Australian accessories for Axim

Merc007 · 06-10-03, 07:14 PM

Just purchased a new Axim for $563 AUD, I have to admit the DELL sales person wasn't very helpful, he asked me to hang up and call him back 3 times, because he had a meeting to go to, and then he couldn't be bothered waiting on the line. Then I called back to try get another sales person, they put me back on him!!!

I didn't have enough money to purchase some of the stuff from DELL, and they quoted me an extra $30-$50 dollars per product, if I buy the accessories on a later date after purchasing the Axim.

does anyone know where we can get Axim accessories down under, like GPS, Wireless lan cards etc? I wanted to purchase them locally, if possible to save international freight charges.

Can we use the CF cards that are made for other PDA's e.g. IPAQ's? :)

Thank you.
-Mercs-

woodg · 06-10-03, 09:36 PM

Another Aussie with an Axim - great. Welcome to the family.
I haven't purchased any accessories from Dell as yet. What I have purchased is as follows:

Screen Protector (a must have item) from Brando in Hong Kong (http://shop.brando.com.hk/). The freight charge was minimal. I also purchased a compact Sync and Charge cable from the same source.

Case from Vaja (www.vaja.com). Rather expensive but very good. Freight added quite a bit to the price but I couldn't find a suitable case in Australia.

SD Card - 128Mb Panasonic. Purchased from Dick Smith Electronics.

SD Cards are cheaper in the States, but usually only because of mail-in rebates and to get those you generally have to have a USA address. In any case, you get a cheque in US dollars and by the time you pay the bank charges in Australia you don't have much of the rebate left. And then there are those freight charges again.

Any SD card SHOULD work with the Axim, but if look on this site you will see that some people have problems usually, but not always, with SanDisk cards.

Also, I understand that any CF card should also work with the Axim.

Hope that this helps,

Glenn

ejay · 06-11-03, 06:56 PM

I am another Aussie aximite awaiting my new toy. I have however been stocking up on necessary accessories.

I have found ebay to be a great source of bargains.

Picked up a stylus/pen for $10 AUD, car charger/usb synch/charger cable for $30 AUD, brando screen protector for $16 AUD, and my best bargain was a Krussell Case for $15 USD all include delivery.

Just go to ebay and do a search on axim both in Australia and for Australia.

Hope this helps

Merc007 · 06-12-03, 02:06 AM

Wow that sounds cool there's so many toys, I'm checking out ebay at the moment, I'm bidding for a CF card $31 so far. But I hear SD cards are better, and I have my eye on another one. Have you seen any Axim car kits for Australia? I've also looked at some cool cases at that www.thepocketsolution.com that look really cool especially the metal ones.
Will invest in some screen protectors, I was hoping that I may be able to make some, downloaded an axim template. I'll check out the car charger/usb synch/charger cable as well on ebay.
If you know of any other cool gadgets, I'm all ears.

ejay · 06-13-03, 01:44 AM

Mercs has you axim arrived yet. If so how long did it take? I cant wait to get mine, ordered 1 week ago......getting very anxious!!!!

woodg · 06-13-03, 07:54 PM

We don't need left handed versions - we just take the standard stuff and turn it upside down :D

ejay · 06-13-03, 08:00 PM

Or hold it the right way up and stand on our heads. We are very talented down here!!!!

woodg · 06-13-03, 11:20 PM

Thanks mate. I see you even have Colour spelt "our" way.:)

Glenn

shughes · 06-15-03, 08:27 AM

Hi, i'm another Aussie who's recently joined the ranks of happy Axim owners.

I recently bought a Netgear CF WiFi card from OfficeWorks for $179 but later discovered that Organiser World (pda store in Melbourne www.ow.com.au ) is selling the same card for $139 :(
But the card works great though - I can access the internet via my office network and at home with minimal configuration.
You can get cheap memory (SD and CF) from the Melbourne Computer Market (do they have similar markets in other states?)They are currenly selling 128MB SD for $80, 256MB for $150. (and it works fine with the Axim) Other than that, I haven't found many places in Australia that sell PDA accessories.

But I have found some reasonably good deals from the States:
Bluetooth CF card for $49.99 US - Semsons & Co, Wireless IR Folding keyboard - $49.99 US - Moonlight Technologies, Metal (Aluminium) case - $29.99 US (excellent case - it does a great job of protecting your Axim and it looks cool too!)

I've also bought a screen protector from Box Wave - claims you can wash it and re-use it, anti-glare, fingerprint free, improves handwriting recognition, dust repelling etc... I'll let you know how long it lasts.

I hope this has been helpful.

Merc007 · 06-15-03, 07:19 PM

Hi EJay - no luck yet, it's been way over a week now, I nearly burst a bubble on Friday, hoping that my Axim would arrive. Then I waited to 5pm, and nothing. I called DELL on Friday and they said the "transport company will contact you today". Nada. Pooey... ): I'm going to bug DELL again. I convinced my friend to buy an Axim 2 days after mine, and he's also bursting a bubble waiting for it.
Ebay's been really good...
So far I've purchased a 128 CF card for $40AUD yeah I win, and I'm bidding on a 6in1 2.0 USB card reader, for $33. Harvey Norman is selling USB readers for $70-$99 ouch!!!!!
I saw these really cool portable speakers at GB's but $99.95 Sony, that are foldable. Ouch the price hurts so not getting one. Wish I was in Melbourne. Maybe the North Rocks markets in Sydney might be good for some cheap stuff.
** So I have all these gadgets and no Axim, wahhhhhhh **
shughes - Thanks shughes I'm going to check those out, definitely been helpful. Does the IR keyboard work with Axim? I want a keyboard for my Axim-which-has-not-arrived.

Merc007 · 06-15-03, 08:23 PM

Hey Ejay, I spoke too soon, just called up DELL, and they had the wrong contact details for my delivery, and phone number, What a fiasco. I have to wait until tomorrow now. Not happy Jan.

ejay · 06-15-03, 08:52 PM

Mercs, Just got the phone call from the transport company mine is due to be delivered tomorrow. Only one more sleep!!!!

I hope your problem gets sorted out soon.

Merc007 · 06-16-03, 08:25 PM

I called up again today (the day it was meant to arrive), they told me, they're going to deliver it tomorrow!! :) very upset. It's already been over 10 days.

ejay · 06-17-03, 01:16 AM

It came, it came, it finally came!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charging now.......these four hours sure are long!!!!

Can't wait to start playing.

What should I do first??????????????

woodg · 06-17-03, 02:22 AM

What to do first?

I'd install ActiveSync (from the Dell supplied CD) and get it going. If you are using Outlook on your PC you should end up with contacts, tasks, notes, emails, etc on your Axim.
Then maybe update to the 03 Rom if your machine needs it.
I'd then update to ActiveSync version 3.7.
Then try a backup to make sure it works (and maybe even a restore).

Then start loading applications.

Simply my thoughts. To me, this gets all of the "system" changes (Rom update, activesync) out of the way before the serious playing, er ah, work begins.

Others may have different ideas.

Glenn