Apple and I have a weird kind of love/hate relationship

I have been using Palms since the original US Robotic device. I have also been using various versions of the Microsoft operating devices for most of the time they have been available. As an important note, we use Outlook and Exchange where I work.

Both systems have evolved, but from my perspective the evolution of the Windows OS has been much more extensive. I had been using a Treo 90 until a month or so ago. It died on me and I replaced it with a Palm T5. I was overall pleased but still have some issues with it. For instance, I cant get the thing to work using my Nokia 6600 as a modem with a Bluetooth link. I have tried repeatedly and spent a fair amount of time on it.

I was also using a Compaq Ipaq 3800 series and have been for a few years. Two weekends ago I saw ScottCs recommendation of the Dell Axim X50v and went to dell.com to check it out. Low and behold it was 30% off so I ordered one. It came a day or two later and I was completely blown away. It is a stunning device in terms of speed and display. It is also MUCH easier to use in my opinion. It has built in WiFi and Bluetooth. I got the connection to GPRS on my phone working within minutes and spent a lot of time online with it this weekend with great performance. It is far, far superior for online applications such as browsing compared to the Palm T5 (even though I cant get the T5 online with the phone, I have browsed using the optional WiFi card). The Axim has openings for both CF and SD card add ins and the ability to add a fresh battery for long trips. It is a bit larger than the T5 but not much. Sync and software are as easy or perhaps easier than with the T5.

In comparing, the Axim just blows away the T5 in my opinion. With the sale that was in place I think the Axim cost less than the T5 plus wireless card. Now, if I could only get the Axim to run a couple of the programs I love on the Palm I would ditch the palm. But for mail, browsing and basic calendar functions, at least for those of us in the Outlook/Exchange world, I dont think it is even close anymore.

Thanks for all the comments. Willyroo, I might just have to take you up on the test drive offer later this month . But unfortunately, the Treo is considered to be primarily a phone and as such does not come under the "Portable Computing Device" classification that is required to obtain the exemption under the Friinge Benefits Tax ruling my company uses for the salary sacrifice employee benefit. The Treo is explicitly mentioned as being not acceptable for this policy. PalmOne, HP and Dell are all explicitly included in the policy.

I went window shopping today to get a feel for the Windows devices and compare with the Palm. Although the Dell is only available from Dell's on-line shop, I was able to look at some of the HP range along side the Palm Tungsten E and T5. The HP's seem similar to the Dell's as far as features go, just more expensive. I looked at the HP iPAQ hx2750 and hx4700 models.

The hx2750's transflective screen looked great with excellent contrast. The hx4700 is higher resolution (640x480 vs 320x240), but not as bright and less "depth". But when looking at a spreadsheet and zooming to 50% in the hx2750 made the text unreadable, while on the hx4700 it was still readable - though small. I wonder if the same depth and richness difference exists between the Dell Axim x50 and x50v models?

The Palm Tungsten T5 did not overly impress me. The colour screen is obviously a great step up from the 160x160 mono screen of my IIIxe, but it seems a lot of money for less bang than the Dell.

So I am leaning towards the Dell Axim x50v right now for A$850, and adding a 1GB SD memory card (A$183.70) and 2200mAh battery (A$60.50) and considering the foldable Bluetooth Keyboard (A$108.90). Might look for a better price on the memory or wait until an upcoming trip to Kuala Lumpur to see if their SD memory prices are better.

As someone who has been an avid PDA-user since 1996 (ran through 4 Palms and 6 PocketPCs--actually wearing each of them out, not just change for change sake), I really believe the choice between the two boils down to what you need to do with your PDA. If your needs revolve around calendaring and an occasional file download/view/edit, then it's difficult to beat the simplicity and elegance of PalmOS. If you need to access Outlook, Word, Excel files on a regular basis and need real handwriting recognition (not letter recognition a la Graffiti, but genuine cursive-handwriting recognition a la Paragraph), then PocketPCs are your tools of choice.

Personally, I need to take extensive notes for work--and nothing beats jotting them down via a real handwriting recognition program running on PocketPC and having them directly sync-ed into Word files--whether via bluetooth, IR, WiFi or cable. Thus, my latest Pocket PC is the Dell Axim 50--where the ultra-fast ARM9-based Intel 624mhz processor converts my handwriting instantly and intelligently into text and where web-surfing is a breeze via built-in WiFi and the bright 480x640 screen.

Just my two cents. Cheers.

Doing a bit more research, it seems these are the main differences between the HP iPAQ hx4700 and the Dell Axim x50v:

Battery life:

• Dell Axim x50v has 1100mAh and approx 3 hours usage (2200mAh optional)
• HP iPAQ hx4700 has 1800mAh and approx 6 hours usage

Size:

• Dell is smaller, but 3.7" screen
• HP is big, but has 4: screen

Weight:

• Dell is 175g (assume more with 2200mAh battery)
• HP is 186g

Screen Colour/Brightness

• Dell backlight is brighter, but colours not as bright
• HP backlight not as bright, but better whites and colurs

Navigation:

• Dell has D-Pad (same as most PDA's)
• HP has Track Pad (not good reviews) and 4 x double function buttons

Wireless:

• Both have 802.11b + Bluetooth + InfraRed
• Dell WiFi has better range

NV RAM for Filestore:

• Dell is 91MB
• HP is 85MB

That the base unit price difference to me here in Australia is A$70 (US$53), there is a lot less difference than in the USA, where it more like US$150 or more difference. But by the time I add the 2200mAh battery to the Dell, the price is very much the same.

So, what would you do? Is the larger size of the HP's screen and the better battery life worth the extra physical size? Most of the other differences are not of major concern to me, with the possible exception of the WiFi range (one place I may occasionally use WiFi gives me a low signal already on my IBM T41 with built-in mini PCI 802.11a/b/g card).

The Dell Australia site is currently offering a free leather case and headphones with all x50 orders (valid for a few more days). I don't need the headphones. Am I better to wait and see if they have a better offer next week, such as extra memory or bigger battery?

Am I correct in assuming the only place I buy the Dell is from their web site?

The best price I can find for the Tungsten T5 with WiFi is A$600 (US$455) plus delivery, and the Tungsten C is about A$650 (US$495). But both have smaller screen and limited function compared to the PocketPC range for not all that much more money.

Another question for the experts. Secure Digital memory comes in many flavours, mostly advertising their speed compared with the original cards. For a device such as the Dell X50v, is it advisable or necessary to go for the faster memory such as the Sandisk Ultra II product, or will the standard Sandisk Secure Digital memory be sufficient?

Is there any real advantage on buying it from the PDA manufacturer? Or should I stick with a reputable brand like Sandisk? Or are the cheaper products just as good (speed and reliability)?

If buying from Dell or HP, what speed memory are they likely to supply?

You need to hold the HP next to the Dell. The HP is absolutely MASSIVE. The trackpad on it is a nice gimmick, but totally and utterly useless and a real PITA to use. The Dell is simply more of a PDA than the HP is, it fits in a shirt pocket without any problems.

I love my Tungsten C. It's got a great screen, excellent battery life, and wifi. If I wanted stereo sound or bluetooth, I'd use something else. When I lost mine last year, I bought another one. I've use Palm OS and feel it would take a lot to get me to switch to a Microsoft OS product. However, Palm is falling behind, and I will eventually switch if they don't come out with a worthy T|C2. PalmOne seems to be concentrating on smart phones a lot more than they do on PDAs. Their customer service is also not as good as it should be. I'm a big fan of Dell for computers. If I do switch, it will be for one of their devices.

Ok, here's why I'm actually posting. I found a series of articles describing what to look for in a pda . I thought I'd share.

NM,
I'm in the same situation, looking for a PDA. The Dell and HP both fail my requirements for not having USB host. ie with USB host you can hook up an external drive and bingo, a PDA with a 60GB harddrive! All the mp3, divx, jpgs that you'd ever want (to go with the 640kb of memory that you ever needed too!)

I know that true PDA people scoff at the thought of hard drives, but I want a mini-laptop, not an electronic diary. On a long trip, copy a divx or a bundle of MP3s from the HD onto a CF or SD card each night, and there's your day's entertainment.

So what's out there? Sticking with the VGA models (again- as a mini-laptop for movies, wi-fi net browsing etc, QVGA would be annoyingly small), there are 3 contenders... Toshiba e830, Asus Mypal A730W and Fujitsu-Siemens Loox 720. The Loox isn't widely available in Australia, so it's down to 2. The Asus is Dell Axim sized, the Toshiba HP4700 sized.
The Asus is my leading contender, but they let themselves down in poor battery life, and stupidly, despite putting 2 batteries in the box, only allow you to charge them in the PDA, not in an external charger.
If I get more confidence in an external AA battery extender, then I think the Asus will the be the best choice. About $750-800 in Aus (www.staticice.com.au for comparisons).

ThePope, is a 4GB CF Microdrive not enough for you? I would hate to see the battery life if running an external hard drive via a USB host from a PDA. I doubt you are going to have your day's entertainment with you! Maybe an hour or so if you are lucky.

How much movie content can you fit on a 1GB SD card?

How much on a 4GB Microdrive?

I would have thought that would be enough and far easier on batteries than an external USB drive.

Had a look at the Asus Mypal a730. For my use, I would prefer to have 802.11b built-in rather than the USB host. WiFi for the Asus is via SD or CF card option, with only Bluetooth builtin.

Also, it is 520MHz compared with the Dell and HP at 624MHz. And the Dell's graphic accellerator should make it a real performer.

The A730 only has bluetooth, but the new A730W has wi-fi built-in and 128 MB of RAM, not 64MB. Bit hard to find the specs, the asus usa website has the details or http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ASUS_A730W.htm for a review.
As for the HDD, something like a compactdrive or X-drive has it's own battery power is what I'd be looking for (https://www.jaldigital.com.au//catal...t.php?cPath=27).
They cost about the same for 60GB as a 4GB microdrive (which are also more of a battery hog than CF/SD cards - and I hope self powered HDDs!). Of course they are a lot bigger, but I just think I'll be using them to transfer memory cards from our cameras whilst on holiday and each night or so move a movie or two onto a SD/CF card for the next day. You can get Divx movies that fit onto a CD ie 700 MB, so at slightly lower resolution for the smaller screens, I'd guess about 2-3 on a 1GB card.

I too am a Palm bigot. I still use a Tungsten T. Its small, nice battery life and does what I need it to do. For me, the size is small and I use it for timetable lookup, addresses, etc.

If I was to need Word, Input lots of text, Exchange, etc. I'd jump ship and go M$.

The HP is HUGE.

Palm is really falling behind. There is nothing in the palm world for me to upgrade too. If they had bluetooth and wi-fi in a small package, then I'd be right there. I hear that's not out for another 6-9 months min.

GadgetFreak: the treo90 was pretty dang small and had great battery life. No adjustments for you in terms of dealing with the size and battery life of the PocketPC world?

Thanks again all for your suggestions and pointers. I finally made my decision and have ordered the Axim X50v. A little more expensive that I would like, especailly when compared to what it can be bought for in the USA. I am glad I delayed and didn't by last week when the "deal" was a free case and free headphones. This week's "deal" is a free second 1100mAH battery and a free bluetooth keyboard, probably the two things I would have bought anyway!

I'll let you know how I get on once it arrives.

Good choice!
^