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CorwinB · 07-23-03, 02:00 PM

While I'm not returning my Axim yet, or moving to PalmOS, I too have been extremely disappointed after about one month of PocketPC 2002 /Axim use.

1) Axim-specific issues

- the SD Card issue : nuff said. My (expensive) 256MB card can be used for MP3 storage, but not much else : installing any program including games is a sure way to crash it, and after losing a few semi-important files already there's no way I'm putting any important data on it. Dell is trying to deflect part of the issue by putting the blame on Sandisk (my card isn't a Sandisk, btw), and by pulling some magical sentences like "Dell doesn't support installing programs on SD card", said sentence being impossible to find in Dell's description of its machine, which amounts, for me, to false advertising.
- control pad : I may have been spoiled by years using excellent console pads, but the Axim navigation button flat out sucks.
- PPC 2K3 : while I'm not running PPC2K3 myself, I can't say the issue really makes me confident in Dell's testing bench...
- battery management : that may be strange, but after years of using handheld devices, from calculators to walkmen to Gameboy to cellphones, I kind of expect various battery indicators to, you know, like "work". I must admit the Axim's battery load indicator makes a good random number generator, though.

2) PPC issues

- instability : if you use it for more than the most basic stuff (ie contact management / notes, never running 2 apps at the same time), get ready to love that Soft Reset button. PPC2K2 is extremely unreliable as a whole.
- buggy apps : both from MS and from 3d party software vendors, including some pretty expensive software (FADE/$30 and Photogenics/$50 come to my mind, I've had problems with both).
- general slowness : I don't find acceptable that on a machine with 64MB RAM (most of it free) and a 400MHz processor, opening a 300K E-book takes more than 1 minute (Hitchhiker's Guide, released by MS this week)... Other operations like moving data from SD to main memory or CF are unbearably slow too.
- need for tons of sharewares/3d party apps to get a decent level of service : from the description of PPC2K2 (especially the so-called "Premium"), I didn't expect having to fork some more money to get a good file manager + Regedit (Resco), a decent image viewer (Resco again), a tool to check my expansion cards (Storage Tools...). I'm used to a certain level of service from a computer, this was another big disappointment. PocketWord absolutely sucks, but I suppose they wouldn't have sold it as well under the "PocketNotepad" title it deserves. PocketExcel is ok, though. Oh, and I know that there are excellent freewares out there, but while the money factor goes away with freewares, there are other problems left : stacking tons of 3d-party apps from various vendors/developers together, especially having important and low-level functions (formatting, file management, tweaking...) is a sure way to disaster.
- ActiveSync : some features are buggy (it doesn't remember my password when asked to), and the backup/restore function is incredibly bad, as you can't have several backups ! I also love how I have to remove the unit from the cradle then plug it back to get the synch if I turn it off while in the cradle, that's really convenient. Not. The sync is also slow as hell.

3) Conclusion

My conclusion is not good : I invested quite a nice amount of money in my Axim+accessories+software, hoping to get a nice productivity boost, by being able to use it in transportations to do a little bit of work on personal projects. I also wanted to take advantage of its multimedia features.

Well, as it turns out, I bought a very expensive and under-performing handheld console (I mean, the Axim is only 3 times the price of a GBA SP), coupled with a mediocre MP3 player (low autonomy, low storage), and a contact management tool. I already gave up about doing any serious stuff for now (image editing, text processing...). I'm awaiting for a working version of PPC2K3 and a fix to the insane SD card issue before I definitely give up.

Before people tell me I don't know how to use this wonderful piece of technology, I've currently a sysadmin position at a large company, and I know my stuff. Something like the Axim+PPC2K2 doesn't even come close the level of reliability I've come to expect from modern comps/OSes...

07-23-03, 02:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
CorwinB Aximsite Minor League Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 124 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	While I'm not returning my Axim yet, or moving to PalmOS, I too have been extremely disappointed after about one month of PocketPC 2002 /Axim use. 1) Axim-specific issues - the SD Card issue : nuff said. My (expensive) 256MB card can be used for MP3 storage, but not much else : installing any program including games is a sure way to crash it, and after losing a few semi-important files already there's no way I'm putting any important data on it. Dell is trying to deflect part of the issue by putting the blame on Sandisk (my card isn't a Sandisk, btw), and by pulling some magical sentences like "Dell doesn't support installing programs on SD card", said sentence being impossible to find in Dell's description of its machine, which amounts, for me, to false advertising. - control pad : I may have been spoiled by years using excellent console pads, but the Axim navigation button flat out sucks. - PPC 2K3 : while I'm not running PPC2K3 myself, I can't say the issue really makes me confident in Dell's testing bench... - battery management : that may be strange, but after years of using handheld devices, from calculators to walkmen to Gameboy to cellphones, I kind of expect various battery indicators to, you know, like "work". I must admit the Axim's battery load indicator makes a good random number generator, though. 2) PPC issues - instability : if you use it for more than the most basic stuff (ie contact management / notes, never running 2 apps at the same time), get ready to love that Soft Reset button. PPC2K2 is extremely unreliable as a whole. - buggy apps : both from MS and from 3d party software vendors, including some pretty expensive software (FADE/$30 and Photogenics/$50 come to my mind, I've had problems with both). - general slowness : I don't find acceptable that on a machine with 64MB RAM (most of it free) and a 400MHz processor, opening a 300K E-book takes more than 1 minute (Hitchhiker's Guide, released by MS this week)... Other operations like moving data from SD to main memory or CF are unbearably slow too. - need for tons of sharewares/3d party apps to get a decent level of service : from the description of PPC2K2 (especially the so-called "Premium"), I didn't expect having to fork some more money to get a good file manager + Regedit (Resco), a decent image viewer (Resco again), a tool to check my expansion cards (Storage Tools...). I'm used to a certain level of service from a computer, this was another big disappointment. PocketWord absolutely sucks, but I suppose they wouldn't have sold it as well under the "PocketNotepad" title it deserves. PocketExcel is ok, though. Oh, and I know that there are excellent freewares out there, but while the money factor goes away with freewares, there are other problems left : stacking tons of 3d-party apps from various vendors/developers together, especially having important and low-level functions (formatting, file management, tweaking...) is a sure way to disaster. - ActiveSync : some features are buggy (it doesn't remember my password when asked to), and the backup/restore function is incredibly bad, as you can't have several backups ! I also love how I have to remove the unit from the cradle then plug it back to get the synch if I turn it off while in the cradle, that's really convenient. Not. The sync is also slow as hell. 3) Conclusion My conclusion is not good : I invested quite a nice amount of money in my Axim+accessories+software, hoping to get a nice productivity boost, by being able to use it in transportations to do a little bit of work on personal projects. I also wanted to take advantage of its multimedia features. Well, as it turns out, I bought a very expensive and under-performing handheld console (I mean, the Axim is only 3 times the price of a GBA SP), coupled with a mediocre MP3 player (low autonomy, low storage), and a contact management tool. I already gave up about doing any serious stuff for now (image editing, text processing...). I'm awaiting for a working version of PPC2K3 and a fix to the insane SD card issue before I definitely give up. Before people tell me I don't know how to use this wonderful piece of technology, I've currently a sysadmin position at a large company, and I know my stuff. Something like the Axim+PPC2K2 doesn't even come close the level of reliability I've come to expect from modern comps/OSes...