I need opinions on whether or not I should sell my X51v and buy a Cingular 8525. I have no problems with my X51v but I would like to have one universal device instead of two.

So does anyone have experience with both? I would love a list of pros and cons or a nice write up somewhere comparing both. Any help at all would be great. Thanks!

I made that switch...

http://www.mobilitysite.com/forums/h...cingular-8525/

The only downside is losing the Axim's beautiful screen and dual expansion slots... and microSD is limited to 2gb (for now)

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I made the switch too. The smaller screen and lower resolution took some getting used to and it took some time to download QVGA versions of some skins I use, but overall I am very happy with the 8525.

"I don't blame you. I'm just not ready to blame myself." - James

well it's funny you should say that. I may have said before that there is no such thing as a perfect PDA. Its all about trade-offs. Cost vs. features vs. size vs. battery etc

I've just got the cousin of the device you're looking at, the T-Mobile Vario II. it came as a replacement for my phone rather than my Axim and here are some first impressions.

What you keep
Well its a wm5 device and so you get all the features you expect from one, and you can run your software on the new device.

speed wise it seems to handle PIM stuff quickly, menus are snappy etc..
built in keyboard is solid and works ok with thumbs rather than fingers

Feels like a well built device
Charges off mini usb


What you gain
Amazing connectivity... i have access wherever i go on a flat rate data tariff.

Extra pocket space. No need to carry phone/chargers/Axim cradle/spare battery. All I need is my Vario and mini usb cable.

device is phone size. and i can use it as a phone without any problems (Or looking like an idiot) as I can charge/sync from that

Jog dial, which makes 1 handed use a lot easier.

2 mega pixel camera which seems OK, and front facing camera for video calls.

Slide out keyboard. Well thumboard is a better description. Don't plan on writing your novel using it, In fact you are probably going to be quicker using a stylus.

What you lose
THE SCREEN
Don't get me wrong, its not a bad screen.. Its just that its rather small compared to the Axim. The worst thing however is that it isn't VGA. Netfront on my Axim is a killer app, so web browsing isn't nearly as much fun.


Memory is a single microSD slot..so I can't view my photos from my camera directly.. And soy storage will drop from 6GB to 2

No VGA out.

The stylus is a very small extendable thing that should be longer.

And Complete care. Whatever you say about Dell their complete care warranty is very good. I don't know about cingular, but T-mobiles warranty certainly doesn't match it.

Wifi range isn't as strong as my Axim

So it certainly isn't a direct x5xv replacement. But for some people it would be a viable option.

     

Get the 8525 and throw the axim up on ebay and don't look back. WIth the exception of the screen, the 8525 does everything the axim does, and my opinion, better. My axim only serves as an ebook reader now...

Have you tried to read ebooks on the 8525? I read a lot using mobipocket and don't want to keep separate devices. What are your thoughts?

Y have read them... the font cant be as small as what you might be used to on the Ax.

I used to use 9 and 10pt fonts on the ax now anything smaller than 11 looks pixelated

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your forgetting,

the HTC-Hermes (i have a Softbank X01HT) can do way more things now that it has a phone and camera combined into one.

for ex: World card mobile can take pictures of someones business card and OCR that info into pocket outlook. you can then call that number directly rather than typing it in.

also as someone mentioned, internet via HSDPA not through slow b wifi.
this device has Wifi BG so it can use G only networks (like my house)
BT 2.0 is a plus.

Video Calling explains itself

standard mini usb is more convinient than you know. my car's deck is a usb host, i can plug my Hermes into my car and turn on WM5 storage. i can then play the mp3s or whatever off the MicroSD card directly. it will also charge my hermes at the same time.

ability to use your gsm phone or skype to make calls. but you can make skype calls anywhere with a data plan, rather then through wifi

ext dongle attachment for antenna, the axim did not have this.

-=Ipaq 2210=- (SOLD ON EBAY!!)
-=Axim X30=- Arrived 07-23-04 --> SOLD! 03-29-06
-=QTEK S200=- Arrived 04-01-06 --> Sold! 04-28-07
-=SoftBank X01HT=- Arrived 04-27-07 --> In Use
400MHz Samsung CPU · WiFi B/G · BT 2.0 · 2MP Camera · 2GB KingMax MicroSD · Rubberized Hard Case · QuadBand + HSPDA · WM6

Wireless B is still quicker than hspda though.. wifi range isn't as good as the alim, and the camera isnt that great.

Still a great device, but not perfect... have both and use the hermes as a bt modem

This week I have been mostly listening to..... Short cummings audio

Life — In Funny, Six-Minute Slices

     

My question is about this or any other newer PDA phone, what about the tradeoff in processor speed? even this 3G phone only has a 400 Mhz processor compared to the 624 of an X51 or X30 pda and none of the other phones available are any faster. Is it noticeable? How does it fare with larger apps or internet usage?

Cingular 8525 is one of the best choises for you

It depends what you are doing.. If you plan on emulation it my struggle.. if it's only PIM it will fly.. Browising should be ok.. but I find it doesn't like a lot of progs open at the same time, which is probably down to memory rather than processor

This week I have been mostly listening to..... Short cummings audio

Life — In Funny, Six-Minute Slices

     

Alas, these days I use 18pt font to read ebooks on the axim x30. Have also been using palm format rather than mobipocket or other. Have you any thoughts about how these would work on the Cingulaire? Thank you

if you want to wait a bit, there's the htc kaiser with some more ram and rom and built in gps. i've been setting up my brother's 8525 and the main advantages of the axim are obviously sd, cf, and vga screen if those are important to you. for me, the axim is great as a travel pda with nav, wifi, storing photos, and entertainment. around home, the 8525 is pretty good as phone and browser especially if you can get 3G.

How is the battery life on the 8525? does it have talk and stand by like a regular cell phone. If you just use it as a phone and don't use it as a PDA is the battery life different. I'm looking at the 8525. I'm getting tired of carrying around 2 or 3 different devices depending on were I'm going. Can you use blue tooth GPS with the 8525. Right now I have a X30 with Garmin GPS10. I'm completely new to the PDA phone so these questions my sound stupid.

Axim X30
Toshiba Satellite
Garmin GPS 10 and eMap
Garmin GPSmap 76CSx
Garmin City Select North America v6 and Topo
Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 and Pocket Streets
National Geographic Topo