Cancelling my AXIM Order

[Harley]

Cancelling my DELL order in the AM

Probably should have done a little more research before hitting the DELL web site and ordering up the X5. It appears INTEL is releasing and updated processor:

http://developer.intel.com/design/pcn/Proc...rs/D0102973.pdf

The PXA250 C1 stepping provides the following new enhancements / features to previous releases:
• Hardware Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (HWUART)
• Low Power SDRAM Mode Register Set Configuration Register
• 400 Run Mode / 200 PxBus
o Core Clock Configuration Register (CCCR)
o Core Phase Locked Loop
• UDC Control Function Register (UDCCFR)
• NSSP

The most significant change is the 2x improvement in BUS speed. The new processors are available in quantity starting 10 Feb 03. Shipments of the C0 will cease on 28 March.

Same price.

My opinion only - It's worth the wait for the new processor - I'm already told to wait until 14 Feb, so might as well tack on an additional month and get a better system at the same price.

I know - you can be left waiting for, "the next big thing", but this is a signifcant step up in a short period of time.

[JakeRich]

Umm, it'll be more like a 6 month or more wait. The board manufacturers will work through their exising supplies of the current processors before they start to use the new ones. Then they have to get them through the shipping channels. Early adopters may see one in the Spring, but it's more likely to be late Summer or Fall.

[Mike C]

Well, what happens if the current unit I have goes belly up sometime this summer? Would I get an upgraded replacement?

[ericartman]

Like grandma used to say never buy the first issue of anything especially if it comes from intel, they always seem to be a little buggy. Besides dollars to donuts, in 6 more months...... ;)

[commoved]

Just because the processor is capable of running the bus faster doesn't mean Dell will make the bus faster. A faster bus means faster (more expensive) memory, video controller, etc. More likely the new Intel processor will get designed into a different PPC which, of course, will have a different price.

There will always be a newer unit. But for my money, the Ax will be a good buy for quite a while.

[Raynne413]

Just because the processors will be available in that amount of time does not mean PocketPCs containing those processors will be released immediately.

[JakeRich]

Originally posted by Mike C@Jan 30 2003, 09:37 PM
Well, what happens if the current unit I have goes belly up sometime this summer? Would I get an upgraded replacement?

My bet would be "no." You bought a system with the current CPU and if Dell has the exact same model in stock, even if refurbished, that's what you get. After all, the warranty is not that you get the latest model, just that the current model is replaced.

Of course, if the current model is not available, then Dell has to decide how to satisfy the warranty. Who knows what that might be!

[merle]

Originally posted by JakeRich@Jan 30 2003, 09:34 PM
Umm, it'll be more like a 6 month or more wait.  The board manufacturers will work through their exising supplies of the current processors before they start to use the new ones.  Then they have to get them through the shipping channels.  

Dell itself probably doesn't have much inventory of the old chip or boards with the chips since they follow the "just-in-time" model, but contract manufacturers might. Without hard numbers, it's hard to say when units with the new chips will come out.

http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_38/b3699067.htm
Dell's new approach takes the concept of just-in-time operations to new levels. The company's most efficient factories, such as an Austin plant that makes its Optiplex line of corporate PCs, order only the supplies required to keep production running for the next two hours. As the two-hour clock winds down, suppliers--who keep gear in a warehouse near Dell's factories--are electronically told what to deliver so Dell can build the next two hours' worth of computers. That virtually eliminates parts inventory. And manufacturing improvements, such as cameras linked through the Internet that spot bottlenecks and a Web hookup to shipping companies to arrange pickups, are helping Dell's operations accelerate to warp speed. Now, PCs often are loaded onto trucks for shipment just 15 hours after the customer clicks on the buy button, down from at least 30 hours in the past.

[Iceman]

Originally posted by merle@Jan 31 2003, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JakeRich@Jan 30 2003, 09:34 PM Umm, it'll be more like a 6 month or more wait. *The board manufacturers will work through their exising supplies of the current processors before they start to use the new ones. *Then they have to get them through the shipping channels. *

Dell itself probably doesn't have much inventory of the old chip or boards with the chips since they follow the "just-in-time" model, but contract manufacturers might. Without hard numbers, it's hard to say when units with the new chips will come out.

http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_38/b3699067.htm
Dell's new approach takes the concept of just-in-time operations to new levels. The company's most efficient factories, such as an Austin plant that makes its Optiplex line of corporate PCs, order only the supplies required to keep production running for the next two hours. As the two-hour clock winds down, suppliers--who keep gear in a warehouse near Dell's factories--are electronically told what to deliver so Dell can build the next two hours' worth of computers. That virtually eliminates parts inventory. And manufacturing improvements, such as cameras linked through the Internet that spot bottlenecks and a Web hookup to shipping companies to arrange pickups, are helping Dell's operations accelerate to warp speed. Now, PCs often are loaded onto trucks for shipment just 15 hours after the customer clicks on the buy button, down from at least 30 hours in the past.

I forgot where I read it, but I believe Dell outsourced the production of the Axims to another company based in Taiwan.

Originally posted by Iceman@Jan 31 2003, 03:46 PM
I forgot where I read it, but I believe Dell outsourced the production of the Axims to another company based in Taiwan.

I read the same thing, but also don't know where.

[JakeRich]

[quote]Originally posted by Iceman@Jan 31 2003, 03:46 PM

[...
I forgot where I read it, but I believe Dell outsourced the production of the Axims to another company based in Taiwan.

Exactly! Unlike their PC operations where they actually assemble the PCs from components and ship them as fast as they can, the Axim is just boxed with whatever accessories you ordered and shipped. That's part of the reason that during the crazy initial period people were so angry when people who ordered later received their's earlier. Dell probably has that happen all the time, but because the PCs are assembled and customized, nobody notices the sequence in which they satisfy the orders. With the Ax, it was visible that they just handled orders as they could, boxing up what they had and shipping it out to satisfy the orders with the parts on hand.

So, with this new chip the process is going to have to be that Wistrom, the builder of the Axim, will have to retool the mother board in the Axim (the new high speed bus requires new higher speed memory chips, which in turn need new support chips, etc), then make the boards, assemble the cards, build the new Axims and ship them to Dell. (There will be no increase in speed by just changing the CPU, the cycles in the memory chips have to be fast enough to use the new bus.)

Maybe my estimate of six months was too optimistic...

[chuckecheese]

hey dell,

all i want is when the chip comes out you will give us all a chance to up-grade if we choose at a reasonable price. that's all.

today i had to do a hard reset on my ax. i also recieved my old e-125 back from a 102.00 repair. ( just in case).
1- i've done more resets in a month than i have for the e-125 in 2years!!

i bet most ax users would be willing to pay 25.00 to 75.00 for the new chip install. perhaps the new chip could over come some to the unit's short falls.

Originally posted by MPSmith@Jan 31 2003, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Iceman@Jan 31 2003, 03:46 PM I forgot where I read it, but I believe Dell outsourced the production of the Axims to another company based in Taiwan.

I read the same thing, but also don't know where.

http://asia.cnet.com/my/0,39002192,39099100,00.htm

[Harley]

[QUOTE=JakeRich,Jan 31 2003, 06:43 PM [ the builder of the Axim, will have to retool the mother board in the Axim (the new high speed bus requires new higher speed memory chips, which in turn need new support chips, etc), then make the boards, assemble the cards, build the new Axims and ship them to Dell. (There will be no increase in speed by just changing the CPU, the cycles in the memory chips have to be fast enough to use the new bus.)

Maybe my estimate of six months was too optimistic...[/QUOTE]


Certainly it is a gamble to wait to let the dust settle. But what do I have to lose? Just the opportunity cost of being without a PDA for an undefined duration. My bet is the retooling is not significant (drop in replacement), and "time to market" forces will drive Dell to push the product based on the new chip out as quick as practicable.

I'd further wager their will be no immediate price change.

Can you state with certainty the current chip set will not support the faster BUS, or are you guessing?

I'd be hard pressed to find a modern memory chip that can't support a 200MHz BUS.

What Dell will probably do is put the new chip in their Axim 7, I think it is due out the end of the year!