AKAJohnDoe

Originally Posted by Donnie75

Ah right, just checked up on that. They seem to be two varying kinds of flash memory, NAND is faster at erasing and writing new data and has a longer re-write expectancy, while NOR is faster at reading data. So while NAND is a bit slow for reads it would certainly be better as random access memory. My final question is, wouldn't any decent SD or Compact Flash card be just as good as NAND (they probably use NAND technology..)? In which case couldn't a x50v use a flash card to store most programs in WM5 rather then the 128MB NOR memory? Or does WM5 not allow that?

I believe that all SD and CF cards are NAND, which is the reason XIP is precluded on them.

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AndrewH

Against my better judgement, I bit the bullet.

:jd:

I've only had A02 installed for an hour, but the difference is stunning. The x50 with Windows Mobile 5 is usable now!! :approve: While not quite as snappy as Windows Mobile 2003 SE, it is loads quicker than WM5 A01. I'd say it's within 20% of matching WM2003SE in terms of speed. Congratulations to Dell for finding a way to apparently harness the NOR compaction. This is the WM5 that should have been on the upgrade CD from the beginning!

I'm still working with it, but here are some things I've discovered so far:

• CPU throttling now works. I can set the CPU control to Auto, and it will not remain stuck at 624 MHz! It's been a while since I've seen that 104 MHz reading with Auto. My battery lives!
• A2DP and AVRCP work in the Microsoft Bluetooth stack (at least with Windows Media Player; I haven't tried BetaPlayer yet). Now I know this isn't anything to shout about, with the WIDCOMM Project and all, but at least a default WM5 installation supports Bluetooth headphones now out-of-the-box. The sound quality is equivalent to the Tornado A2DP add-on discussed elsewhere on the forum. (I have the Logitech for iPod headphones.) I will still use WIDCOMM, however, becuase MS's Bluetooth won't happily coexist with WiFi turned on.
• There is a Windows Mobile startup screen that appears during the boot sequence, after the usual Dell startup screen. Note that this new screen looks like the one that appears following a hard reset, but don't worry: it is normal. The boot sequence may take a few seconds more than A01, but to me it is negligible.
• Various user interface changes have been made. These are minor (like the clock being moved on the today screen) and don't affect performance.
• There is a new control panel in Settings > Connections called USB to PC. It lets you choose between to USB modes to troubleshoot problems with ActiveSync.
• The NOR compaction still occurs (of course), but more discreetly. There are drops in responsiveness and speed after large file operations with device memory, as in A01. Such operations do not seem to place as big a choke-hold on the Axim, however. For reference, I have installed all my programs on a storage card, with the usual exceptions in device memory (WIDCOMM BT, VB Runtimes, etc.). The bottom line is this: we still must be frugal with device memory, but the occasional exception will not be fatal.
• Alarms now sound without interruption. In A01, at least for me, alarms which wake up the Axim would immediately be pushed aside by the compaction thread, resulting in hiccups in the alarm sound. (I cannot tell you how annoying it was waking up to that! :rolling:)
• The "cradle-to-grave" WSOD (white screen of death) may be fixed. This happens occasionally with A01 when the Axim is cradled while off. It requires a soft reset to recover. So far, I have not had this happen with A02.

Overall, I have not a single complaint. If you have WM5 on your x50 and can spare the time of a reinstallation, this update is a no-brainer. Go for it!

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Andrew

AKAJohnDoe

Originally Posted by AndrewH

I've only had A02 installed for an hour

And A01 worked at first, too. After a week or so it was a different story. I am actually hoping that A02 does work, but want to hear the reports from you early adopters a few weeks hence before jumping on it this time.

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AndrewH

Originally Posted by AKAJohnDoe

And A01 worked at first, too. After a week or so it was a different story. I am actually hoping that A02 does work, but want to hear the reports from you early adopters a few weeks hence before jumping on it this time.

No, A01 did not work fine for me at first. It was plagued by slowness from the beginning. There is a noticeably huge difference between A01 and A02 (at least so far). Stay tuned. I'm sure I can break it, but for right now I'm certainly not regretting it.

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Andrew

nathanwj

A Sign Of The Apocolypse!!!!!!---an update from dell!!!

texnofobix

omg I'm downloading!:exc:

phendric

Originally Posted by AKAJohnDoe

And A01 worked at first, too. After a week or so it was a different story. I am actually hoping that A02 does work, but want to hear the reports from you early adopters a few weeks hence before jumping on it this time.

I know what you mean - A01 worked great for about 2 days, and then things turned really bad. I've had the pre-release A02 version installed for 8 days now, though, and things are still working great. I know I'm not the masses, I know....but still - there's one report for you.

P

AKAJohnDoe

Originally Posted by phendric

I know what you mean - A01 worked great for about 2 days, and then things turned really bad. I've had the pre-release A02 version installed for 8 days now, though, and things are still working great. I know I'm not the masses, I know....but still - there's one report for you. P

Of course you are the masses, just not all of them!

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CurtisMinBC

Originally Posted by AndrewH

[*]A2DP and AVRCP work in the Microsoft Bluetooth stack (at least with Windows Media Player; I haven't tried BetaPlayer yet). Now I know this isn't anything to shout about, with the WIDCOMM Project and all, but at least a default WM5 installation supports Bluetooth headphones now out-of-the-box. The sound quality is equivalent to the Tornado A2DP add-on discussed elsewhere on the forum. (I have the Logitech for iPod headphones.) I will still use WIDCOMM, however, becuase MS's Bluetooth won't happily coexist with WiFi turned on.

Andrew, I am planning on purchasing these headphones so I'm wondering if your setup with WIDCOMM and the new WM5 update will work for me.

If this will be the case I'd be grateful if you'd be able to help me with this.

RGDS & TIA

Curtis M.

Rudism

Installed this update and am liking what I see so far. Spent a few hours reinstalling, registering, and configuring all my stuff, and during that time things were much quicker and more responsive than I'd gotten used to under A01 (I never used any hacks to improve matters). This update has definitely breathed new life into my Ax.

X50vpower

After installing the updates, you may have problems having to recognize the device. In that case, under "Connections" and "USB to PC" uncheck "enable advanced network functionality" and your Axim will be auto recognized and transfer speed will be good.
Did the update. Started from Wm2003, then to WM5 A01 and A02. Apart from the above, everything else is ok "for now".
Pierre

cab124

Originally Posted by X50vpower

Started from Wm2003, then to WM5 A01 and A02. Apart from the above, everything else is ok "for now". Pierre

Did you do all of this using ActiveSync 4.2? Should I upgrade from 3.8 to 4.2 before doing the A01 to A02 upgrade? (I currently only have ActiveSync 3.8 installed on my PC)

Thanks!

Mindfield

Well, I just finished performing the update. Now I have to reinstall everything again. However, the first immediate report: The new BT and WiFi icons no longer work. :P


Off to do more installing and reconfiguring. I have not performed any of the "tricks" associated with installing WM5 on the X50v (except for disabling error reporting which is a pain in the ass no matter what) and so far it seems to be pretty snappy, though I found I had only 25 megs of free memory after install. We'll see how it goes as I load 'er down.

jvasquez

Comming back to the flash type (NAND or NOR), I wonder if the X50v with NOR flash running WM5 can XIP. If so, startup times for builtin programs should be much shorter than X51v's. Can anyone measure and compare the times to launch PIE for instance on those two PDA's? And how do launch times on a X50v with WM2003SE and WM5 compare?

Thanks.

AKAJohnDoe

Originally Posted by jvasquez

I wonder if the X50v with NOR flash running WM5 can XIP

NOR can XIP. Is is a hardware function, not a software function.

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