robust looks. It just feels like it would be able to withstand much more abuse. For my first Pocket PC I think that would be important for me. Maybe in a year or two I can think of getting a fancier one. I really hope it has a metal casing, though it's doubtful. Even if it is plastic it looks quite thick and chunky, ready to take on any floor that may just happen to make contact with it, this is where a thick skin really comes in handy.

Size seems to definitely be the Viewsonic's forte, with less than half the volume of a Dell unit, it is small indeed. This would make it excellent for slipping into almost any pocket. Even people who like tight jeans could take this one around with them. But then that would lead me back to the durability of the product. With the weight at 4.2oz and that thin slim body, I'm not sure it can handle shear forces as well as the Dell would.

Then again, I could be wrong. I had the opportunity to play with a Toshiba E-310, which I would have purchased if all those great rebates could be made use of by Canadians (I love my country, but I like the deals americans get too ;) ), it felt very sturdy for it's size. It also had a nice weight to it, the impression was of a very solid high quality precision piece of PPC equipment. Too bad about the rebate thing.

Another advantage of the Dell would be it's compact flash slot in addition to plain old SD. If you want both com. and memory, you can make use of the SD slot for the latter and the CF slot for the former. For me the com. requirement is nihil though the CF slot still has the advantage of offering memory at half the price of SD. Though I'm sure SD memory will drop in price next year, in which case you have the option to tack on even more memory.

In all areas but size the Dell seems to be the most logical choice to me. Not only that but I bet it's the one I can get the quickest :twisted: I think I've waited long enough. Hopefully the $50 rebate they say they will offer will be applicable to Canadians as well. If it's not then I'm going to have to shun them as well and wait for the new HP 1900 unit.

I'm planning on the 300Mhz model simply because that's such an incredible deal. Hopefully someone talented with hardware and programming will figure out how to overclock the thing. I really don't need or want a cradle, nor the extra RAM since I plan on buying a CF card by the end of the year if I end up purchasing and liking it. Another idea I like is the ability to be ability to use a microdrive with it, with that 1440MAh battery I'm hoping it won't drain too fast. I can hardly wait for the 18th!

[Rirath]

I'm just amazed there's anything to debate. The single advantage I can find the V35 has is it's size. Maybe the looks, but that's certainly a matter of taste. Personally, I much prefer the look of the Dell. Why people are willing to pay more, get much less, and be proud of the looks of the device of all things I'll never understand. If I ever start considering style over huge spec differences, something is very very wrong.

[Janak Parekh]

Why people are willing to pay more, get much less, and be proud of the looks of the device of all things I'll never understand. If I ever start considering style over huge spec differences, something is very very wrong.
Um, then explain to me why the woman next to me on the train this morning had 8 layers of perfume and was putting what seemed like 3 coats of makeup on...

Or why the "Claudia Schiffer" Palm existed...

Most people have different priorities than "hardcore" users. Although, I do have to admit, the thinness of a device makes it more pocketable. It all depends on what compromise you want. There are more people than you'd think for which price is not the issue, but pocketability or other aesthetics are. Why else would the m505/m515 have been so popular?

--bdj

[mike6024]

I think the Dell has a replaceable battery, and the Viewsonic does not. But, the Viewsonic has a jog dial, and I don't think the Dell has one. Finally, Viewsonic is supposed to include PowerPoint software and we don't know what additional software will come with the Dell.

No no, the Dell does come with a jog dial. To some of you that may not seem like a big deal, but I lost mine when I switched to the Ipaq and I desperately want it back for one-handed ebooks and surfing.

[Hitman2]

Well, I made my choice... ordered the Dell early this morning. Estimated ship date is 12/05. Naturally I ordered a 128meg SD and the WLAN CF card as well... :D

Hopefully I'll find it was money well spent and not just an expensive debug sesssion.

[Kirkaiya]

I'm just amazed there's anything to debate. The single advantage I can find the V35 has is it's size. Maybe the looks, but that's certainly a matter of taste. Personally, I much prefer the look of the Dell. Why people are willing to pay more, get much less, and be proud of the looks of the device of all things I'll never understand. If I ever start considering style over huge spec differences, something is very very wrong.

As someone who carries his PocketPC around with him nearly always, I can give you some insight into this. I use my iPaq (or did... broken touchscreen in September, ahhhh) for both business and personal stuff.

When I'm at a client-site, I have meetings with various client-people, meetings with vendors, other contractors, etc, often in different buildings, or in different places in a building.

My iPaq, for all that I loved it, was really heavier and thicker than I thought was comfortable for a shirt-pocket or jacket-pocket (to be fair, it was slightly smaller than my previous PDA, a Casio E-11).

One reason I was always tempted to give it up for a Palm Vx, which my wife uses, was that I can *feel* an iPaq, even in my inside-coat-pocket. With her Palm Vx, you could barely tell it was there.

So - for me, going from a 6.2 (or 6.5?) ounce device to one 50% lighter (4.2 Oz), and substantially thinner, it a huge motivation to change. If I was tempted to change from a PPC to a *PALM* just to get the form-factor I wanted, you can imagine how easy a leap it is for me to choose 1 PPC over another.

And... I honestly don't see that much difference in the specs - basically, the Dell has a slightly faster processor (400 vs 300), and a CF slot. That's it. I believe, as eWeek says here (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,713350,00.asp), "HP officials said the trend is toward more SDIO functionality in the coming year, with the technology eventually overtaking the popular CF.".

At Comdex, SyChip is showing off their new SDIO WLAN (802.11b) card....

For me, and a lot of other users, we don't need dual slots - if you do, great, get a Dell dude, but if not, and if processor speeds on your handheld are not vital discriminators, then I think the Viewsonic has the specs that matter: It's svelte, and light. And THIN THIN THIN - which for many people is actually important.

We all have our needs and prefs, and for me, form-factor is a big issue.

So, I hope that explains why some of us feel the V35 is, for us, a superior product.

[AlanNewman]

Thank you for your imput.

[[email protected]]

Both Axim and V35 are good PDAs. I will however not buy a PDA until I've seen convincing reviews so that all the good and bad is out in the open. Only one review so far of the V35, and it points to a strange issue with performance, seems that it has poor performance (or the reviewer did something strange), read the review yourselves:

http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/viewsonic_V35.htm

Very odd performance numbers, wouldn't you say? What could be the cause of this? Note that the Toshiba e330 with the same CPU (XScale @ 300MHz) outperforms the V35 every time. Very strange!

[AlanNewman]

JP Thanks for your feedback. I am still going to wait until both units hit the market before I make my decision. I will do my homework first, so I don't get stuck with a bad unit. I hope both of these unit come out soon. I don't think it is likely that either one or the other will be out before Xmas, this year.

[aerin44]

I am very seriously considering a viewsonic as my first PDA. However, how would I go about connecting to my T68i phone? The phone has bluetooth, but I am not sure if there is a SD bluetooth card that will work with the viewsonic. Actually I would prefer to use a cable and keep the SD slot for storage. Is there an available cable? Thanks.

[Mystery905]

Both Axim and V35 are good PDAs. I will however not buy a PDA until I've seen convincing reviews so that all the good and bad is out in the open. Only one review so far of the V35, and it points to a strange issue with performance, seems that it has poor performance (or the reviewer did something strange), read the review yourselves:

http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/viewsonic_V35.htm

Very odd performance numbers, wouldn't you say? What could be the cause of this? Note that the Toshiba e330 with the same CPU (XScale @ 300MHz) outperforms the V35 every time. Very strange!

I ran the same benchmarks on my V35, but put it in 'high performance' mode instead of 'automatic', and got results comaparable to the 300 Mhz e330.