Buy Axim X30 or wait for HP xxxx ?

buzzzqwert · 06-30-04, 10:45 AM

Can someone tell me why I should wait to buy a new model Ipaq (the one's that we're waiting for, e.g. 4700) for probably $500 - $600 when I can get an Axim X30 for $350 - $400 ? From what I've read about the only difference is the VGA screen on some new Ipaq's that isn't on the Axim but I think everything else is approximately the same, i.e. 624mhz, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Although the VGA screen would be nice it's hardly worth $250 - $300 more. I've read complaint's on other websites about Dell's service on their Axim's. so that may be one thing in favor of HP.

Cheryl · 06-30-04, 10:52 AM

It's personal preference. I am awaiting a device with 128MB RAM - don't see anything like that coming from Dell just yet. I have owned an Axim for nearly 1.5 years and don't have too many nice things to say about their customer support. I've had my 2215 for almost a year and still love it.

imported_RobertS · 06-30-04, 11:00 AM

I am deeply unsure about the upcoming iPaqs so my advice is buy an h4150 now instead of waiting for them.

I have never had good experience with Dell gear.

whitelyt · 06-30-04, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by buzzzqwert

Can someone tell me why I should wait to buy a new model Ipaq (the one's that we're waiting for, e.g. 4700) for probably $500 - $600 when I can get an Axim X30 for $350 - $400 ? From what I've read about the only difference is the VGA screen on some new Ipaq's that isn't on the Axim but I think everything else is approximately the same, i.e. 624mhz, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Although the VGA screen would be nice it's hardly worth $250 - $300 more. I've read complaint's on other websites about Dell's service on their Axim's. so that may be one thing in favor of HP.

As Cheryl mentioned it is preference. Personally I would not go out and buy anything until late July. Why? Well HP should have new products out and there will be accurate pricing. Everything is speculation right now until HP releases something official. Also, new PPCs other than HP will be hitting the market next month as well increasing your options. I would save that money and invest on a PPC that will be best for your needs. Besides, July is here anyway. Just a little while longer.

buzzzqwert · 06-30-04, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by RobertS

I am deeply unsure about the upcoming iPaqs so my advice is buy an h4150 now instead of waiting for them.

That's an interesting comment, why the uncertainty about the new Ipaq's ?

imported_RobertS · 06-30-04, 12:15 PM

I never like to buy products when they are first released. I prefer to wait at least 6 months so that the initial problems are suffered by others and there are already patches/fixes/how tos available. The iPaq h1940, 2210 and 4150 are nice, mature products. I don't need to have the latest thing, I just need the BEST thing that will fulfill my needs...and need one for me is stability.

The new iPaq Seven Dwarves will need some time to be shaken down before I will buy one of them.

TLC · 06-30-04, 01:07 PM

Use the ipaq 4150 with a 512 SD card as the default. Everything else must compare or come close or no purchase. j--my-2cents

timmer · 07-01-04, 05:17 AM

I bought a 4150 last week after comparing it with the Dell Axim X30 high. A shop in London had the X30 (no idea where they got them from) and it made my decision very easy - the X30 just felt clunky. (but thats a personal opinion)

However, I have found that the 4150 has done everything I have thrown at it with ease. I have not had one moment so far where I have felt that the faster processor would have been an advantage.

I watch Divx on it in amazing picture quality and full frame rate - no need for the extra processing power of the X30 high. Games run smoothly, apps run smoothly, mp3 player plays well.

As a result, I dont regret my decision for one minute. The extra processing power of the Dell is redundant for me. And here in the UK, the 4150 is cheaper than the X30 high anyway.

JNGold · 07-01-04, 08:15 AM

Quote:

However, I have found that the 4150 has done everything I have thrown at it with ease

We told you so!

Just remember, if you want an extra "blast of speed", you can always get an app like xpuScalar and do some "minor" (472mhz) overclocking. I have Xpu set for "autoscaling" based on processor percentage use.

timmer · 07-02-04, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by JNGold

We told you so!

You certainly did and havent regretted listening either

The only need for more cpu power, for anything I can think of, is emulation. But I'm not much of a gamer so no big deal to me. The odd occassion I play a game on it for 5 minutes, there are enough made specifically for the PPC to not worry about emulation.

whitelyt · 07-02-04, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by timmer

You certainly did and havent regretted listening either

The only need for more cpu power, for anything I can think of, is emulation. But I'm not much of a gamer so no big deal to me. The odd occassion I play a game on it for 5 minutes, there are enough made specifically for the PPC to not worry about emulation.

Exactly. If you are not much of a gamer than the extra CPU does not really matter. You will not see a marked improvement when using the apps already in ROM. In fact most apps that you may use outside of multimedia will not have a marked improvement.

You could see improvements in watching video. The illusion is that everyone thinks that more CPU will speed everything up. Actually in some cases it won't.

buzzzqwert · 07-02-04, 12:39 PM

I currently have a 3835 with a blazing 200mhz, most of which I use for websurfing, no games, no video's. I assume that a 400mhz will be somewhat faster than my 200, but will the 624mhz be much faster than that ? If there isn't a marked difference between the 400 and 624, then I may wait for the new "toys" to arrive from HP and then buy an old (by then) 4150.

whitelyt · 07-02-04, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by buzzzqwert

I currently have a 3835 with a blazing 200mhz, most of which I use for websurfing, no games, no video's. I assume that a 400mhz will be somewhat faster than my 200, but will the 624mhz be much faster than that ? If there isn't a marked difference between the 400 and 624, then I may wait for the new "toys" to arrive from HP and then buy an old (by then) 4150.

The 400MHz processor works just fine with most apps and functions today. Compared to the 624MHz of course the the 624 is faster. The problem is you will only see a marked improved in the CPU intensive apps (game emulators, video, audio media playback, etc.) Majority of apps you will not see any difference. For the casual user the speed increase is not important. For the heavy user this could be important.

I run just fine on my 400MHz and I do the emulator, video and audio playback. If I need more juice then I use XCPUScalar to push my CPU to 472MHz which is more than enough. Majority of the times I don't have to.

I would not base a purchase based on the CPU. I would look at the options that it gives me as well as appearances. Certainly if I am going to make an investment in something atleast I would like to look at it in admiration.

timmer · 07-02-04, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by whitelyt

You could see improvements in watching video. The illusion is that everyone thinks that more CPU will speed everything up. Actually in some cases it won't.

Well I must say that video plays on my 4150 amazingly well. I was very impressed when I first saw a 500kbps divx playing at 30fps without skipping a frame. The picture quality was astounding.

No need for extra CPU power in this department as far as I am concerned.

I was very reluctant to get the 4150 rather than the X30 high as I wondered if I would regret not getting the extra CPU power. I had never bought or used a PDA before so didnt know what the difference would be.

Now my opinion is that the extra CPU is redundant (at least for me). As I said emulation maybe but otherwise its pointless.

The other reason why for video the higher CPU is pointless is for 2 reasons :

1. The bitrate the 4150 can handle means beautiful picture quality - more bitrate would be pointless.
2. Higher bitrate would mean larger file size anyway needing more space on SD card (limited in capacity as it is) for no real advantage in picture quality.

I have been converting my DVDs to Divx for years to play on my laptop, Xbox, Kiss player and I am very hard to please when it comes to picture quality. The 4150 can even please me in this department so it must be good

whitelyt · 07-02-04, 08:18 PM

timmer,

I am not suprised that video would play well on your h4150. Divx to me is not that bad on the CPU as far as decoding. Now using WMV files is a whole different story. A lot of folk are drawn to using WMV files for video because it can offer the lowest filesizes using higher bitrates. However it uses much more compression than Divx. Watching WMV files makes the CPU work harder because it has to decode these highly compressed files.

However I am like you. I am very big on quality. WMV does not cut it for me. I would rather use either Divx or Mpeg formats; the quality is better. The downside is the filesizes are larger but that is OK for me.

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