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Dell Axim X5 300 MHz Pocket PC

Dell Axim X5 300 MHz Pocket PC

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best PDA for the best price!
Review: I purchased my 300 MHz Axim X5 from Dell in mid December and it arrived about 2 weeks later. This is my very first pocket PC, although I did have a Palm V about 2 years ago. This thing just amazes me. The screen is nice and bright... the style is very comfortable to hold (rubber sides).

My choices for pocket PCs were the Toshiba e740, the HP IPAQ 1910, and the Dell Axim X5 - mainly because they were all under $... after rebates. The 300 MHz Axim is by far the cheapest and the best value since it has dual expansion slots (SD and CF). I am currently using a Netgear CF Wireless adaper card to surf the internet anywhere in my home.

Bottom line... the Axim is the best PDA for the best price. I love mine!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This hanheld is Fast!!!
Review: I received my handheld about 2 weeks after ordering it, which was before the estimated date of arrival for the product on Dell's order status web site. I also ordered the cradle (reccomended), which arrived before the handheld. This handheld has a wealth of features the $700 model has, at a fraction of the price. The only thing was the screen is a slight bit smaller
but isn't that the point to a handheld computer? This thing is great!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great PDA
Review: I recently bought one of these Dell PDAs, and I was surprised at how good it was for the price. I looked on the Internet for a few days, seeing hundreds of them for over $300-400 that could do just as much as this can. I was surprised that this one was so cheep, and thought that there had to be some catch. Fortunately, there wasn't. Dell has made an excellent product that is very cheep. I would recommend this to anyone that wants a very nice PDA for a very low price.

There are some things that I like about it:
-Great colorful screen (looks good even in sunlight)
-CompactFlash, and Secure Digital slots, so you can get as much memory as you want on it.
-User friendly - worked the first time, didn't have to screw around with it to get it going
-Good looking - other than being a little bulky, it looks great!

I also bought a expandable keyboard from Dell for $90 which works great. You can use it for taking notes in school, or just keeping track of your schedule. I'm in school, and I use it as a homework organizer.

Over all, this is a great product that I highly recommend to anyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great PDA
Review: I recently bought one of these Dell PDAs, and I was surprised at how good it was for the price. I looked on the Internet for a few days, seeing hundreds of them for over $300-400 that could do just as much as this can. I was surprised that this one was so cheep, and thought that there had to be some catch. Fortunately, there wasn't. Dell has made an excellent product that is very cheep. I would recommend this to anyone that wants a very nice PDA for a very low price.

There are some things that I like about it:
-Great colorful screen (looks good even in sunlight)
-CompactFlash, and Secure Digital slots, so you can get as much memory as you want on it.
-User friendly - worked the first time, didn't have to screw around with it to get it going
-Good looking - other than being a little bulky, it looks great!

I also bought a expandable keyboard from Dell for $90 which works great. You can use it for taking notes in school, or just keeping track of your schedule. I'm in school, and I use it as a homework organizer.

Over all, this is a great product that I highly recommend to anyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Outstanding Purchase
Review: I worried and read every review available before getting the AXIM, so I'll share those things I most wanted to know before the purchase.

I purchased the AXIM X-5 300 on 11-26 with a ship date of 12-18. I received it on 12-9, a very pleasant surprise. The case is sturdy silver plastic with rubberized sides. I've had the AXIM in my hand for as long as 4 hours and, because of the size, shape and rubberized gripping surfaces, I have experienced no cramping or muscle tension. Very good human factors design in this instance. Most importantly, the unit feels secure in my hand with no sensation that it's slipping or that I'm about to drop it. With the screen setting as bright as it will go (and it is very, very bright and clear), I have used the AXIM for 16 total hours on it's original charge and have 40% of the battery remaining. This is not gaming, but does include about 1 hour of Media Player to watch video (excellent!). With the backup battery I have no fear of taking it until it shuts down. The stylus is OK, all metal except for the point, and better than those little round plastic styli. The Navigator button does not have an "enter" feature, but it does scroll appropriately. To see the real potential of the button it should be used in Excel. The speaker is limited, but there is a headphone jack (I have not used this yet). Otherwise, everything is sturdy and functional.

The synch software installed with no difficulty (HP laptop, P-III, w/XP) and I am very pleased with the Pocket PC interface and applications. It appears to be a very full-featured software package. At the entry-level price I have money left over to purchase some software I might really want (but it is such a good package, I have no clue what else I should buy. Look at your MS Office and Explorer and think "I can do all of this on a handheld").

This is my first venture into Pocket PC, and I made the appropriate choice with the AXIM X-5. I have the potential of my laptop and desktop in an extremely portable package. Don't worry about the size and weight of the AXIM; to me it is a non-issue. I cannot fairly compare the AXIM to other Pocket PC's, but it is almost exactly the same size as my Palm III-XE. As for weight, it's light enough. All of the other Pocket PCs I've seen and hefted are too big and too heavy. All of them. Everyone wants a matchbook size computer that throws out an 11X14 holographic screen that we can navigate through telepathically, and that weighs only 4 grams. Even at that size and weight people would carp that it's too big and heavy to be an earring. The AXIM is as light as a feather compared to any laptop. On a budget, it is outstanding. If budget were no limit, I say get a Winnebago to carry your servers, satellite uplinks, wet bar, and Jacuzzi.

...Unless you really loathe inserting a CF card (it just slips in the top), connectivity is a non-issue. Memory: CF, or Secure Digital cards that slip in the side (so you can have boat loads of memory). In the box: The AXIM; CD-ROM software; USB cable; charger; sturdy carry case; ubiquitous manual, quick start guide, warranty, etc.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Palm to PPC owner
Review: I've been a happy Palm user for several years, but recently decided it was time for a good color screen. I was sold by the larger screen and disappearing grafitti area - not to mention the price of the Axim. Bought the Axim after much thought (and fear), but I'm pleased. I really like the full integration with Outlook including email all in the same program and the added flexibility of Tasks and Phonebook. The sync though seems to be a bit more confused and seems to need a small manual intervention every other day or so.

Now that I'm used to it (and there is a learning curve!), the slightly less intuitive dialogs on the calendar aren't an issue at all. And I like that it functions much like a PC. I can drag and drop files between my desktop and the pda at will. I now do most of my Word files in RTF and never need to convert anything. I can also easily transport files between home and work by just transferring them to the compact flash card.

My unit is running PPC 2003 and I have yet to have to reboot this unit in over six weeks of use. Be warned though Microsoft is still cheap. I could only use the included Outlook on one computer. Fortunately, I was able to get Outlook installed on the work computer through our IS group.

The Axim itself is a bit large but very comfortable in the hand. I also like the good size battery, and this is one of the very few that allows you to swap out batteries at will. The additional SD card slot on this machine is also a plus. This PDA is nearly a laptop. Good job!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Palm to PPC owner
Review: I've been a happy Palm user for several years, but recently decided it was time for a good color screen. I was sold by the larger screen and disappearing grafitti area - not to mention the price of the Axim. Bought the Axim after much thought (and fear), but I'm pleased. I really like the full integration with Outlook including email all in the same program and the added flexibility of Tasks and Phonebook. The sync though seems to be a bit more confused and seems to need a small manual intervention every other day or so.

Now that I'm used to it (and there is a learning curve!), the slightly less intuitive dialogs on the calendar aren't an issue at all. And I like that it functions much like a PC. I can drag and drop files between my desktop and the pda at will. I now do most of my Word files in RTF and never need to convert anything. I can also easily transport files between home and work by just transferring them to the compact flash card.

My unit is running PPC 2003 and I have yet to have to reboot this unit in over six weeks of use. Be warned though Microsoft is still cheap. I could only use the included Outlook on one computer. Fortunately, I was able to get Outlook installed on the work computer through our IS group.

The Axim itself is a bit large but very comfortable in the hand. I also like the good size battery, and this is one of the very few that allows you to swap out batteries at will. The additional SD card slot on this machine is also a plus. This PDA is nearly a laptop. Good job!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great for the price
Review: I've had my Axim for a few months now and I still love it. No troubles at all except when I enable WEP on my wireless card; I have to restart after inserting the card to recognize the network. I suspect this is related ot my no-name wireless card and not Dell's fault.

Only disadvantages are the size (it is much larger than other handhelds). I knew this going into it and I find the size comfortable to hold, though it doesn't fit into all of my pockets. The other disadvantage is the Dell support. I haven't had to deal with them since I know a bit about computers, however I ordered my PDA from Dell and was going away in 2 weeks. Their estemated delivery time was one week so I thought I was good. Turns out their site doesn't update daily and the unit was on back order. I had to argue with supervisors for 4 days before I finally got someone who got the situation resolved. All the others would say they will make sure it will ship today, then they 'forget' about it.

As long as you order from Amazon that shouoldn't be an issue. The fact is that only 25% of the service reps at Dell speak english without a THICK accent, and only 25% of those people really care about their job enough to go out of their way to help customers.

What it comes down to is I love the PDA, but hate Dell and can't recomend this product to anyone who can't troubleshoot software issues with the device.

P.S. Dell shipping and handling is a KILLER! If you are planning on buying accesories make sure Amazon or another retailer has what you need or you will end up paying $7 shipping on screen protectors that weigh nearly nothing.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I Do Not Recommend
Review: If you're looking for a PDA which will last for longer than 3months,you should not consider buying from Dell.If you expect reasonable customer care,should also consider buying from somewhere else.I purchased this item and it only worked for 3months.Customer care neither fixed it nor sent me a new replacement.In fact,they lied to me on 3 separate occasions,saying that they'd send me a new one.Instead,they continued to send broken refurbished units.This forced me to continue return they broken units over&over until my warranty expired!I'm posting this warning so that others don't throw away their hard earned money w/ no recourse like I did.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pretty amazing for its price!
Review: INTRO:
Hey, if you're reading this review, you are thinking whether to buy this or not. If I were you, I would buy it. This is because this little handheld is pretty amazing (with some attachments).

CAPABILITIES:
Well, first thing first. This is my first Pocket PC. I bought DELL because my computer is DELL and it's pretty good. With the optional SD and CF card (if you're going to get one of these, i recommend to buy a large SD card. This is because if you buy a CF card, your CF slot is full, forcing you not to put in additional attachments such as GPS, camera, ect.), you can add music, MOVIES, books, maps, and virtually anything digital memory. Without the optional SD and CF card, you can still add these, but the Dell Axim does not really have the memory. If you happen to buy the GPS from Pharos (recommended by DELL), you cannot fit the headphones because its right next to the CF slot.

PROS:
This DELL Axim is pretty slim, and pretty fast. It also features BLUETOOTH technology for wireless stuff. It has a CF slot and a SD slot. Also has a "Hard Reset" which is basically like "reformatting" except it takes less then a minute. You can watch movies, listen to songs, never get lost (GPS), take photos, and virtually anything with the optional attachments.
SIMPLIFIED:
*Slim
*Fast
*Bluetooth
*CF and SD Slot
*Hard Reset
*Play movies/music
*Never get lost (GPS) OPTIONAL
*You can do virtually anything (digital) with the optional attachments

CONS:
A cradle for fifty dollars? I don't think so. The customer support can be better, if you know what I'm talking about. I tried to call them for something simple, asking for the foldable keyboard, and they put me on hold for 30 minutes! Small memory (32 MB).
SIMPLIFIED:
*Cradle for fifty dollars?!
*Customer Support sucks
*Small Default Memory (32 MB)

BOTTOM LINE:
If this is your first handheld to buy, buy it. It is the best you can ever get in the price range. But before you go off and buy it, read the recommendation below.

ADDITION TO THIS PRODUCT:
256mb Lexar SD Card
128mb SanDisk CF Card
Screen Protector
Pharos GPS
Pharos GPS Car Kit
VEO Camera

CONCLUSION:
All the above products are optional. But I do recommend you get the first 3. Go get this product. It's well worth the money!


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