thinkingaxim

I am getting ready to buy a ppc and have narrowed it down to two choices, the Dell Axim and the Toshiba e740. Has anyone comapared the two? I know this is the Axim forum (which is a plus in the Dell column), but I thought I would try anyway. The price difference is nil, when you add the WiFi to the Dell and it leaves two slots open on the e740. The Dell is a Dell, nuff said. Looking for some objective feedback. Thanks in advance for your help.

Therigwin

Not sure if the price difference is really nil when adding a wireless card.

Since right now you can get a wireless card from CompUsa with Rebates for $30.00

But then, it is still not much more.

The big thing is that it is a Dell :love:

And you have all of us here to help you out with it. ;)

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Tom Keyes, Principal Certified Lotus Professional

cparks

It came down to those 2 PPC's when I was trying to decide. I went with the Dell after I saw the price. The Ax was $314 for me, and I am planning on getting a WiFi card for around $75 ( I know you can probably get cheaper ones). so that's less than $400. The e740 is $599 with $100 rebate at most places.

thinkingaxim

Thanks for the reply. Amazon has the e740 for $389 (with a $150 rebate), so the price with WiFi is about the same. Were there any other deciding factors, still like the integrated WiFi leaving two open slots.

Thanks,

Brooks

Isn't the Toshiba 200mhz, compared to the Dell's 400? Less money more ppc. I'm still waiting for mine in the mail.

JmE

I had the e740 in my posession and returned it. I did not like the screen and some other things about it. Make sure you look at some of the problems that users are talking about on other forums. I found a few of those problems on the e740 I had.

I really like the Axim over the e740 by far!

-JmE-

BTW: The e740 is a front lighted TFT screen and the Axim is a transflective screen. I always prefer the look of transflective screens for everyday use...

TSB8C

A co-worker has the e740 and the built-in wireless has a VERY short range.

Fritz

OK, I'm sure everyone on this board can tell you all the pluses of the Ax; and having owned the e740 I'm going to play the devil's advocate here and list the gripes I have for both of these PPC's.

Axim-X5
*******
Buttons/controls:
- D-pad: feels as if it's going to pop off any second, not to mention the notorious 'stickiness' or irresponsivenss in certain directions.
- Scroller: flimsy feel and hyper-sensitive for scrolling(altho the sensitivity can be toggled through software, the actual tactile feedback is sub-par). On the contrary, you need to mash the button in real hard to 'click' to invoke the action-function.
- Record button: placed too low, and too close to the reset button. Awkward to use when you want to use the voice memo, and accidents happen when your finger presses the reset.

Infrared: weak and narrow, can't really use it as a remote-control at a comfortable distance.

Sound: Weak internal speakers, but this is also true for the e740. For voice-recording, using the hardware record-button will invoke crackles due to some problems in interference of the wiring; a work-around for that is to use the software 'button'.

CF Slot: A real minor thing, but then it doesn't have an eject button.

Aesthetics: Uses a faux-metallic paint job which will peel off eventually.

Toshiba e740
***********
Buttons: Although the tactile feedback of this unit is superior, it disallow multiple button press. This is one of the huge reasons why I have gotten rid of this unit and went for the Ax. The e740 came out around April2002, and yet it still exhibits this preliminary problem from other PPC's (ie: earlier iPAQs).

Infrared: beam is a bit better and wider, BUT its placed at a very awkward position (on the lower left side of the unit); because of this you can't really use it as a remote per-se; juggling the unit with one hand and beaming contacts is a huge nightmare!

Stylus: A warped piece of plastic rod, nuff said.

Screen: It's nice, but not as nice as the Ax. The e740 uses a reflective display, which exhibits the problem of uneven lighting (ie: the side with the light is real bright). The front-light also poses a problem of blinding one's eyes when viewed at a certain angle and washes out the display completely. Which is the second reason why I have switched over to the Ax.

Battery: 4-5 hours of 'normal' usage -- this does not include gaming/multi-media/proc-intensive usage; the third reason why it was a no-no to me.

WiFi: An advantage and a disadvantage -- drains battery, short range, not easiliy/not upgradable (I'm not talking merely about 802.11b to 802.11a/g -- but the upcoming new WEP enhancement. Some vendors may not be able to implement this in their old hardware)
******
Overall, the X5 is built to be an all-day robust PPC that will give you a solid day of usage without worrying about budgeting battery life between PIMs/Multimedia. The screen and multi-button press is essential if you want to do anything other than your usual PPC apps.

Where as the e740 major advantage is its more solid tactile feel (metal casing, sturdy buttons) and built-in WiFi (which contributes to the aesthetic due to the lack of a protruding antennae). On the other hand, the WiFi also poses the problems noted above.

So if price is not an issue here, you have to decide whether you want to have something that is robust, but less pretty with a few minor drawbacks that you can kind of 'get used to' -- or something that looks good, but may have problems that doesn't have work-arounds.

Hopes these points will help you decide in getting a suitable PPC ;)

Cheers.

__________________
"To be, or not to be is true." -- Boole

axhandler

Not that it is a major point but is the Axim really "painted"? I have tried scratching mine and it looks the same color under the scratch. I think it might be a pigmented plastic...like the body panels of a Saturn. Anyway, scratches are hardly noticeable.

Just my humble opinion

Fritz

I don't know how the paint/coating is applied, but if you look at the interface where it syncs with the cradle, after a while you will see paint chipping off. Also, if you look at your stylus silos where you constantly have friction, you'll also notice the same problem. The underlying plastic is white in colour.

It's not a major problem -- these aesthetic problems I can live with since it doesn't hinder performance etc. I'm just waiting for my case to ship so that it'll protect the x5's paint job ;)

Cheers.

__________________
"To be, or not to be is true." -- Boole

axhandler

Dude your right...that is kinda lame...I'm glad they didn't leave it white though.


Out of curiosity, which case did you select?

poor fat kid

My friend has the Toshiba e740 and has had numerous problems with it. If we did not get all this SNOW he was going to return it yesterday and order the Axim.

Fritz

Quote:

Originally posted by axhandler Dude your right...that is kinda lame...I'm glad they didn't leave it white though. Out of curiosity, which case did you select?

I ordered a solid black sena a few weeks ago. I was debating whether to get the two-tones which looked real nice -- but then I have seen some leather goods which have poor stitching with the thread breaking after extensive use. Hey, the more parts there are, the easier it'll break rite? ;) Besides, a solid piece of leather is more costly to use than smaller fragments :p

Cheers.

__________________
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thinkingaxim

Thanks everybody. Went to CompUSA to "fondle" the e740. Liked it, but, ended up buying the accessories listed in another post (keyboard, modem, WiFi) for just over a hundred bucks after rebate, came back and ordered my Axim. The whole not-so-instant gratification thing is killing me tho'.

Again, thanks for the great insight and responses.

axhandler

Yeah...the waiting is the part that really sucks! Especially if you have all those goodies sitting there waiting to be played with!