Well as someone that has owned many different little computers with various slots and storage limits I can say one thing for sure, you ALWAYS want two slots. Believe me, eventually they come out with something that you want to use at the same time as you need increased storage. Every device I ever owned that only had one slot ended up the same way, with me looing for something with two slots.
I agree that with more things built in there is less need for this but I would bet that sooner or later someone will come up with a neat thing to do that can't be done with just one slot. Right now look at add on cameras, where are you going to store the pictures without a second slot. Bluetooth is nice but only if someone comes up with a small, battery powered storage device I can access via bluetooth. The problem there is that bluetooth is really too slow for storage since it was never meant for that. It would be nice to have a device about half the axim's size with a 10G drive and battery that could live in a bag or pocket.
Two SD slots would be ok but I don't think they would be as flexible as our current sd / cf combo. Take a look at what is availabe in cf versis sd, about all you can get in sd is wifi and a camera. You can get a radio and a tv add on in cf form (impractical maybe) try that is sd.
Its just like the move from cd-roms to dvd-roms. This totally hasn't happened yet, but look at windows vista coming out next year on Dvd. To save space Dell is saying cf is outdated. Many other portable devices will do the same. It will probably have a mini sd slot there and hopefully usb. I've wanted usb on my ppc for years. I'll be able to use my flash drives. So fine DELL, kick out CF, but bring out USB.
NO WAY! It'd be a huge step backwards to exclude a CF card slot... USB HOST, MODEMS, GPS, MICRO DRIVES, BLUETOOTH, WIFI and more can all be done from the CF slot
USB HOST - Built-In on some models
MODEMS - Who uses these anymore?
GPS - Built-In on some models
MICRO DRIVES - Essentially Built-In on some models
BLUETOOTH - Standard on almost all PDA's
WIFI - Again, standard on all but low-end or specialized PDA's, and many now with 802.11g
I agree having dual card slots would be nice, but other than that, CF is a dying format, except for SLR cameras (and some of those are switching to SD now too)
__________________ AximX50v
WM 2003 SE
1GB Sandisk Ultra II SD Card
1GB Sandisk Ultra II SD Plus USB Card
Innopocket Magnesium Case
Think Outside BlueTooth Keyboard & Mouse SONY MD-EX71SL Earbuds
AximX5Advanced DELL TrueMobile Wifi CF Card
Socket BlueTooth CF Card Rhinoskin Aluminum Case
I don't understund most of you. I always build and or buy my computers with upgradability in mind. Wether its a Desktop, a Laptop or a Pocket PC. I want to be able to upgrade rather than go buy a new one everytime I want a new feature.
I see the Compact Flash Type II slot on the Pocket PC as one of its greatest features. Too me its much like a PCMCIA card slot on a laptop. I would never get a laptop without one, and I will never get a Pocket PC without the Compact Flash slot.
Yes most of what can be added to a Pocket PC with a Compact Flash slot is available in a Pocket PC. But not one has everything thats available, not to mention what might come down the road.
We may soon have a day when an 8 GB SD card will be relatively affordable. But at the same time a 20 GB Microdrive will go for the same price. I use my microdrive for storing video and audio only. When playing these files I have them cached into RAM so the microdrive spins up every 5 minutes or so for just 15 seconds. Battery comsumption is not that bad.
And if one is concerned about battery consumption by the CF while on the road then copy some of the contents over to your SD and remove the CF for the while. All this talk about eliminating that versatile slot is plain scary!
For the manufacturers, eliminating the CF slot means eliminating costs (parts, licensing, etc.).
But for us users, it is eliminating essential functionality.
I use my 2gb CF card as "hard" storage, where I can save large files (movies, music, pictures, etc.) and where I install all my applications. By using the CF for applications, I can install dozens of apps w/o chewing up precious RAM space.
I then use the SD card for transfering files from my laptop (built-in SD slot,) and my digital camera. It is much faster to copy an 80MB movie using the SD card than it is to use the USB sync cradle.
A device with two SD slots would work, as long as one was SDIO capable.
The only way I could justify a single slot PPC would be to have something like a bluetooth "companion" device that was fast enough to act as storage, and have multiple built-in funtions like GPS, camera, USB host, etc.
The dual slot design gives me the flexibilty, options, and capacity I require. If the next generation devices eliminate the dual slots, then I will wait for the generation after that to see what is available.
I'll vote for the features I want with my hard earned dollars!
I wouldn't really mind the elimination of the CF slot, if there were two SD slots. However, I think that would be senseless if they are wanting to simplify things. It may not be as big of a deal, now that the prices of SD cards are going down.
__________________ There are only two truly infinite things, the universe and human stupidity; I am unsure of the former.
-Albert Einstein
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I'd like to see CF EDGE modem
GPRS modem is out for a while, just too slow (48k)
also, CF can handle as 3x capacity as SD
and most professional-class digicam still support CF only
With the technology coming 'round the corner, CF and SD cards will have many GB's of storage.
Laptops have already been made, beta, with many, many GB's of storage but, no HDD's. This lack of a HDD increases battery life (consuming no power to drive the disk), makes possible smaller and lighter laptops.
I'll bet we'll all be in for a treat with the BIG capcity memory cards. The PDA'll be a true BIG computer. :)
__________________ Tankman
X50 High
X50v
WM 2003SE
"Minds are like parachutes.
They only work when they are open."
James Dewar Sr.
I use my CF slot as a 2nd SD slot via a $35 adaptor that sits flush with the 51v. That way I can dump pictures from my SD camera to my Axim when travelling.
My SD card is 4GB and pulls less power when actively reading than a CF microdrive uses when at rest.
Here's to 1GB or more of BIS. Heck, you can get a 1GB SD for under US$50 now (shop around), so why not build some into the next generation? It would be even more space-efficient than an additional SD slot.
In the case of Dell, no one even mentions the obvious.
Dell eliminated the X30 line, which was SD only. The new SD only device might well just be the long delayed successor to the X30.
It was a long time between the release of the X5 and X50. In the interim they came out with the X3 and X30. Now they've had the X50 line for over a year. It would be nice, though, if they finally put in a hard drive, or a reasonable 2gb of built in storage. Flash is cheap enough to do it now.
It's still going to be tough to compete with phone PDAs. Those are subsidized by cell companies and come with "wherever you go networking".
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