Mobility Site - View Single Post

PPCDeveloper · 05-07-06, 06:17 PM

I have been a long time Pocket PC user (and developer) and I was fed up with my Dell Axim x50v draining completely of power while on three separate business trips. The device was totally useless when I needed it the most, so I decided to examine the Palm TX (since Palms are know for longer battery life).

I purchased one at a local electronics store (for $299 US) with the intent of testing it for two weeks before deciding to keep it or return it for a refund. First, it is a very well designed device and I did like the Palm OS' snappiness. The battery life was also notable longer lasting than my Dell x50v (however it was also internal and not removeable). The TX had WiFi, the ability to play music files and movie files, and has an assortment of freeware/shareware/commercial software available for it. After 10 days of using the Palm TX, I came to the conclusion that I really needed a Pocket PC device for my daily activities for these reasons:

1) The Palm TX cannot fully sync with MS-Outlook on the Desktop PC. Most of the fields for appointments would sync, but not everything.
2) Although fast, the Palm OS on the TX is quite old and outdated.
3) The file system on the Palm TX is not as intuitive as for the Pocket PC device. For my Dell Axim, the file structure looks identical to a Desktop PC (you can use File Explorer to view files, directories, etc). On the Palm TX, everything is placed in pdb or prc files and there isn't a similar, intuitive file structure.
4) There is no "Sync Folder" where you can place files for syncing between the PPC device and Desktop PC. The Palm TX does have a utility called "Documents to Go", however, the syncing of Word, Excel, and text documents is very cumbersome. The "LifeDrive" Palm device does seem to have a Syncing Folder capability, but not the Palm TX>

Because of the above, I decided to say with the Axim x50v and resolve my battery power issue by bringing along a 2nd charged battery on my business trips. Luckily, the Axim has a removeable battery that will allow me to swap it out if it's drained completely (the Palm TX does not).

If possible, I suggest you purchase a Palm TX to test out and return if it doesn't meet your needs.

05-07-06, 06:17 PM	#13 (permalink)
PPCDeveloper Aximsite Rookie Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 31 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I have been a long time Pocket PC user (and developer) and I was fed up with my Dell Axim x50v draining completely of power while on three separate business trips. The device was totally useless when I needed it the most, so I decided to examine the Palm TX (since Palms are know for longer battery life). I purchased one at a local electronics store (for $299 US) with the intent of testing it for two weeks before deciding to keep it or return it for a refund. First, it is a very well designed device and I did like the Palm OS' snappiness. The battery life was also notable longer lasting than my Dell x50v (however it was also internal and not removeable). The TX had WiFi, the ability to play music files and movie files, and has an assortment of freeware/shareware/commercial software available for it. After 10 days of using the Palm TX, I came to the conclusion that I really needed a Pocket PC device for my daily activities for these reasons: 1) The Palm TX cannot fully sync with MS-Outlook on the Desktop PC. Most of the fields for appointments would sync, but not everything. 2) Although fast, the Palm OS on the TX is quite old and outdated. 3) The file system on the Palm TX is not as intuitive as for the Pocket PC device. For my Dell Axim, the file structure looks identical to a Desktop PC (you can use File Explorer to view files, directories, etc). On the Palm TX, everything is placed in pdb or prc files and there isn't a similar, intuitive file structure. 4) There is no "Sync Folder" where you can place files for syncing between the PPC device and Desktop PC. The Palm TX does have a utility called "Documents to Go", however, the syncing of Word, Excel, and text documents is very cumbersome. The "LifeDrive" Palm device does seem to have a Syncing Folder capability, but not the Palm TX> Because of the above, I decided to say with the Axim x50v and resolve my battery power issue by bringing along a 2nd charged battery on my business trips. Luckily, the Axim has a removeable battery that will allow me to swap it out if it's drained completely (the Palm TX does not). If possible, I suggest you purchase a Palm TX to test out and return if it doesn't meet your needs. __________________ PPCDeveloper Read about a PPC Software developer's trials and tribulations on my Web Blog at: http://ppcdeveloper.blogspot.com