Dell Axim Popularity Good - Unless You Are Waiting For It

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1040-981417.html?tag=fd_top">http://news.com.com/2100-1040-981417.html?tag=fd_top</a><br /><br />The popularity and success of the Axim is great for the Pocket PC, but if you are waiting for delivery, it is not so good. When you order from Dell, you generally expect items to ship in a few days at the most, especially items that they don't have to build. "The typical wait time for Dell gear is three to five days, though Axim orders are taking around two weeks to fill, Pinkston said. He added that waits could be even longer in some cases if customers order accessories, such as a wireless card or folding keyboard, at the same time."<br /><br />Well, it could be worse. Some of us remember waiting <i>months</i> for our first Pocket PC as we placed orders for the iPAQ at about 50 online merchants trying to increase our odds of getting one. :lol:

[Rob Borek]

Do I need to tell the story about your sordid search for an iPAQ Ed? ;)

[Ed Hansberry]

Do I need to tell the story about your sordid search for an iPAQ Ed? ;)No. That is one of the things that can get you banned for life. :lol:

[bcre8v2]

We were fortunate to have received a Dell Axim early on, however, it arrived with hardware issues - (lockups, buttons not functioning, on/off not working) - We immediately initiated an RMA and now we're still waiting for a replacement almost 3 weeks later.
Dell is certainly in a tough position trying to satisfy the demand.

The thing is, we have also had problems with our iPaqs, and it seems just as difficult getting a replacement from HP.

So far, we have been most fortunate (reliability wise) with the Toshibas (e740) and a Fujitsu-Siemens pocket Loox.

[vincentsiaw]

if only dell sell it's axim at best buy or circuit citty, none of this will happen i think...

[WindWalker]

I spoke with our Dell rep here just a few minutes ago, and he related to me the issues that they are having. Dell did not anticipate the demand for the devices to be anywhere near what it has turned out to be. initially, they were going to give Axims to all their field sales staff, but pulled back when they realized they could sell them almost immediately. They are trying to ramp up, but, as always, these things take time. I placed my order last week, and haven't even gotten my order acknowledgement yet. I am still working with my Maestro, so I am not dying before it gets here, but sooner rather than later would be nice.....

[jeff]

Do I need to tell the story about your sordid search for an iPAQ Ed? ;)No. That is one of the things that can get you banned for life. :lol:

I remember that summer. It wouldn't surprise me if the first gen iPaqs were still backordered at Outpost.com. The leaked Best Buy ad from the end of July was a life saver.

[Jason Dunn]

if only dell sell it's axim at best buy or circuit citty, none of this will happen i think...

Why would you say that? If they expand their sales, they'll have an even harder time meeting demand. Right about now, they probably want to STOP selling them for a few days just to supply can catch up.

Although it's frustrating for users waiting for one, this whole scenario is ultimately good for the Pocket PC - it shows Dell there's a strong demand for their product, and validates their decision to make a Pocket PC. Bam! :rock on dude!:

[CharlesWilcox]

I ordered an Axim with an extra battery, 3 extra styli, and a travel charger on 1/5 and Dell didn't even begin processing my order until 1/16. I only know this because friday they delivered the accessories (read - no AXIM!!!) and the invoice had my customer number which is unique to this transaction (??). They have still not e-mailed me an order confirmation with estimated ship date, but I was able to use the customer number to find out that they will be shipping my unit on 2/10. IT BETTER BE WORTH IT!! :?

[Jonathan1]

Ahhh the 3635 search....I remember it well. Not fondly but well ;)

I preordered mine in June of 2000 and waited with much anticipation....and waited.....AND WAITED.....AND WAITED.......AND WAITED!......It only took 4 freaking months! :? I got the thing 2 days before my birthday in September. :D

Dell users can't complain in comparison to this. However there ARE some users who are waiting WELL beyond the 2 weeks stated. [REPOST FROM ZDNET’S SITE] Just before X-mas an employee came down to the IS dept looking for adv. for a new PDA to replace her aging E-125 brick. ;-) I did the standard quizzing on what she was looking for and as soon as she said photo album I knew. Axim X5. With its expansion and price it’s the device to beat. Anyways that was what? 4 week ago? Last I heard, last week, she had gotten an e-mail from Dell stating that it wouldn't ship til 1st week in Feb. Maybe Dell has ramped up the production of their devices since that e-mail but all I know is she is still waiting after about a month with no accessories and the basic unit.

[ultimate_ed]

Guess there must have been a lull in ordering when I made my order right after the first of the year. I put my order in on Monday the 6th and it was at my house on Friday the 10th. The only accessory that I got was an extra sync cable and everything arrived together.

Been pretty much blissed out on my Axim ever since.

For those still waiting - believe me, it is worth it.

[rommels]

I'm not sure how true this is, but when I ask Dell why is it taking a long time for my device to ship, the Rep told me that have to build the device. She said that the parts are build in Taiwan, and it is shipped to Dell for assembly ...per order.

I think it is a crack of bull ...but who knows.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I waited for three months for an iPaq before finally cancelling my order and then buying the EM500 from Amazon. At that time, Amazon had dropped the price temporarily from $499.00 to $349.00 ($150 off!) and Casio was offering a free 28MB MMC card with purchase. Otherwise I would have continued to wait...

[BruceG]

Been pretty much blissed out on my Axim ever since.

For those still waiting - believe me, it is worth it.

I have to agree. I ordered my Axim (no accessories) when it first came out, and I was lucky to get it by 12/05/2002 :D . I have been extremely happy with it since I got it. I ordered a keyboard which was supposed to arrive on 01/14/2003, but I got a call from Dell telling me that it would not arrive until 01/28/2003. I know it will be worth the wait. In the meantime, a friend from the Boston Pocket PC User Group (www.bostonpocketpc.com) gave me a Symbol Spectrum Wireless Networker CF card, which works flawlessly. I'm one happy camper.

[Sslixtis]

Hey, anyone remember these statements?My biggest question....will it be sold in retail, or DIRECT from Dell only? If they sell it direct it's going to be a flop...even at that low price. Enterprise customers will gobble it up, but consumers won't even know this thing even exists. Consumers buy gadget in retail outlets where they can kick the tires and compare features.Dell seem to expect this product to sell based solely on the merits of price. Boy are they in for a surprise.

Guess that psychic prediction was a miss huh :wink: Anyone know what kind of market share Dell has with this thing already? 8)

[palmsolo]

I am saying goodby to my trusty Jornada tomorrow (when my ebay auction ends) and have ordered an Axim X5. I had a few issues with their ordering process, but in the end I am getting the 400MHz model for only $240, after rebate, with overnight shipping so I really have no room to complain and can be patient while I wait for my mid-February delivery. I also read they are shipping out earlier than the estimates they give you so I may see it in a week or two. In the meantime, I have my extra battery and ac adapter that I can look at and dream about.

I also have my CLIE NX70V that really is pretty awesome. I love the huge screen and the fact that I can use the Sony WiFI card in both my NX70V and any Pocket PC or laptop.

[dbman]

I spoke with our Dell rep here just a few minutes ago, and he related to me the issues that they are having. Dell did not anticipate the demand for the devices to be anywhere near what it has turned out to be. initially, they were going to give Axims to all their field sales staff, but pulled back when they realized they could sell them almost immediately. They are trying to ramp up, but, as always, these things take time. I placed my order last week, and haven't even gotten my order acknowledgement yet. I am still working with my Maestro, so I am not dying before it gets here, but sooner rather than later would be nice.....

As I recall when the Axim was announced, Dell's stated goal was to corner 7%-8% of the handheld market, or 25% of the Pocket PC market, within a year. I also recall some claim that they expected to sell a million Axims between the time they announced it and the end of 2002. (I looked, but could not find this article.) Given this, it seems to be somewhat implausible that Dell underestimated demand.

[Sslixtis]

As I recall when the Axim was announced, Dell's stated goal was to corner 7%-8% of the handheld market, or 25% of the Pocket PC market, within a year. I also recall some claim that they expected to sell a million Axims between the time they announced it and the end of 2002. (I looked, but could not find this article.) Given this, it seems to be somewhat implausible that Dell underestimated demand.


I think what actually happened was that a Dell exec said they wanted 25% of the PPC market and someone extrapolated that they would have to sell a million units to get that. Not that Dell was actually thinking they were going to sell a Million units. 8O

Dell's Macon said that Microsoft has not done a good job in marketing its Pocket PC to consumers. Dell believes it will sell as many as 140,000 units from an initial ship date of Nov. 25 through Jan. 1.

[LeeC]

LOL!
Well I ordered mine on Dec 27th.
I still have not recieved it yet. I am pretty patient ,but I WAS getting rather annoyed about how they dealt with the backlog. I understand demand being higher than they expected, but I know many people who ordered theirs sometimes even weeks after I, that have recieved thier Axims already!

It is THAT that is bad business. There is just no way that thye should send Axims to people four days after ordering when others have been waiting WEEKS for the same product. Oh well.

At the moment my tracking number shows my Axim a whole five miles from my house. Hopefully it will be there by noon and my wife will have it charged by the time I get home. :D

Almost one month after ordering it.

[Timothy Rapson]

Dell's order with Wistron called for production of 1 million units. Their reps boasted that they would sell the whole first run of 140,000 during the Christmas 2002 season. Looks like that was accomplished. The Axims are a real buy.

I have heard elsewhere that the $50 rebate that Dell said was going to be a regular feature of the pricing has been dropped as of last Sunday? Is that true?

I can't believe that they offered the rebate in the first place with the price already $100 below any competing models. Dell has a real winner here. The reports of early problems were not even significant enough to derail it. They can't have been too bad or too widespread or there would have been a recall.

Congrat's to Dell and to a brand new PPC market structure.

[Rob Borek]

No. That is one of the things that can get you banned for life. :lol:

I thought the way to get banned for life was to tell one of the numerous Jason stories :P

[Numsquat]

I have heard elsewhere that the $50 rebate that Dell said was going to be a regular feature of the pricing has been dropped as of last Sunday? Is that true?

The rebate stopped 1/19 but was based on order date so those that ordered before then will still get the rebate as long as they send it off within 30 days of the ship date.

[Saaby]

I get a free Axim from School 8) but I think they were ordered (About 50 of them) only a week ago...maybe we'll have them by June :roll:

[Roosterman]

I get a free Axim from School 8) but I think they were ordered (About 50 of them) only a week ago...maybe we'll have them by June :roll:
Schools have sure changed since I went :cry: .

[Ed Hansberry]

I get a free Axim from School 8) but I think they were ordered (About 50 of them) only a week ago...maybe we'll have them by June :roll:

That is awesome. I would love to know why the school is buying them and how they plan to integrate it into the curriculum.

[Saaby]

It's for a program called the "School of Technology" I go to a normal high school but they are doing these new things called "Schools within Schools." Basically your English, Math, and in this case Technology teachers all work together on lesson plans and such. As an example, we recently did a bridge project. Wrote about it in English, designed, built and tested it in Technology and did all the Math in Math. There are currently about 90 students in the program--a number of them are Juniors and they got HP Jornadas last year but we're getting Axims this year :D


This (http://www.granite.k12.ut.us/Cyprus/cyprusonline/teacher_websites/Child/sot/sot_main.html) tells a bit about it and if you really want to you can look at my personal site here (https://cd7c1f05.cyphs.granite.k12.ut.us/10th/mcleanrs/Web/index.html) (I know I know there is (At the time I write this) a Clie' on there--it just fits my page better than an Axim!)

(Username: pirate
password: cyprus)

Sorry to derail topic... :roll: :wink: I want my Axim :)