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Expanding the Axim
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A couple of the nice features of the Dell Axim is its dual expansion slots. The expansion slots allow owners to add more memory for application and data storage, as well as, adding accessories such as 56k modems, ethernet network cards, Wireless LAN cards, GPRS/GSM phone cards, digital cameras, barcode scanners, USB connectors, etc.
The expansion slots have two different form factors. A form factor is a combination of physical dimensions ( height, width, and depth or thickness) and pin layout ( the number and orientation of the small wires connecting the expansion card and the pda).
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The first expansion slot uses the SD/MMC or Secure Digital / Multimedia Card form factor. The cards are small, about the size of a postage stamp and about 1mm thick. The main technological difference between the Secure Digital and Multimedia cards is that the SD card has built-in support for data encryption. From a consumer viewpoint, the most relevent difference is that Secure Digital cards are slightly less expensive and are available with larger memory capacities. The largest SD cards readily available have a 512 MB capacity, while MMC's top out at 128 MB. A 512 MB Secure Digital card currently runs about $300, 256 MB ~ $72, 128 MB ~ $48. Secure Digital cards smaller than 256 MB typically have a 2 MB/sec max transfer rate, while the larger, newer cards have rates around 10 MB/sec. Despite the difference, the lower transfer rate is more than sufficient for playing even large video or mp3 files from the card. The Axim's Secure Digital slot is used for memory expansion only. Some PDA's, such as the Toshiba e740, have an SDIO slot which supports not only Secure Digital flash memory cards, but also can support peripherals such as Bluetooth Wireless connection cards. There aren't many SDIO accessory cards available right now, so not having the SDIO functionality is not a real handicap for the Dell Axim, but this is going to change rapidly. Future versions of the Axim will most likely include an SDIO slot.
The other expansion slot uses the Compact Flash Type II form factor. Type I Compact Flash cards are a little thinner than type II and can be used in the CF slot as well. The Compact Flash is an older and larger format than the Secure Digital. It also comes in larger memory capacity, up to 1 GB for about $280. (Pretec makes a 3 GB but it's outrageously expensive > $1000) Large compact flash expansion cards cost about half the price as the Secure Digital, but the smaller ones can be purchased for about the same price. (512 MB ~ $130, 256 MB ~ $65, 128 MB ~ $40). Compact Flash and Secure Digital memory cards are solid-state devices, meaning that data is stored electronically in the material of the cards themselves. There is also a miniature hard drive made by IBM, called a microdrive which will fit in the CF slot. It has a small quarter-sized disk that spins at 3600 rpm and can store up to 1 GB of memory. Hitachi recently bought the microdrive from IBM and plans to offer them in sizes up to 4GB in the fall of 2003. Compact Flash cards have transfer ratings between 4x and 30x with x = 150 KB/sec.(0.6 - 4.5 MB/sec) Manufacturer's typically charge more for the faster transfer rate cards. If you're going to be playing audio or video files from the storage card, it's better to have at least an 8x transfer rate.
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The Dell Axim's Compact Flash slot can be used to do more than simply add memory. It is a CF+ slot and can be used to add many accessories. Most importantly are connectivity related cards. A 56k modem card lets you dial-up to connect to your office computer or an ISP to check your email or surf the internet. An ethernet card lets you plug your pda into a standard network port. A Wireless Lan or WiFi card will let you connect to the network through a wireless hub while you are walking around. Many hotels, airport lounges, and other establishments such as coffee houses are offering access to a WiFi network to their patrons, letting them check their email while they have their morning coffee or wait for their flight. Bluetooth Wireless cards allow you to use Bluetooth-enable cell phones, such as the Sony-Ericsson T68i, as a cellular modem. The Sprint CF2031 CF card will allow users to connect directly to the internet just about everywhere they can get PCS phone service.
In addition to connectivity, there are other CF+ cards, such as the Veo Photo Traveler which is a digital camera card that let your pda take pictures or short video, or iBiz's FM Radio card which lets you...well, listen to FM radio broadcasts. Pharos makes a GPS which connects to your pda via the CF slot. There are even adapters that allow you to use other smaller flash memory storage cards, such as SmartMedia cards or Sony Memory Sticks, in the compact flash slot. So, you could say: take the Sony Memory Stick out of your digital camera and put it into the CF adapter to display the pictures on your pda. The point is that there are more accessories for CF+ than can be described here. We'll post info and links to interesting accessories as we find them.
Once you start digging into it, the number of expansion options for the Axim are a bit overwhelming...and they're growing. For now, think of the Secure Digital slot as being a kind of removable hard drive for your pda. Just put a card in and leave it there. You can store documents, electronic books, mp3 music files, Divx or mpeg encoded video files, etc. Remember, unlike your desktop computer, the main memory on your Axim is used both for running applications and storing programs and data. Many applications can be installed on the expansion card instead, freeing up your Axim's main memory for program execution. Use the compact flash for more intermitant tasks, such as using a dial-up modem, surfing the web wirelessly, or plugging in a 256 MB card and watching your favorite movie or listening to some tunes.
Dell's Accessories page
Digi4Me.com - Good site for memory cards
DpReview.com - Best Compact Flash memory comparison article yet. Great digital camera site.
Socketcom.com - has a ton of CF accessories, including modems, bar code scanners, gps,etc.
Semsons.com - A number of pda accessories, including a PCMCIA to CF card adapter and universal battery extender.
Sprint CMDA cellular modem
mmca.org - multimedia card association
sdcard.org - secure digital card association
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