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Review of the Dell Axim X5
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Pro's:
Bright screen with rich contrast
Large battery and excellent power management
Integrated CF (Type II) slot
Great price
Con's:
SD only slot, no SDIO
Thicker form factor
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After a few stumbles with order processing, Dell got up and running with its first self-branded PDA, the Axim X5. Full specifications are available here.
The Axim uses the Intel XScale processor running the Microsoft PocketPC operating system.
It comes in two models: basic and advanced. The basic model comes with a 300 MHz processor, 32 MB RAM, 32 MB ROM, and a sync/power cable with an introductory price of $199 (with $50 rebate). The advanced model has a 400 MHz processor, 64 MB RAM, 48 MB ROM, and a sync/power cradle for $299 (with rebate).
The Axim has a bright transflective screen with rich color and good contrast. It is easily viewable indoors or outside. The screen is notably superior to even the best reflective screens on earlier pda's released in 2002.
The standard battery has a 1440 mAH capacity. Power management features are implemented well, allowing for automatic CPU throttling with a user-selectable manual override. These allow for up to 7 hours runtime with medium backlighting. The Axim includes a disc-type backup battery which provides protection from data loss when switching batteries or main battery expiration. The battery is user replaceable and Dell offers an extended battery with a 3400 mAH capacity, allowing up to 15 hours of continuous use.
The Axim has both integrated secure digital and compact flash slots for expansion. The secure digital slot is located on the lefthand side which is fine for memory cards because they do not extend significantly outside the slot. The position would be an issue for the longer Wi-Fi or Bluetooth cards, however the slot does not support SDIO. The compact flash is a CF+ type-II slot located on top of the Axim and accepts memory cards, microdrives, modems, wireless cards, etc. With the CF+ slot and the limited number of SDIO expansion cards, the lack of SDIO is not significantly detrimental. Given the number of new SDIO cards introduced at this year's CES, the lack of SDIO will become more important going forward.
The nav button is a standard five way button with support for diagonals. Dell has recently released a patch enabling the select action by pressing the middle of the nav button. The four PIM application buttons are a little too close together, but are offset vertically which helps.
Southpaws take note! The jog dial is in the middle of the left side ideally located for holding the unit in the right hand and accessing the dial with the fingertip. In the left hand, the dial is a little low to be optimally accessed with the thumb. Pressing the jog dial inward activates the action function similar to pressing the middle of the nav button. It takes a little more force than one would initially expect to activate the action function with the jog dial, but not excessively so.
The construction and finish of the Axim are well done. The rubberized sides add to the Axim's already solid feel. The footprint of the Axim is not significantly larger than most other PocketPC PDA's, however, the Axim is thicker. The added thickness doesn't adversely affect the Axim's fit in the hand, but you won't be putting the Axim in your jeans pocket.
Additional included software is not extensive, but is useful and the themes are attractive.
The Axim is easily powerful enough for mp3 and video decoding. Games are responsive with no noticable pauses or button lag.
The Basic model is good, but the Advanced is worth the extra cash. It includes a faster processor, double the RAM, and more flashable ROM of which 21MB is available as an internal storage card. This is useful for storing files or backing up data, protecting them in the case of drained batteries or an accidental hard reset. The Advanced model includes a docking cradle which has a slot for charging an extra battery simultaneous to charging the pda.
Dell offers memory cards, Wi-Fi CF cards, foldable Belkin keyboards, and other accessories. Third party manufacturers are also developing accessories for the Axim.
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