Product Requirements:
Device:
Windows PC 98, 2000, ME, XP or later

Like almost all products on the market, the consumer has a variety of brand choices that tend to map directly to price choices. For example, if you're in the market for a pair of jeans, you can buy a no name pair at Wal-Mart for $20, or go to a shop in the mall and buy a pair of Lucky Brand jeans for around $90. Besides the brand name though, is there really that big of a difference between the two pairs not counting the $70? What about car models? You can spend $20,000 for a brand new Subaru, or $45,000 for a new Corvette. Both will get you from point A to point B, so is there really a difference in the two besides price?

Many of you will answer yes to the questions above saying that there is a big difference between product brands. There are quality differences and perceived status differences. So, what do you think about the differences between the Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC and the HP hx4700 iPAQ Pocket PC? Both employ the same fast processor, both run Windows Mobile 2003 SE, and both have dual card slots, both have WiFi and Bluetooth. But for all these similarities, the iPAQ costs $150 more than the Dell. Is the iPAQ truly that much better? Hopefully this review will answer that question as I will be taking a close look at the Axim X50v Pocket PC.

Hardware Specs

Processor: Intel� PXA270 Processor 624 MHz
Operating System: Microsoft� Windows Mobile� 2003 Second Edition software for Pocket PC (with Windows Media Player version 10 Mobile)
Memory: 128 MB Strata Flash ROM and 64 MB SDRAM
Display: 3.7" Transflective 16bit VGA TFT color display
Graphics: Intel 2700G multimedia accelerator with 16MB video memory
Interface: USB 2.0, Infrared, Bluetooth 1.2, WiFi (WLAN 802.11b)
Dimensions and Weight: 4.7 x 2.9 x .7 in (119 x 73 x 16.9mm), 6.2oz (175g)
Battery: 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (user replaceable)
Expansion: SD card slot (3.3v), supports MMC and SDIO Now cards, CF Type II card slot (3.3v)

Package Contents

Dell X50v Axim Pocket PC
AC adapter
Charger adapter to plug AC adapter directly into PDA
USB Desktop Synchronization Cradle
Nylon slip case
Stylus
Companion CD including Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft ActiveSync 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
Quick Start poster

It seems like a lot of people really don't like Dell home computers. I'm not sure why though, as I've had good luck with both a desktop and a notebook through the years. I used the heck out of the desktop and then sold it to a friend years ago who only just this past year upgraded to another Dell desktop. The notebook that I have is about 5yrs old and is still going strong. So, when Dell started producing Pocket PCs, I was more than a little interested in what they were going to offer with their Axim line. The problem is, once I saw the first slew of Axim's, I was under whelmed to say the least. The first generation was big and ugly, while the 2nd generation was overall blah. Then they announced the 3rd generation and I was hoping they finally would have a model that I'd like to take a look at. One look at the X50 series though and I thought eck. I didn't care for the silver / black body styling at all. So I thought I'd skip reviewing yet another model...

A few months ago, Judie and I reviewed the HP hx4700 iPAQ Pocket PC and both promptly made them our PDA of choice (or as Judie calls hers: her daily driver, and as I call mine: my main brain). I had moved from the HP 2215 iPAQ, and Judie from the Tapwave Zodiac. The upgrade for me has been with mixed emotions. While I absolutely love the hx4700's display, I equally loathe the touch navigation pad. So, when the opportunity to review the Dell X50v actually presented itself, I was happy to take a look even though I was pretty sure I would not be all that impressed.

The day it arrived, I opened the box and was quite surprised that the unit was so small. Size-wise, it is pretty similar to the HP 2215. The black and silver case styling that I had first seen in pictures on the web had caused me to turn up my nose in dislike. But in the flesh, I found the PDA to be quite a bit more appealing.

In hand the X50v is very comfortable. Unlike the hx4700, this device has a more hand friendly shape. The unit is not as wide and the sides are more rounded to fit in the palm of your hand. The rounded sides on the back half of the case have a slightly rubberized feel to them to help you keep a secure grip during handling. As far as the Gadgeteer creak / squeeze test is concerned, the X50v passed, but not with flying colors. The sides have a very very tiny amount of flexing to them if you really give the PDA a squeeze and the battery cover on the back side of the PPC creaks a bit. Yes, I'm being extremely picky, but that's just the way I am!

As you look at the face of the device, you first notice the silver U shaped edging. While this might look like metal in the online pictures, it is just silver colored plastic. The microphone, power button and status LED are located at the top of the face. The small power switch is easy to press with the tip of your finger. A cool feature of this button is that it doubles as both a battery charging indicator and alarm indicator. It lights up in amber while the battery is charging in the cradle, and turns green when charging is complete. It also blinks green when an alarm sounds. The status LED next to it blinks blue when Bluetooth is enabled, green when WiFi is enabled and alternates between blue and green when both are enabled.

The application buttons and 5 way navigation pad are located at the bottom of the face. By default, the small app buttons are mapped to Calendar, Contacts, Inbox and Dell Home app launcher applications. The buttons are round, flat and do provide some tactile feedback when pressed. The 5 way navigation pad is slightly oval shaped, with a smaller button in the center. Although the button is small, it is easy to manipulate due to the concave shape and raised ridge around the outside edge. Using these buttons to play games may not be the greatest experience, but they are a billion times better than the touch pad on the hx4700! Using the navigation button to scroll through e-books is also much easier with the X50v, than it is with the iPAQ.

The speaker for this PDA is located under the 5 way navigation button. Sound quality from the speaker is decent. There should be no worries that alarms will go unnoticed with this PDA as max volume is more than adequate even for use as an alarm clock.

The 3.7in (diagonal) VGA display is very nice. Colors are bright and vivid, while text is crisp and sharp. If I compare the display to my hx4700, it is of course smaller, but not by that much. To my eyes, the display may be just ever so slightly brighter than the iPAQ (both set to max brightness) and whites seem just a teeny tiny bit more white. All that said, the differences aren't enough to really harp about. I think anyone would be happy with the display on this Pocket PC. They might be even happier if the special graphics accelerator chip (Intel 2700G) used in this model sees more games that take advantage of it. Right now there are just a few games and apps that let this graphics chip shine. Two are included on the companion CD: Fathammer's Stuntcar Extreme and Enigmo. Both games look amazing!

The left side of the X50v has a lanyard loop, hold switch, wireless toggle and voice recorder button. I usually don't have problems with buttons located on the sides of PDAs, but for some reason, I was constantly activating the wireless and voice recorder button on this device when I would pick up the PDA from a table or while extracting it from the cradle. I ended up setting the action for these buttons to <none>. Problem is that pressing the buttons while the PDA is off, still caused it to power on.

The right side of the PDA is devoid of any buttons, while the bottom has the serial connector. This connector is different than previous Dell Axim models, so older cables and accessories will not be compatible.

The cradle that ships with the X50v is nicely weighted, but you will still require both hands to remove it from the base. One cool feature is the ability to charge a 2nd battery while the PDA is inserted.

The dual card slots are located at the top of the X50v, along with the IR port, earphone jack and stylus silo. Sound quality through earphones is great. No complaints there at all.

Last but not least, the reset switch, battery compartment and battery door lock are all located on the back side of the PDA. When it comes to battery life with the X50v, the only word that comes to mind is short. Using the stock 1100mAh battery with this fast processor, VGA screen and special graphics accelerator chip you tend to get around 3hrs usage per charge. Thankfully, there is an optional battery available that doubles the capacity to 2200mAh. This larger capacity battery does increase the thickness of the unit though. Below you will find a table detailing typical usage / battery life from one charge of the 1100mAh battery.

The X50v has both WiFi and Bluetooth built in. Surfing via WiFi was effortless to setup, I just pressed the wireless toggle button on the left side of the PDA twice and then selected my SSID from the list available and voila, I was connected to my access point. I didn't have to add any IP addresses, proxy addresses or anything. Simple and fast, just the way I like it!

Bluetooth was a little bit of a pain though... For some reason the PDA decided to start popping up an error message every few seconds which told me that the license for Bluetooth had expired. I was like whatchu talkin bout?! Soft resets did not fix it. Luckily the latest OS patch from Dell did. I've yet to see the error since upgrading.

As far as available memory, out of the box, the X50v has 61.75 mb of user memory and 91.43mb of non volatile file store memory  available. I guess I'm ok with that. More is always better though. I don't like that there is only 61mb of user memory. Having a the file store is nice, but I wish there were at least 96mb of user memory.

System speed is snappy. Just as snappy as my hx4700 iPAQ. No surprises there as they do use the same 624MHz processor. If you want to save a little battery power, you can monkey with the speed settings. I don't know about you though, but once I know I've set the processor to a slower setting, I start thinking the PDA is running like a dog and turn around and set it right back up to the max again. I'm not sure you really save all that much juice. Maybe 15-20mins per charge. Not enough to justify a little lag in my opinion.

In addition to the stock bundle of Windows Mobile apps (Pocket Word, IE, Excel, etc.) included in ROM, the X50v does ship with a few extra goodies that other Pocket PCs don't have. They include:

Home Launcher: Just a simple launcher that you can add categories and icons to. Does anyone ever use these apps? I don't.

Dell WLAN Utility: Full featured WiFi connection manager that allows you to see available networks, view packet transfers info, signal strength, etc. This is a great set of tools!

Data Backup: Simple backup utility that allows you to backup your PIM info to a storage card. It's pretty lame compared to the version that comes with the hx4700 that allows you to schedule automatic backups and backup programs as well as your PIM info. My advice: get a 3rd party replacement for this one.

Windows Media Player 10: This new version has some neat features such as having the ability to display album art, searching memory and media cards for library content and playing videos in full screen.

Switch Bar: Task switcher / closer app. Nothing too exciting here...

Processor speed tweaker: Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

Additional software on companion CD:

Funk Odyssey VPN client:  Supports 64/128 bit WEP, WPA and CCX 1.0.

Resco Picture Viewer:  Popular image viewer.

VGA 3D games that show off the special graphics chip: Enigmo by Aspyr and Fathammer's Stuntcar Extreme.

Overall, I am surprised at how much I have ended up liking the Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC. The hardware is nice and definitely comparable to the hx4700. The Dell's style isn't quite as cool as the hx4700 though, you have to give props to HP for the iPAQ's metal case. But that metal case is bigger and a tiny bit heavier than the Dell's plastic case (only 1 oz though). The iPAQ has a little bit bigger display, but to my eyes, they are not that different as far as brightness and color saturation. I can deal with the Dell's .3 in smaller display.

I could go on and on comparing the difference between my hx4700 and this X50v. But when it all comes down to it, I'm not going to ditch the hx4700, even though I like the 5 way navigation pad on the Dell so much better. It's crazy, that the button would be the one thing that almost makes me want to trade. I hate the touch pad on the iPAQ that much! But, the Dell's battery kills it for me. It's just too anemic. Especially if you're mobile all the time.

All that said, the X50v is a great Pocket PC. It has pretty much all the features anyone needs (except for long battery life) in a PDA for an ok price. People in the market for a economical VGA PPC, really owe it to themselves to consider Dell. If money isn't as tight (you can find some deals if you search) and you aren't into action games that require a 5 way navigation button, need a more rugged metal case, then the iPAQ might be a better bet for you.

Price: $499 Find best prices here.

Pros:
3D Graphics accelerator chip
Comfortable in hand
WiFi & Bluetooth
Dual memory card slots

Cons:
Brief battery life
Different serial connector on this model means incompatibility with older cables
Buttons on left side are easily activated