Dell Axim X51v

Dell Axim X51v 624mhz

The Dell X51v comes in different forms, this review is based on the X51v model with the 624mhz processor, I have had my PDA now for little over a month, its primary use is as a GPS Satellite Navigation device when it is coupled with my GPS device by Bluetooth. My original idea was to buy a Sat Nav system, however after looking at the ever falling prices and raising specifications of PDA's I decided to go down ...
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Dell Axim
Cradle (Connects to your PC to your PDA via a USB connection)
Standard Battery (Battery life really does vary dependant on what is being performed) there is also the option of a longer life battery (2200 mAh ) which does provide a much needed boost
Standard Case (There is an executive option which I took, the executive option
Power Cable for charging (this connects to your Cradle)

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Dell Axim X51v 624mhz

The Dell X51v comes in different forms, this review is based on the X51v model with the 624mhz processor, I have had my PDA now for little over a month, its primary use is as a GPS Satellite Navigation device when it is coupled with my GPS device by Bluetooth. My original idea was to buy a Sat Nav system, however after looking at the ever falling prices and raising specifications of PDA's I decided to go down this route. Whilst more expensive, the PDA provides lots more abilities than just buying a Sat Nav device. For those who are unsure of what a PDA is, PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant and is basically a palmheld watered down PC. Ive added the full specifications to the bottom of my review to compliment the details given by Ciao and to give a greater understanding of what is available

PDA's have so many uses there are simply too many to list here but here are a few.

Whats in the Box ?

When your package arrives it will have (as a minimum) :

Dell Axim
Cradle (Connects to your PC to your PDA via a USB connection)
Standard Battery (Battery life really does vary dependant on what is being performed) there is also the option of a longer life battery (2200 mAh ) which does provide a much needed boost
Standard Case (There is an executive option which I took, the executive option
Power Cable for charging (this connects to your Cradle)

TIP : Check out Ebay for additional options, there are some add-ons available at better prices through Ebay, however be careful as these may invalidate your warranty, and also may be of substandard to Dells own.

Price

The price differs, at the moment of writing the basic package is £325 inc vat delivered, this has been down further and Dell DO run offers, so keep your eye on their website!

Operating System

The operating system bundled with this PDA is Windows Mobile 5.0 , whilst this has received criticism from some people as not being finished etc. In my opinion whilst the OS has a few bugs on the whole it works well and I havent had a major crash yet. Having said this, I have had to "soft reset" a couple of times which basically wipes out running program memory, and this has fixed my problems.

Synchronization

The Dell Axim has the ability via Microsoft Activesync (make sure you have ver 4.1) to synchronise your calendar, contacts, files etc etc with your PC. This is very handy as it saves you having to make copies and retype from your PC to your handheld and vice versa. The software also helps to install new programs onto your PDA from your PC.

Processor Power Ability

There is a neat little function of the Dell Axim that allows the processor to be slowed down or automatically slowed down dependant upon what programs are being run, the plus to this is that the processor actually saves battery life !

Games

There are two games that come with the software, these are a highly addictive "Bubble Breaker" in which you must chip away at a screen of coloured balls by grouping them together then exploding them, and the (almost standard with all microsoft operating systems) solitaire. Other games can be added and because of the Dell Axim's specification of display , there are several worth while games !!

Video

Bundled with the Axim came Windows media player 10, this enables you to watch movies on your PDA. This of course will reduce the battery life considerably from the dell quoted 9 hours , however not quite as much as you think as the video can be stored on an SD card which is simply slotted into the top of the PDA (Additional software is required to convert films to fit onto SD Card)

Internet

The Axim x51v 624mhz has an inbuilt Wifi card for accessing the internet (via a LAN) , when used in conjunction with BT's Openzone service, which allows users to connect to a LAN which in turn connects to the internet, you can browse the internet via the PDA.

Bluetooth

The PDA is fitted with Bluetooth, which can interact with other Bluetooth devices, for example in my case I have used bluetooth to speak to a GPS positioning system and also to my phone.

TIP : If you ARE using your PDA for satellite navigation and you go for the longer life battery option, make sure that your PDA car cradle will take the width of the extra battery. The longer battery protudes about a cm further out than the standard battery, and is provided with its own larger cover.
Navigating and Keyboard

Navigating around the Dell Axim is different but still pretty easy and does get used to. Using a stylus the screen is "touched" (remember lightly!) , sometimes the screen touch is held (paused over) to make sure new menus come up. A virtual keyboard is available from the bottom of the screen for inputting characters, and two of the best features has to be the transcriber and recogniser. These will recognise your handwriting (within reason) and change the writing to characters on the screen. You can also make hand written notes using the "notes" piece of software.

TIP : Why not take grocery shopping one step further ! Create a "note" based on all your shopping needed from the supermarket, and walk around with your PDA, as and when you pick up an item, strike them off, from here you can also put in other information as well, eg for dieting, pricing etc etc.

Applications I have used

Below is a list of the applications I have used for the PDA, there are literally thousands available.

TomTom - Satellite Navigation package.
Microsoft Money - Keep your bank account in your hand, basically this allows you access to your bank account and allows you to keep your finances up to date
Word,Excel,Powerpoint are all bundled with Windows Mobile 5.0 as is MSN Messenger (in its mobile form) and access to Hotmail (when an internet connection is present) is easy.
And of course Bubble Breaker ! , to while away those long car journeys when its not your turn to drive

Full Specifications
Processor

Intel® XScaleTM PXA270 624MHz

Operating System

Microsoft® Windows MobileTM 5.0 software with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile

RAM 64mb
ROM 256mb

Display

TFT Colour 16-bit, Touch Sensitive, Transflective LCD
3.7 inches
480 x 640 resolution at 65,536 colours (VGA)

Control and Lights

5-way Navigation button
Wireless On/Off Button
Lock Switch
4 Program Buttons: Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Home
Voice Record Button
Reset Button
Backlit Power Button
Event Notification
Charge Status
Wireless Status

Expansion Slots
1 CompactFlash Type II Card Slot (3.3v)
1 Secure Digital / SDIO Now / MMC Memory Card Slot (3.3v)

Ports and Connectors

Standard 1.2 (115kbps) Infrared Port
36 pin Cradle/Sync Connector
3.5mm Headphone Jack

Dimensions

Length 119 mm (4.7 inches)
Width 73 mm (2.9 inches)
Height 16.9 mm (0.7 inches)
Weight 175 grams (6.2 oz)

Audio

Audio Controller I2S Codec, WM8750 sound chip
Stereo Conversion 16-bit stereo; 8.0, 11.025, 22.05 and 44.1KHz sample rate
Full Duplex Record and Playback
Integrated Microphone and Speaker

Power Supply

AC Adapter
Battery Type
1100 mAh Lithium-Ion Removable, Rechargeable (standard)
2200 mAh Lithium-Ion Removable, Rechargeable (optional)

In summary the Dell Axim gets 90% from me, it is my first PDA however is one of the better specification handheld devices out there, it offers not just the ability to work using Word, Excel etc, but also to play games, surf the net etc etc. I would have no hesitation in recommending this product to someone looking to buy a PDA.

 

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