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Author : Chris Leckness
Vendor : Dell
Price : $499
Discuss this review : Click Here

The moment we’ve all been waiting for?
There has been a huge amount of anticipation building on the VGA Handheld. A couple other companies beat Dell to the punch, but Dell seems to be countering with a right hook by undercutting the price point of its competitors. Comparatively, the Dell Axim X50v and the HP HX4700 are a fairly different, but many features are consistant in both.

The powerful Axim X50v features a large 3.7" VGA display that provides brilliant, clear images at 640×480 resolution. The large viewing area makes documents easy to see so you can work smart and fast. It also gives you an excellent entertainment experience. The integrated Intel 2700G graphics accelerator enables DVD quality playback for video ranging from cartoons to full-length movies. Play intense 3D games, access the Web or enjoy your favorite music, movies and TV programs.

The X50v delivers crisp, vivid images for an incredible viewing experience on the go. The Axim X50 features a bright 3.5" QVGA display with a 320×240 resolution, and includes the power and storage capacity to handle work and multimedia applications. Both handheld models have a sleek and stylish design with CF and SDIO expansion slots for connecting scanners, GPS systems, network cards and modems

Why VGA?

VGA (LEFT) and QVGA (RIGHT)

What do you get?

• Dell Axim X50V Pocket PC unit
• AC adapter
• Stylus
• Companion CD
• USB Cradle
• User’s Manual
• Slip Case (Not available at review time though)

Specifications

Software

Click Images for Larger Shots

The Design
The X50 Series looks much nicer than all the previous Dell offerings EXCEPT the X5, if this looked like a tiny X5, it would be even better. This new Dell looks more like an iPAQ than the new iPAQs do. The thin, sleek look is superb. I only wish that they left of the two-toned look. It would look much nicer all black or all grey.

Dell Axim X50V(left) and Dell Axim X50 Mid(right)
Notice the difference in screen size. The X50V looks a tad longer and wider.

Dell Axim X50V on the cradle.

Dell Axim X50V on the cradle.

The Connector has changed again. According to Dell, it was necessary to accommodate the VGA out function.

The Button layout and Dpad are very similar to those on the X3/X30 Series.

The right side has no buttons or controls, the left side has a screen lock, Wireless, and Record buttons.

The top of the X50v you will find the Stylus, CF and SD slots, IR, and headphone jack.

Another picture of the top and left sides.

The battery is covered by a battery cover that snaps and locks on the back.

A nice new stylus. I actually prefer the flat stylus now too….

Features

• Built in WiFi and Bluetooth - This has become a standard now it seems. Leaving WiFi out of a top level PocketPC seems taboo now.
• Dual Memory Slots - Can you say 1GB SD and 4GB CF?
• VGA Screen - VGA color display provides better viewing of documents, images, and web pages in portrait and landscape modes.
• Intel 2700G graphics accelerator

Performance
The screen is VGA and you would expect to see 4x the pixels than the QVGA screen you are used to, right? Wrong, It is possible, but Microsoft did not build the support for true VGA into the OS. There is already an aftermarket application to enable true VGA called SE_VGA, It can be downloaded from Pocket Gear. I will not dip into it here in the review, but Mike Lohsl has given it a first look here.

Audio – The X50 Series comes packaged with the brand new Windows Media Player 10. It allows for play lists and auto scanning of memory cards.

This latest version of Media Player makes it simple to download TV and movies and even supports access to online stores and subscription services, such as CinemaNow, MusicMatch, MSN Music and MLB.com.

All audio loaded on my test card played no problem. Even though there is no formal hole for the speaker output, the sound radiates pretty clearly from the units open areas like the Memory slot area. The speaker is not stellar, but with a good set of headphones, LOOK OUT iPOD! If only we could get a nice little 40GB drive inside this thing.

Video – Video is flawless using BetaPlayer and PocketTV. I played a 450k MPG movie with PocketTV and experienced no delays and no skipping at all. It was a great experience. I also played a DIVX encoded AVI with BetaPlayer with the same results. I downloaded and tested the BetaPlayer with both the X50 and the iPAQ 4700 and got the following results. In the X50’s defense, BetaPlayer recognized the ATI Video Chipset and utilized its acceleration when performing the test. The Dell Axim X50’s Intel 2500G chip was not factored in.

Web Surfing – The combination of WM2003 SE and VGA makes the PocketPC Web Browsing experience much nicer. You can adjust settings to achieve some real good results and minimize your vertical scrolling a bit. Refer to the screenshots below.

Aximsite.com Mobile using landscape and medium text size.

Aximsite.com Mobile using landscape and small text size. Notice that the images do not change in size.

Aximsite.com Mobile using SE_VGA Utility (Freeware not included).

Screen – This is the part of this review I have been dreading to report. While the VGA screen is superb in comparison to QVGA Screens on any other device I own, the color is not as vibrant as the color on the iPAQ HX4700. The colors just do not seem as bright and lively on the X50v. The screen is not mushy in any way and is very responsive to the stylus. I do not think the difference in the 2 brands is a breaking point for the X50v, I just thought it was worth noting.

Click to View Larger Image

UPDATE : There has been some discussion about my statements that the iPAQ hx4700’s screen is more vibrant that the X50v. I wanted to clarify. In person, my observation is that the 4700 has a deeper, more vibrant color. It has been brought to my attention that the x50v seems to be more true in color and the color depth of the 4700 is likely exaggerated blues. This may be true, but I stand by my observation. The X50v’s screen is not BAD, just the 4700 seems nicer to me. Since many of you do not have the luxury of having both in your hands at once, I recommend that you visit other reviews as well and check out their photography as I am not a professional photographer. I have added a couple new images below that show some decent comparison as well.

Benchmarks using SPB Software Benchmark

Let me interrupt our viewing of benchmarks by saying that something seems skewed with all the graphic benchmarks I attempted. It seems that none of these methods take advantage of the graphics acceleration that is built into the Intel 2700G Chip. I can say that the screen seemed as fast as a QVGA Screen to me. Further testing will be done as methods are available.

• Battery Life – Once again, Dell has slacked off a bit in the juice department. With WiFi, VGA, and Dual Slots, the battery does not seem sufficient. I performed standard tests with SPB Benchmark and was quite disappointed with the results. The interesting thing is that with WiFi or without, the battery lasted almost the same time.

  UPDATE : BE ADVISED THAT MY TESTS ARE RUN AT MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE. CHECK AXIMSITE LATER FOR MORE TESTS AS I TEST AUTOMODE.
  

• WiFi – WiFi performance was super as well. The range was just as good as any other device I have tested. I can roam all corners of my 1/2 acre lot through my brick walls without losing a signal. The speed is great and I have no complaints at all. After losing the ugly bubble on the X30, I only lost 2-3db in comparison to the X30 in each location I tested.
• Bluetooth – Although my version of Pharos Ostia would not load onto the unit, I was able to see and connect to my Pharos Bluetooth GPS.
• IR – There has been some question wondering if the IR is CIR? Well, If it is, its weak. I was only able to control my TV from 12 feet. The software used was PDAwin and it tested 25 feet with the X30.

Conclusion

Pros

• 3.7" VGA Screen
• Dual Memory Slots (CF/SD)
• 624 MHZ Processor
• Intel 2700G graphics accelerator
• 2 VGA Games included

Cons

• Software, too many trials and not enough full version.
• Small battery
• Screen is not a vibrant as the 4700.

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Chris Leckness (3571 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.