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Dell AXIM 400 MHZ and IBM z50
Author: Human X | Sunday December 08, 2002
A review of the new Dell AXIM 400 MHZ PDA with 64 meg of ram and a 3.5 screen. Also included is a look at the old IBM z50.
I received my Dell AXIM on Friday December 8, 2002 and after opening the package, took an instant liking to it. Read Preview article: http://www.linuxdig.com/news_page/1039136841.php
Now that I have had a few days to tinker with the unit, here is a review. Simply put, I am very pleased with the physical unit, the stability of the O/S and its response. The system is running Pocket PC which I would prefer Linux (maybe a little later), but, I had to get this thing, Dell is offering just to good of a price.
The physical unit is small and thin enough to be ultra compact while maintaining a size that still allows it to be usable. Sometimes, it is a little to small and it can be hard to write on. As far as its design goes, it is a nice looking device.
The display is crisp and the response is fast. I have the unit set at power savings mode which runs at 200 MHZ, but when I bring it up to 400 MHZ, their is a considerable difference in response altogether. (obviously) It screems at 400 MHZ and is just fine at 200 MHZ, no complaints.
Battery Life? Who knows, I charged it on Friday (today is Sunday) and it has been running ever since. And that is alot of time because I have been playing with this thing every chance I get.
Speaker and microphone are so-so. The microphone crackles the recordings and the speaker is severly limited in its range of sounds.
The unit uses Secure Digital and CompactCards for expansion and I got a chance to try my 3 year old 10 MB Ethernet Xircom CompactCard in the device. Installation was flawless.
Fun Experiment to test the IrDa on the Dell:
I downloaded TV Remote Controller 5.1 from http://www.pdawin.com and set on training the software to my tv remote control. By the way, this software will run all of you audio and video devices and is not limited to TV only.
Well, after training the PDA, I tried to control the TV with the device. No Can Do. But, after walking over to the TV, it did work. So I tested the range, and I could control the TV from no more then 5 feet away. I hear there are some attachments for the device which will help strengthen the infered.
* MORE INFO BELOW PICTURE
Final Review:
- Design: A
- Size: A
- Stability: A+
- Features: B (Needs Bluetooth, but not many devices do)
- Usability: A
- Price: A+
- Audio: B
- Display: A+
- IRDa: A+
Review From Dell:
The Dell Axim X5 handheld's sophisticated design encloses a brilliant 3.5" high-resolution transflective color display, four application keys, a navigator button, scroll dial, record button, and headphone mini-jack. But Dell Axim X5 handhelds have much more than just a pretty face on the outside. Inside is an Intel® XScaleTM Processor at 400MHz or 300MHz processor, 32MB or 64MB of SDRAM, and 32MB or 48MB of Flash ROM.
- Microsoft® Pocket PC 2002 Premium Edition and Microsoft Pocket Office applications
- Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft MSN Messenger capable
- USB Cradle (advanced Axim) with second battery charging slot
- Integrated CompactFlash® (CF) Type II and Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard slots to add storage or wireless communication cards
- Removable Lithium Ion Battery and optional high capacity Lithium Ion Battery
- Built-in microphone and speaker
- Stereo headphone connector
- IrDA port
- Optional 802.11b wireless CF card for network or WiFi connectivity
- Optional keyboards
- 1 Year Next Business Day Advanced Exchange Service
IBM z50
I have now owned the IBM z50 for at least a couple of years now. The system has a 133 mhz processor, full keyboad, and IBM's standard finger mouse in the center of the keyboard. I was curious as to how much these things were being sold for now, and you can pick them up on ebay for under $100.
So why would you want one, why am I writing about this?
Glad you asked. Embeddded linux is available for this unit and runs very well. If you are looking for a machine with a keyboard and do not want to spend the money for a laptop, I suggest you take a look at the Z-50.
Basically, you could have a linux palm top for $200 bucks which will run great for every day use. It would be perfect for a network admin.
I am still pretty happy with this device, the screen is not the best in the world, but if you set the background to black, you will get a decent looking, responsive display.
So whats next?
mmm. The ultimate setup would be to pickup a 1 gig drive to use in my IBM and AXIM which could dual boot linux for the desired system with a common data partition. If I can figure this one out, I will write an article on it. I need to find out first if I can get Linux on the Dell first.
Author
HumanX
LinuxDig.Com
2002
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