Menneisyys
07-30-2006, 01:34 AM
The Dell Axim x50v and x51v models have a really decent feature: an Intel 2700G (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_2700G) Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_card), which not only means great 3D (gaming, modeling) and 2D (pixel smoothing, video playback), but also VGA output capabilities.
Note that you can’t directly have analogue (composite / RGB / S-Video) output, as opposed to, say, consumer video and digital cameras or the latest multimedia smartphones like the Nokia N93 (latest reports here (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=1079&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)). You must buy a, mostly, pretty expensive separate VGA -> analogue converter if you want such functionality. Also note that you can't have DVI output either. The latter isn't a big problem though - there are cheap converters and all projectors/monitors with DVI input have VGA input too.
Also note that in this article I only discuss the most optimal x50v/x51v-based solution. If speed isn't that important and/or you can also use a notebook/desktop computer, some kind of TCP/IP connection or you are willing to buy a CF/SD VGA out card to display the screen of your PDA, you may also want to read this (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=292&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1), this (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=514&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1) and this (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=355320).
Unfortunately, Dell doesn’t ship a VGA output cable with these two PDA's – you must purchase it separately (this is in stark contrast with Nokia’s approach with their latest flagship phone, the N93, where the analogue RCA output cable is bundled with the phone – see the above-linked N93 report for some sample shots of all this.)
Right now, there are three VGA out connectors for the Dell Axim x50v/x51v. In this roundup, I elaborate on all of them.
First, the most widely known one is Dell’s own
Presentation Bundle (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=310-6935)
The bundle also includes the well-known (it comes with, for example, the HP iPAQ hx4700 pre-installed on the ROM) Westtek ClearVue Suite (http://www.westtek.com/pocketpc/suite/), which can be purchased separately for $24.95. Note that the PDF viewer in the bundle is a bit weak (it’s not compatible with about 10% of current PDF documents) but, at least, it doesn’t have the CPU usage bug (described here (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=880&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)) of Adobe’s own, free Acrobat Reader.
http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/310-6935.jpg
The cable, which costs (together with the Westtek ClearVue Suite) $49.00, has certain drawbacks:
it’s, officially (as far as its being listed on their homepage is concerned), only available for US and Canadian (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=CADHS1&category_id=6066&~ck=bt&p=2) customers and for people in some other states (for example, Malaysia).. Note that you can’t register a buyer account on the related product page from outside any country. Some Axim users (for example, from the Netherlands), however, have reported success in giving Dell a call and asking them to deliver the cables to their local country. That is, if you don't find the cable in the online repository of your own country (in the URL http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=de&l=en&s=dhs&cs=dedhs1&category_id=6067&~ck=anav , (the German address of the “Accessories” page) change ‘de’ (in ‘c=de’) to the country code of your own country to see what Dell Axim accessories are available there.), make sure you call the local office of Dell to ask whether they are still able to give you the cable.
it’s the thickest and shortest of all solutions, which may put a bit more strain on the socket of the Axim than the other solutions
Westtek ClearVue Suite only allows for using the maximal resolution of XGA (1024*768), while the alternate solution, the fully WM5-compliant Nyditot (see Darius Wey’s article, linked below, for more info), offers external resolutions up to SXGA (1280*1024), which, with current middle- to high-end (SXGA, SXGA+ or even UXGA) projectors, may be preferred. Also, as has already been pointed out, some of the built-in software in the Westtek suite is sub-par; for example, the PDF viewer is definitely worse than that of Adobe (CPU utilization bug aside.)
You can’t have the cable without the bundled Westtek suite. If you don’t need the latter (because, say, you prefer Nyditot or don’t want at all to display Office stuff), it may become a bit more expensive than the PC-Mobile cable, even if you take into account that Dell ships the cable free in all the three postage modes, while PC-Mobile ships the cable via air mail (if that’s OK with you) for $5 and, with BoxWave, standard shipping costs $9 even in the States.
BoxWave VGA Presentation Cable (http://www.boxwave.com/products/vgapresentationcable/vga-presentation-cable-dell-axim-x50v_446.htm)
The BoxWave VGA Presentation Cable is unique in that it’s the only cable to have a USB connector so that you can hook it up to a desktop computer to be synchronized and/or charged via USB. The latter may be handy sometimes but, in my opinion, because of the sometimes really limited charging capability of USB ports (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=219&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1), an inferior solution to that of the two other cables, which accept a standard wall charger (with its greatly superior amperage output capabilities).
http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/vgapc_aximx50v_main_lg.jpg
It also has another point to consider: it has a male VGA connector, as opposed to the other two cables. This means you must remove the VGA cable from your monitor if you want to display the picture of the x50v/x51v. Needless to say, this just won’t work with a lot of (even quality!) VGA monitors (unlike with all projectors); for example, the LG Flatron series. In these cases, you may end up having to buy a VGA cable extender/changer.
If the male VGA connector, the comparatively large (in-travel) size and the lack of a “traditional” charger socket aren’t a problem, I recommend it, particularly if you need synchronization capabilities and/or prefer recharging your Axim through a USB port, as opposed to a (travel) charger.
I also recommend this article (http://www.aximsite.com/articles/link.php?id=307) on the cable.
PC-Mobile's PX50VA (http://www.pc-mobile.net/ax50.htm)
This cable costs $29 + postage. The postage fee (also see this page (http://www.pc-mobile.net/delivery.htm)) depends on whether you’d like to receive your cable by air mail ($5; it’s pretty slow and only works for under-$100 orders) or through EMS ($5 flat rate + a rate depending on the country; it’s $15 to the States and $20 to Western and some of Eastern Europe. With other countries, it’s more expensive.)
http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/px50va.jpg
If you cast a glance at their, well, to put it mildly, sub-par homepage, you can (rightfully!) be afraid of the quality of their cables (as was I before actually receiving one of their cables – I was afraid of even inserting it in my, then, super-expensive Pocket Loox 720 because of the plain unprofessional homepage). Will they fry / damage your Axim, you may ask. Don’t be afraid. I’m a happy long-time user of PC-Mobile's PF7U1 (USB Host Cable with power input for Pocket Loox 7xx/N5xx) and I can state their products are durable and remain reliable on the long run as well.
I can only recommend this cable. If you don’t need USB synchronization capabilities and need the most bang for your bucks, go with it.
I highly recommend Darius Wey’s excellent review of the cable here (http://). He also elaborates a lot on using Nyditot. Please note that the latest, 5.02 version of Nyditot supports the WM5 Dell Axim x51v as can also be seen in this screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/Nyditot502-Aximx51v.bmp.png) taken on my x51v.
There is another review of the cable here (http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=87487).
Comparison chart
Sorry, because of the forum engine restrictions, can’t include – it’s available for example HERE (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=1078&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1).
Verdict
It’s all about personal preferences. If you’re in a country where Dell delivers the cable to, probably the easiest solution is the Dell Presentation Bundle. If you’re located elsewhere, you’re cost-conscious and would NOT prefer the BoxWave approach to cabling (male VGA out and USB as opposed to female VGA output and standard recharger socket), go for the PC-Mobile PX50VA with the cheap Air Mail postage mode. If you do need USB synching / charging, your only choice is the BoxWave cable, which also ships to anywhere in the world.
Recommended reading
Darius Wey’s review and tips (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,41409)
Note that you can’t directly have analogue (composite / RGB / S-Video) output, as opposed to, say, consumer video and digital cameras or the latest multimedia smartphones like the Nokia N93 (latest reports here (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=1079&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)). You must buy a, mostly, pretty expensive separate VGA -> analogue converter if you want such functionality. Also note that you can't have DVI output either. The latter isn't a big problem though - there are cheap converters and all projectors/monitors with DVI input have VGA input too.
Also note that in this article I only discuss the most optimal x50v/x51v-based solution. If speed isn't that important and/or you can also use a notebook/desktop computer, some kind of TCP/IP connection or you are willing to buy a CF/SD VGA out card to display the screen of your PDA, you may also want to read this (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=292&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1), this (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=514&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1) and this (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=355320).
Unfortunately, Dell doesn’t ship a VGA output cable with these two PDA's – you must purchase it separately (this is in stark contrast with Nokia’s approach with their latest flagship phone, the N93, where the analogue RCA output cable is bundled with the phone – see the above-linked N93 report for some sample shots of all this.)
Right now, there are three VGA out connectors for the Dell Axim x50v/x51v. In this roundup, I elaborate on all of them.
First, the most widely known one is Dell’s own
Presentation Bundle (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=310-6935)
The bundle also includes the well-known (it comes with, for example, the HP iPAQ hx4700 pre-installed on the ROM) Westtek ClearVue Suite (http://www.westtek.com/pocketpc/suite/), which can be purchased separately for $24.95. Note that the PDF viewer in the bundle is a bit weak (it’s not compatible with about 10% of current PDF documents) but, at least, it doesn’t have the CPU usage bug (described here (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=880&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)) of Adobe’s own, free Acrobat Reader.
http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/310-6935.jpg
The cable, which costs (together with the Westtek ClearVue Suite) $49.00, has certain drawbacks:
it’s, officially (as far as its being listed on their homepage is concerned), only available for US and Canadian (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=CADHS1&category_id=6066&~ck=bt&p=2) customers and for people in some other states (for example, Malaysia).. Note that you can’t register a buyer account on the related product page from outside any country. Some Axim users (for example, from the Netherlands), however, have reported success in giving Dell a call and asking them to deliver the cables to their local country. That is, if you don't find the cable in the online repository of your own country (in the URL http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=de&l=en&s=dhs&cs=dedhs1&category_id=6067&~ck=anav , (the German address of the “Accessories” page) change ‘de’ (in ‘c=de’) to the country code of your own country to see what Dell Axim accessories are available there.), make sure you call the local office of Dell to ask whether they are still able to give you the cable.
it’s the thickest and shortest of all solutions, which may put a bit more strain on the socket of the Axim than the other solutions
Westtek ClearVue Suite only allows for using the maximal resolution of XGA (1024*768), while the alternate solution, the fully WM5-compliant Nyditot (see Darius Wey’s article, linked below, for more info), offers external resolutions up to SXGA (1280*1024), which, with current middle- to high-end (SXGA, SXGA+ or even UXGA) projectors, may be preferred. Also, as has already been pointed out, some of the built-in software in the Westtek suite is sub-par; for example, the PDF viewer is definitely worse than that of Adobe (CPU utilization bug aside.)
You can’t have the cable without the bundled Westtek suite. If you don’t need the latter (because, say, you prefer Nyditot or don’t want at all to display Office stuff), it may become a bit more expensive than the PC-Mobile cable, even if you take into account that Dell ships the cable free in all the three postage modes, while PC-Mobile ships the cable via air mail (if that’s OK with you) for $5 and, with BoxWave, standard shipping costs $9 even in the States.
BoxWave VGA Presentation Cable (http://www.boxwave.com/products/vgapresentationcable/vga-presentation-cable-dell-axim-x50v_446.htm)
The BoxWave VGA Presentation Cable is unique in that it’s the only cable to have a USB connector so that you can hook it up to a desktop computer to be synchronized and/or charged via USB. The latter may be handy sometimes but, in my opinion, because of the sometimes really limited charging capability of USB ports (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=219&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1), an inferior solution to that of the two other cables, which accept a standard wall charger (with its greatly superior amperage output capabilities).
http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/vgapc_aximx50v_main_lg.jpg
It also has another point to consider: it has a male VGA connector, as opposed to the other two cables. This means you must remove the VGA cable from your monitor if you want to display the picture of the x50v/x51v. Needless to say, this just won’t work with a lot of (even quality!) VGA monitors (unlike with all projectors); for example, the LG Flatron series. In these cases, you may end up having to buy a VGA cable extender/changer.
If the male VGA connector, the comparatively large (in-travel) size and the lack of a “traditional” charger socket aren’t a problem, I recommend it, particularly if you need synchronization capabilities and/or prefer recharging your Axim through a USB port, as opposed to a (travel) charger.
I also recommend this article (http://www.aximsite.com/articles/link.php?id=307) on the cable.
PC-Mobile's PX50VA (http://www.pc-mobile.net/ax50.htm)
This cable costs $29 + postage. The postage fee (also see this page (http://www.pc-mobile.net/delivery.htm)) depends on whether you’d like to receive your cable by air mail ($5; it’s pretty slow and only works for under-$100 orders) or through EMS ($5 flat rate + a rate depending on the country; it’s $15 to the States and $20 to Western and some of Eastern Europe. With other countries, it’s more expensive.)
http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/px50va.jpg
If you cast a glance at their, well, to put it mildly, sub-par homepage, you can (rightfully!) be afraid of the quality of their cables (as was I before actually receiving one of their cables – I was afraid of even inserting it in my, then, super-expensive Pocket Loox 720 because of the plain unprofessional homepage). Will they fry / damage your Axim, you may ask. Don’t be afraid. I’m a happy long-time user of PC-Mobile's PF7U1 (USB Host Cable with power input for Pocket Loox 7xx/N5xx) and I can state their products are durable and remain reliable on the long run as well.
I can only recommend this cable. If you don’t need USB synchronization capabilities and need the most bang for your bucks, go with it.
I highly recommend Darius Wey’s excellent review of the cable here (http://). He also elaborates a lot on using Nyditot. Please note that the latest, 5.02 version of Nyditot supports the WM5 Dell Axim x51v as can also be seen in this screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/Nyditot502-Aximx51v.bmp.png) taken on my x51v.
There is another review of the cable here (http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=87487).
Comparison chart
Sorry, because of the forum engine restrictions, can’t include – it’s available for example HERE (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=1078&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1).
Verdict
It’s all about personal preferences. If you’re in a country where Dell delivers the cable to, probably the easiest solution is the Dell Presentation Bundle. If you’re located elsewhere, you’re cost-conscious and would NOT prefer the BoxWave approach to cabling (male VGA out and USB as opposed to female VGA output and standard recharger socket), go for the PC-Mobile PX50VA with the cheap Air Mail postage mode. If you do need USB synching / charging, your only choice is the BoxWave cable, which also ships to anywhere in the world.
Recommended reading
Darius Wey’s review and tips (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,41409)