PDAGold Reviews The Dell Axim X50v

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.pdagold.com/articles/detail.asp?a=222">http://www.pdagold.com/articles/detail.asp?a=222</a><br /><br />PDAGold has written a very thorough review of the Dell Axim X50v, the flagship Pocket PC of the Dell line. If a VGA device is on your shopping list, you should check out this review.

[PJE]

Nice review,

I don't know what settings they were using for video playback, but with Betaplayer I played a 2 hour movie using headphones and CPU turned down and it dropped to 70% - granted I wasn't using full brightness, but I never do on battery power.

The X50v is however the first of over 10 PDAs I've owned for which I've had to ask for a replacement unit due hardware problems (Digitizer drift/noise and Battery Door warnings).

I've also experienced WiFi troubles where I couldn't get the unit to latch on to my access point, but simply doing a full backup/hard reset/restore fixes it... This is the fisrt PDA where I've needed to do a manual hard reset - I did it once on my X5 in two years and a handful of times in two months with the X50v.

On the whole I'm happy with it... but if the HP was $100 cheaper and didn't have the touchpad...

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I wonder if it would be possible to hate the battery life of a device even more?

Damn.

Oh well. Guess I'll keep hanging out waiting for a good replacement for my 2215... One with no BUT in it...

It's nice BUT it has terrible battery life.

It's fast BUT the screen isn't so great.

It's slick BUT the performance sucks...

Sigh...

[silver99]

I have the Dell X50v.

I must say the battery life isn't an issue for me (and probably a lot of others). Sure it can drain fast if you use BT and WIFI and watch movies but I'm almost always near a power source.

I use it in my car as well with the BT GPS but it's always connected to a 12V adaptor.

The screen is absolutely top notch and I've owned several PPCs. Performance is very good and streaming movies or live television over my network is perfect.

For me it's a 10, meaning it's the perfect PPC I've owned and does everything I want it to do and more. Really I use this thing as a computer. I just have the standard battery and it's totally fine. If I really felt I needed extra battery power I'd get the extended battery but I don't. I keep my screen on maximum brightness and processer speed at max (why buy a super fast PPC to only clock it down). Seriously, anyone thinking about getting this one - DO IT!!!

[whydidnt]

First off, very nice, thorough review. I think screen quality can be a very subjective thing. The reviewer thinks it's excellent. I tried an X50v and the screen was absolutely awful compared to the HP 4705. The colors are very washed out - you can really tell on the "Bliss theme, where the grass is more white than green.

I tried and sent back two X50vs because of the washed out screen and very odd digitizer. It seems sensitive, but did not respond well to my writing style. I tried the contrast hack posted on Aximsite.com, but could not really get the screen to look good to me no matter how I adjusted it - at least compared to the HP.

I wouldn't let the battery life be a primary factor in a decision to purchase one of these, it didn't seem to be a problem in my testing, and with the ability to add an extended battery, or even just cary a 2nd battery, battery life is easily managed, IMO.

[MPSmith]

I wonder if it would be possible to hate the battery life of a device even more?

Damn.

Oh well. Guess I'll keep hanging out waiting for a good replacement for my 2215... One with no BUT in it...

It's nice BUT it has terrible battery life.

It's fast BUT the screen isn't so great.

It's slick BUT the performance sucks...

Sigh...

I have one and I agree that the battery life is terrible, but to say the screen isn't so great means you haven't seen one. It totally rocks. I've compared it side by side to the 4700 and it looks great! Don't believe what you see in those photos. You need to see it first hand.

The performance of mine is great, too. I admit I've had a problem with the Wi-Fi/BT conflict, but I've figured out how to avoid that issue. Otherwise, its been problem free for me!!!

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I didn't' say the screen of the X50v sucked.

I was making generalizations. It always seems that no matter how good a PPC is, there's a tradeoff somewhere else.

Sometimes what's said is what's meant; no implications included.

[MPSmith]

I didn't' say the screen of the X50v sucked.

I was making generalizations. It always seems that no matter how good a PPC is, there's a tradeoff somewhere else.

Sometimes what's said is what's meant; no implications included.

I never said you said the screen sucked. I quoted what you posted. And I didn't think you were implying anything. I just disagree with you about the screen not being so great. IMO, it is great. That's all.

You are totally right about tradeoffs. If there was one best PPC, everyone would have it. :wink:

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I just disagree with you about the screen not being so great. IMO, it is great. That's all.

Again, I wasn't talking about this particular Pocket PC, just Pocket PC's in general.

[ethancaine]

I tell you what... I've been out of the PDA game for a while (my Axim X5 has been all I needed), but I have recently been blown away by the HP 4705 screen thanks to the lovely CompUSA display in Honolulu. My Axim X50v should arrive tomorrow, so I'll charge it up and head over to CompUSA and compare the screens and if not fully impressed I will return the Axim X50v and save a little more for the HP 4705. Either way I will report back to you all as soon as that is completed in an unbiased way by a non-professional reviewer. (Yes, I said unbiased... only purchased the Axim X50v because of a great coupon I got... not because I'm a HP hater!)

[whydidnt]

I have one and I agree that the battery life is terrible, but to say the screen isn't so great means you haven't seen one. It totally rocks. I've compared it side by side to the 4700 and it looks great! Don't believe what you see in those photos. You need to see it first hand.


As I posted earlier, Screen quality is very subjective, you think the X50v screen is great. I think it pales in comparison to the 4700, and I've owned both and compared them side by side. The Axim screen provides very crisp text (courtesy of VGA) and is very bright - too bright and the contrast is off, the screen does not provide true colors, at least on the 2 I tried.

BTW, I'm not the only one that feels this way, there are several posts at www.aximsite.com that complain of the same issues to varying degrees.

[Menneisyys]

First off, very nice, thorough review. I think screen quality can be a very subjective thing. The reviewer thinks it's excellent. I tried an X50v and the screen was absolutely awful compared to the HP 4705. The colors are very washed out - you can really tell on the "Bliss theme, where the grass is more white than green.

I don't think its screen is awful. It's just different from those of the hx4700 / Pocket Loox 720. The latter two has a much more contrasty and vivid screen, which can be a big disadvantage in cases like watching videos / photos with darker spots. Not even at full brightness will you able to properly see them, unlike with a not-that-contrasty PDA.

Check out Deslock's comparative screenshots of both the hx4700 and the x50v at http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35630&amp;start=20 .

[Don't Panic!]

Reg hackers to the rescue! there a hidden contrast applet that actually works and can be actived by the latest Tweaks2k2 or a manual tweak.

"The Tweak"
Activate hidden contrast applet by going into the registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ControlPanel\Contrast' and renaming the "Redirect" value to "Redirect_" (or rename to something else, or remove it completely). Then soft reset and go to start > settings > system > contrast and adjust the contrast. The only thing is, it doesn't remember the contrast after a soft reset. This should help with reading in the dark -- the screen brightness is too bright when you are in the dark."

[CCollins]

The form factor is great, even with the extended battery. However everything pales in comparison to the HP 4705 (except the price!)

Particularly, the built-in WiFi is horrible - numerous documented issues, and I cannot download a 4+ MB file unless Power Save is turned off.

Also, the touch screen doesn't seem very sensitive. I really have to press hard to get it to respond, compared to almost any other unit.

[Menneisyys]

However everything pales in comparison to the HP 4705 (except the price!)

.. and the 2700g and the native, excellent VGA output.

Particularly, the built-in WiFi is horrible - numerous documented issues, and I cannot download a 4+ MB file unless Power Save is turned off.

Some hx4700's also have some Wi-Fi issues (along with a slighly worse Wi-Fi range when compared to the 5450/5550), see e.g. http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&amp;threadid=111981

[jlp]

The review doesn't give any information about the AC adaptor connecting to the Axim. I see no AC connector in the latter (like on my x5 for example); do I have to assume there is no direct connection between the two and that to recharge the x50 one has to connect to the cradle or something?

[whydidnt]

The review doesn't give any information about the AC adaptor connecting to the Axim. I see no AC connector in the latter (like on my x5 for example); do I have to assume there is no direct connection between the two and that to recharge the x50 one has to connect to the cradle or something?
Dell includes an adaptor you can use to directly connect the power cable to the handheld. The USB cable is hardwired to the cradle, but the power cable unplugs for use like this.

[mhowie]

I wonder if it would be possible to hate the battery life of a device even more?

Damn.

Oh well. Guess I'll keep hanging out waiting for a good replacement for my 2215... One with no BUT in it...

It's nice BUT it has terrible battery life.

It's fast BUT the screen isn't so great.

It's slick BUT the performance sucks...

Sigh...

Exactly the sentiments I have as I retain my 2215 awhile longer...

[QYV]

Having owned an iPAQ 3630, Axim X5, iPAQ 2200 and now Axim X50v, the battery life on the X50v is on par with the 3630 (and I think the battery on the latter was failing towards the end). Even without the WiFi on, something about the X50v screen - presumably related to the increased resolution - sucks juice. With the WiFi on, I can look up after an hour or two and see only 40%-50% left. I've bought an extra battery for every device since that 3630, but never actually needed one until the X50v - I end up needing to swap to a fresh battery a couple of times per week.

That said, it's a great device and I wouldn't go back to a 2200, which was my favorite PPC until now. But I have to say that with transflective (not sidelit) screens and "scaling" processors, I thought the days of three-hour battery life were over...

[jlp]

Main problem with x50v is because the battery is much lower rated than the x5's: 1100 vs 1440, that's almost a third less. That plus VGA, plus BT &amp; Wifi 8O.

I'm off to order my x50v and an extra battery (1100 mAh to fit any case I'll get).

Dell's 10-15% rebate on the Axims is ending today, I don't wanna miss it 8) (it's late afternoon now here).

[ethancaine]

As promised, I compared the Axim X50v screen to the HP 4705 screen with a side by side look. I feel the colors on the 4705 are a little more vibrant than the X50v but the whites are much more white on the X50v.

It's kinda like Cheer vs. Clorox... you want vibrant colors or clean whites?