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Dell Axim X5 400 MHz Pocket PC

Dell Axim X5 400 MHz Pocket PC

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Value...
Review: Before I got my Axim, I spent about a month and a half doing research on specs and features of nearly every handheld and palmtop device out there. I hate Dell and I hate Microsoft, but when this thing came out it was so cheap and well reviewed that I had to buy one. Dell really did it for me on this one, they put together a great computer. I'm not sure what it comes with now, but both Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 (Windows Mobile) are very powerful systems and in my opinion (I've used both), far outdo the Palm OS. Dell offered an amazing price on this and really spiced up competition (when it came out it was $350 less than any comperable models). Everything about this model is excellent. The screen brightness and image quality are wonderful. I foramtted and transfered video from my DV camcorder to be the highest quality on the Axim, and it played a 2 hour shot seamlessly. I also use 802.11b wifi on this, and Pocket Internet Explorer is great. Navigating the OS and programs within is very simple for any Windows user. The USB docking cradle from Dell (was included with mine) allows fast and easy sync and transfer of info to and from the Axim. The only thing that disappointed me about this was the external speaker, which doesn't matter because I use headphoens on it anyway. Memory expansion is great, it offers CF, CFII, and sD expandability. I had heard horror stories about Dell support from other Axim users online, and when I got mine on Christmas the nav button didn't work properly (an issue with many of the first release Axims, theyve fixed the problem now). On Christmas night at 11:30 I was able to get a rep on the line after answering a couple machine automated questions. The representative, for me anyway, was fast and helpful, and two days after Christmas I had a new, fully functional Axim. Although Dell has released a couple new Axim models and its been a year since this was released, this machine is still one of the best out there and still the very best value for most PPC users. I'd buy either this or the new Dell 400MHz, no question about it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Deliberated and compared forever-finally committed!
Review: I forever shopped for a pocket PC. Never owned a palm, all I knew was that I wanted a color pocket PC. The price originally won me over compared against the IPAQ. However, with the advent of the HP IPAQ 1910 at [amount], the same price of the AXIM after rebate, I was torn. The IPAQ is incredibly small and light and has a slightly larger screen. However the process is half of the Dell and the battery life is not great from what I have read. I realize the Dell in larger in size, but I really had nothing to compare it to. The HP is so small that I am sure I would drop it. The HP also has less with it. For roughly the same price, the Dell is fully loaded with software, comes with a case, and includes a very slick and modern docking station. I even bought the extra battery just in case but that ended up being a waste money since battery life is so good!

I am very happy with this product as a new user. Overall design, price and performance cannot be beat. Enjoy!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dell Doesn't Care About You Or Your Data
Review: I bought one of the Dell Handhelds and found that the SD slot did not work after buying three cards to try. I ended up calling Dell Support to help troubleshoot my problem and they told me to perform a "hard boot". They failed to tell me that this would wipe all my data on the device and I lost two days worth of information on it. When I found that this was the case and the representative didn't mention that it would wipe it all, I was very frustrated. Worst of all, it didn't fix the problem. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was informed that they didn't have one because "they've all gone home". As a result, it's been sent back and I'm very happy with my iPaq--and its support. Buy a Compaq, they know that data is important and my calls to support don't get treated as a casualty of doing business.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome Price for an Awesome Product
Review: Some people complain about the size of the Dell Axim, well i have had no problems with the size of it, and it is very close in size to the high-end Toshiba Pocket PCs. The only problem i have had with mine is that when i put the axim in its case, it is too large to put in my pocket. I love the fact that it comes standard with a very large capacity battery, and also has a compact flash slot, which the similarly priced Ipaq lacks. The Dell Axim's screen is also conciderably larger than the iPaq, and looks stunning because of the powerfull backlight. The Axim looks great even when its off, it is very easy to hold, and the rubber grips keep it in your hands rather than on the ground broken. Before i got the Axim, i was concidering buying the high capacity battery, but after i began using the Axim, i realized the battery lasts much longer than i expected. The speaker on the Axim is very sensitive, with the volume all the way up, it can be VERY loud, but since it is only mono and not the best quality you might hear some distortion. If you have a wireless network, i highly reccomend the Netgear MA701 Compact Flash 802.11b wireless card. It opens the door to the Axim, allowing you to access any website, use AOL Instant messenger etc.. If you use AIM, download the AIM for Pocket PC from the UK AOL site, on the USA one u have to pay for it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Price, Great Durability
Review: Since owning my X5 I have been in love with its flexibility and usability. I have accidentally dropped it 4 times, twice outside in the parking lot and twice in my office. I know, I know the fifth time might be the last. However, it continues to work like a horse. I keep my processor speed on max and my battery last all day. This means a lot to me because I am a power user with heavy resource applications but the lowest I have gotten on battery power is 55%. It is a little big compared to some of the other handhelds but comparing it to the HP 5555, which is about the same size with comparable functionality but twice the price. Customer support needs work but not as bad as some are saying. Worth the money!!!!! I'm glad Dell brought it back after a short one month discontinue, they must of got the message that this is a loved item.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dell Axim X5 Beats Competition
Review: I've had several handhelds over the years. First a Palm III, then a Sony Clie, then an HP, and now my Dell Axim. In my experience, the Dell Axim totally blows away the competition. With it's range of features and it's software. The Dual Memory card slots is yet another plus.

The only downside to this otherwise excellent product is the bulkiness. Even though it isn't much larger than the competition, but you can tell the weight difference between my HP and my Dell Axim. The Axim is a couple of ounces heavier.

There are some problems I encountered with some of the accessories though. For example, my SanDisk CompactFlash card will not play music. If you want to play MP3s on your Axim, I recommend a Lexar SecureDigital card. A 128 Megabyte card will hold about 25 songs. (I do not recommend downloading music, doing so could bring serious legal charges or fines against you. Buy the CD, then use a program to rip a track, then copy it to your Dell Axim.)

That's about it! To put it in short, my Dell Axim does everything I need it to do, and I'm sure it will live up to your expectations.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing Dell
Review: The Handheld worked well while I had it on the charger (not the cradle) every day but I have had numerous problems with battery life. The back-up batteries have also run down rapidly and I am really sick of having to re-enter my data. Also the cradle charger doesn't work! I wrote to Dell Australia via their web site but have had no response, and I was out of warranty when these problems started appearing. I would recommend you consider a more well-established brand over the Axim.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best value in a pocket-pc
Review: To start out, the Dell Axim X 5 is fantastic! 90% of the negative reviews for it have to be from people who shouldn't have gotten a pocket pc in the first place. I ordered my X5 on a Thursday, and received it the following Tuesday with regular ground shipping. After charging it for the required four hours before turning it on, I had it up and running and synced with my desktop without any problems. I've been using it for a week now and am loving it.
The display is bright and easy to read, the battery life is everything it's supposed to be and I've been perfectly happy with the included software. I'm actually writing this review on my X5 using pocket word!
The touchscreen feels sturdy, yet requires only a gentle tap to make an entry. I find the screen easy to look at, and usually keep the brightness level set at 50%. In direct sunlight the colors on the screen do appear washed out though.
I can't say whether or not Dell customer service is any good or not, but then I don't know that I've ever had a good experience with any companies customer service. I was impressed with how quickly I received my ppc, and how quick and easy it was to start working with it.
I've run several high-end multimedia programs on it without any hitches, and highly recommend downloading the free divxmvp program for running videos.
In CNET's review, they complained about the protector case which comes with it being too large to fit in your pocket. The thing is, it's not made to be put in your pocket while in the case, it's a hip case with a sturdy, removable belt clip that holds my Axim securely and protects it from even moderate bumps, as I'm an engineer who has to do a lot of climbing in and around a lot of equipment.
The X5's shape makes it a pleasure to hold, being slightly tapered at the bottom makes it feel more natural in my hand than a unit which is completely squared off. The rubber grips along the sides of the unit makes it feel very secure while holding it.
On the downside though, I can say that the X5's navigator button is mushy as others have reported, making it nearly useless for gaming. The sound quality from the single speaker on the face of the unit is only adequate, but what can you expect from a mono speaker? The unit does include a standard 1/4 inch stereo headphone jack which provides excellent sound even with a pair of cheap headphones.
The record button on the left side of the Axim is very tiny, and has to be pushed in with the corner of my thumbnail, which is very hard to do, especially while moving or driving. I suppose on the plus side it does make it virtually impossible to accidentally press the record button.
I've found it a little difficult to slip the unit into the syncing/charging cradle, the receptacle on the bottom of the unit doesn't quite line up as well as it should with it's male counterpart in the cradle, making me nervous that I could accidentally damage it.
The included documentation, while adequate does seem sparse, mostly consisting of warnings about what not to do with the unit. More tips about what could be done with it would have been nice.
Overall though, the X5 is a great value for the price, which was $269 including shipping and handling direct from Dell. I wouldn't get rid of it for anything and can't wait to start getting some of the great accessories available for it. I highly recommend this pocket-pc to anyone in search of powerful windows computing in a compact package.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sweet!
Review: The Dell Axim X5 Advanced is my first PDA. I researched PDAs for months before buying the X5. I've had it now for 2 months and I don't know how I ever lived without it.

Reasons I picked the Axim X5 Advanced:

1. The X5 comes with the Intel xscale 400mhz PXA255 processor. Play anything, Do anything.

2. The X5 advanced comes with 48mb rom. Most PDAs have 32mb roms. When the next version of PocketPC comes out your rom size will play a big part in if you can upgrade or not.

3. The X5 has both a CompactFlash slot and a Secure Digital slot. You can do a ton of stuff with a PDA with these two slots. See below for a list of stuff I do with mine!

4. The price. Nothing else on the market comes close to offering what Dell offers for the price.

Now let me tell you about the cons, just to be fair:

1. Dell customer service. Currently Dell customer service is routed to India. It very hard to understand the support people and that's a very bad thing when your trying to troubleshoot a problem that is preventing your PDA from working correctly. They have other issues as well, like when you do speak to someone that you can understand and they seem really helpful they don't always do what they agreed to do when they talked to you on the phone. Then when you call back no one seems to know anything about the one and a half hours you just spent on the phone last time.

2. The joystick type button is worthless for gaming. HOWEVER, I very much enjoy gaming on my Axim. You just can't play games that totally depend on the joystick button. See below for games I'm playing that work great on the Axim.

3. The speaker shouldn't even be included. It's really bad. HOWEVER, you do get a great sterio headphone jack. See below for how I use it!

Now on to all the stuff I use my Axim X5 Advanced for:

1. Gaming. I'm currently playing Everquest for the PocketPC which plays wonderfully on the X5. I'm also playing Age of Empires which also plays perfectly.

2. Wireless. I have a CompactFlash WiFi wireless card that I use to connect to the internet via my X5!

3. GPS. I have a CompactFlash GPS device I use with my Car mount to get around. All the maps are stored on the SD memory card since the GPS is taking up the CompactFlash slot.

4. Movies. I convert DVDs I have at home to work on my X5. Then I just put them on CompactFlash memory cards and play them at will.

5. MP3. The speaker on the X5 sucks but with headphones it rocks!

6. Money Management. I keep overdrafting my checking account because I refuse to update or carry my check book around with me. Microsoft offers Money 2004 for the PDA for free!

7. Alarms. I setup alarms for everything I want to remember.

8. Reading. I use my X5 to read ebooks which on a trip or bored.

9. Great community. There are some great places to get help with your Axim X5. wwww.aximsite.com has over 30K users and www.aximusers.com isn't so bad either. Searching around one of these two websites when having an issue or question with your X5 will normally leave you with the answers!

I could go on and on with this list! If you get the X5 I'm 100% positive you'll be happy with it!

Oh, and I gave the X5 5 stars based on the X5 itself, not Dell's support.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dell Axim X5-An All Around Great PDA!!!
Review: I must say that buying this PDA has been one of the best purchases I have ever made! With its blazing fast 400 MHz processor and multi expansion card flexibility, it is one of the greatest PDAs on the market. With a wireless CF or SD card, you can access any WiFi network. I love sitting in bed or lounging on my sofa and am online checking my email in the palm of my hand! Its long lasting battery will keep u connected with a maximum brightness screen for about seven hours straight! I must say that the Dell Axim X5 is absolutely worth the low cost of $269.


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