Buttons work 100% for gaming!

[Xyress]

I posted this over at PocketPCPassion, but I wanted to make sure you guys over here saw it too:

==================

I visited the Dell kiosk in my mall in Nashville this evening - just got back and had to let all the gamers out there know that the buttons work perfectly for gaming!! :lol:

I took an SD card with YAME and a ton of NES roms loaded on it. Popped that sucker in there and set up the buttons and I was off and running with Super Mario Brothers 3. The game plays beautifully (I'm coming from an EM-500 180Mhz experience) and the buttons and D-pad press very nicely and they all work together - running and flying diagonally with the racoon tail would be absolutely no problem.

The only caveat is that the D-pad is pretty close to the "B" button. At first I thought it was a deal-breaker because it was tough to run in Mario (forward and "B") ... but after I adjusted my fingers a little bit, I became used to it pretty quickly and it was no problem at all. The plus side is that the B & A can be pressed simultaneously with one thumb (they're close enough and not recessed).

The other fun part was that I basically sold the Dell to a guy who was already there looking at it. Of course the sales person didn't know anything about it - I think she might've been a little bit put off by me kind of stealing her thunder, but she didn't say anything and didn't mind when I put the SD card in the slot.

Bottom line: I'm psyched! I was really hoping that emulators would work on this thing because the specs and price are so great. The screen looked wonderful and the body felt very solid (the rubber grips are great) ... and I actually happen to think it's a very attractive device - not nearly as big as those comparison pictures would have you believe. I think we have a new winner for best gaming machine! I've been holding off - waiting to read a more detailed review, but after a hands-on experience I think I'm definitely going to place my order tomorrow.

[Fishie]

Did you notice anny screen flickering goin on then?

[Xyress]

Nope - I tried scrolling in Excel and didn't see any screen flickering whatsoever.

[enemy2k2]

All I have to say is....SWEEEEEEEEEEET!

[deo]

does anyone know a release date 4 England it seems as though dell usa does not deliver over hear.......Thanks

[Fishie]

Cool, lets just hope the flicker is only on a few early test devices then.


Oh and Deo it might take a while for the Dell to arrive at euro shores, and looking at past history you will pay a pound for a dollar and maybe even worse.
You could try to do what i ussualy do tough, I have friends in the states and when I want something that is not yet available over here or madly more expensive over here, they aquire it for me and ship it to me themselves.

[Steven Cedrone]

I went to my local mall (Montgomery Mall, Montgomeryville, PA), sure enough, they also had a Dell kiosk. I have to say I was very impressed with their Pocket PC. Feels solid, like my Jornada (548). Looks very professional. I noticed absolutely no flicker. I will be going back on Monday to load some clips on it for the employee there (he was very happy to have me explain the unit and show him some of it's capabilities).

All in all, I think I will be buying a Dell...

Steve

[enemy2k2]

I just hope I survive until until my Dell finally arrives here :o

[flojomojo]

Xyress, was this the faster of the two new Axims that you tested?

Will the Axim play ALL ARM-compatible games that were designed for the iPaq? I would get it for Pocket Lynx alone, but there are plenty of others I've missed since only owning a Cassiopeia.

How do you think it holds up against an overclocked E-125?

[Xyress]

It was the 400mhz version and it was *much* snappier than my overclocked EM-500 (180Mhz ... not 200). It played SMB3 (one of the most processor intensive games for the NES) flawlessly with sound even when there were approximately 12 apps open!

It should work with all ARM games/programs/etc.

[Rirath]

Xyress, thanks a lot man for the detailed hands-on. I've already ordered mine, but it's dang nice to hear the good news. I can't wait to try YAME and the rest of the emulators on the Axim. SMB3 seemed like a pipedream. I figured the official games would run great, but I wasn't sure about apps like YAME. And with an already Xscale optimized PocketTV and Divx player, things are looking sweet indeed.

[robert_biggs]

I've ordered the Dell as well. I have a dumb question :oops: , where can I download NES games for emulators and what are the emulators' URL's? (Are games like Final Fantasy available?) I would love to play some old NES games and such. :) Also, Rirath, where can I find insturctions for ripping a video using Pocket DivX from DVD? I'm a new-found Pocket PC addict and would like to learn how to better utilize the capabilities of my new Dell. Thx.

[Rirath]

I'm honestly not sure how much of this we should speak of here. Most boards absolutely do not allow rom links. Emulation links are usually allowed though, since emulators are legal. Feel free to censor/delete this post if something is unacceptable. (I'd just PM the info, but for every one person that asks, 10 more are wondering the same thing.)

PokeNES (http://pocketnes.retrogames.com/) Is a good place to start. It has good quality, pretty good abilities, and a good message board. The best however, is the japanese app YAME. It mainly emulates NES games. The official site seems to be gone... I'm sure you can still find it with a little searching.

Another great one is MAMEce (http://www.mameworld.net/mamece3/). It runs MAME (arcade) games. There's also snes emulators up and coming that run rather slow, genesis emulators that run pretty well I hear, and gameboy emulators. The best gameboy emulator isn't free though, but it does a decent job I hear.

PocketMovies.net (http://www.pocketmovies.net/) is a good place to look into video for pocket pc. Read the FAQ (http://www.pocketmovies.net/faq.php) for tips on how to encode the movies. The playback software can be found at PocketTV (http://www.mpegtv.com/wince/pockettv/) and Pocket Divx (http://www.projectmayo.com/projects/detail.php?projectId=9). Jason also recently posted a link to a more official way of doing things here (http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/columns/bridgman/02november18.asp). It's all about how to use XP's Movie Maker to encode and Media Player to playback video... or something like that. It works if you want quick cookie cutter movies without much fuss, but don't be afraid to dive a little deeper with apps like PocketTV. You'll probably get better results in the end. Still, never hurts to know how.

Good luck, any questions feel free to post.

*Edited by moderator for content...

[flojomojo]

I ordered one of the Dells as well, but it doesn't sound like I'll be getting it for a few weeks. I am an emulator ADDICT and will start scouring the net for ARM versions tomorrow. Can't wait; this will be great.

[Rirath]

Xyress, can you comment on the nav button? Can it handle diagonals through combos of say, up left, down right, etc? Or is it limited (either by software or psychically) to up, down, left and right only? Not that it matters much in the big picture, but it would effect a few good NES games like space shooters for example.

[Xyress]

Absolutely! That's the whole reason I went to try it out! :D

It works perfectly and the "A" & "B" buttons are even easy to press together with one thumb (like jumping while running in Mario games).

The only downside is that the D-pad is awfully close to the "B" button. I started getting used to it while at the kiosk though, so I'm hoping it won't be that much of a problem. When I play Mario games, I usually just hold down the "B" button the entire time, so I tried that and at first it was awkward, but then I started to get the hang of it. It really shouldn't be a problem for most games.

[Rirath]

It seems that Dell really did listen to what the people want. Three cheers!

[Jason Dunn]

does anyone know a release date 4 England it seems as though dell usa does not deliver over hear.......Thanks

Dell is saying "the first part of 2003" - so I think that means Q1 2003, but that could mean up to March...

[tritan]

Is the 400 mhz alot faster then the 300mhz. I am looking for a PIM machine and ablity to put pictures on it. Maybe a few word docs that is about it. Wondering if I need the high end unit or is the lower end one ok for my needs? Anybody? :?:

I am a current palm M515 user now and looking to make the jump to Pocket pc now that the prices have come down I can't past this up.

:multi:

[Janak Parekh]

Cool, another buzzer is here :D

Tritan, for what you're saying either one will probably do. You might want to hold out a couple days and see how people are reviewing the low-end unit, but assuming 300MHz is a little slower than a 206MHz StrongARM it should be fine for the vast majority of tasks.

--bdj

[Rirath]

Tritan, read this toward the bottom (about the last 5 posts) and follow Enemy2k2's link.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=43150

I do wish people would search... :roll: :wink:

[tritan]

Amazing how my user name has gotten around. Yes, I was an old pdabuzz mod for a long time. Times have changed and so has that site! Don't get me started!
I would hope that a 300mhz processor would do better then the older 206mhz. I haven't heard of to many people taken delievery yet. We will see I guess.

[tritan]

Nice article, I see if I am just doing PIM functions I should be ok with the 300mhz. If I want to expand in the future I should get the 400mhz. I have heard rumor on bluetooth unit any idea when they would release it. I would think for surely after the holidays.

[Covert]

I have heard rumor on bluetooth unit any idea when they would release it. I would think for surely after the holidays.
It's been rumored that Dell will release a thin PPC (the "X3") and a wireless-enabled PPC (the "X7") in January (or, at least, sometime in Q1 of 2003). If you want wireless you should wait until after the new year and see what Dell comes up with.

[Rirath]

It's been rumored that Dell will release a thin PPC (the "X3") and a wireless-enabled PPC (the "X7") in January (or, at least, sometime in Q1 of 2003).

More than a rumor I'd say... believe it was an official announcement.

[Kati Compton]

It's been rumored that Dell will release a thin PPC (the "X3") and a wireless-enabled PPC (the "X7") in January (or, at least, sometime in Q1 of 2003).

More than a rumor I'd say... believe it was an official announcement.

I thought it was an official "hint", but that they didn't announce anything in particular about the units.

[tritan]

That is great news. I am getting a wireless network for Christmas,I just might wait .Don't know if I can wait that long.

[Covert]

It's been rumored that Dell will release a thin PPC (the "X3") and a wireless-enabled PPC (the "X7") in January (or, at least, sometime in Q1 of 2003).

More than a rumor I'd say... believe it was an official announcement.

I thought it was an official "hint", but that they didn't announce anything in particular about the units.
That's my understanding. I certainly wouldn't call it an official announcement.

[tritan]

It will be interesting either way what Dell decides to do. 8O