Are x50v problems common?

BobMcN · 01-17-05, 07:42 AM

I have been ready to order an x50v for several weeks. Reading of all the ‘challenges’ that are being encountered with the x50s has given me cold feet. I’ve reluctantly decided to let my 20% coupon expire today in hopes that I will have more confidence and a comparable discount some time in the near future. My question: Is everyone generally disappointed with the x50v or am I hearing of problems only from the vocal minority?
Bob

JakeRich · 01-17-05, 08:45 AM

You are hearing from the vocal minority. Those with problems post them, those for whom the device is working perfectly do not. Given that Dell has sold tens of thousands of these devices, the few hundred (if that many) with problems are a small percentage.

tgoeltz · 01-17-05, 08:46 AM

As with any hardware / software device, there are going to be some problems. Many of the issues discussed on this forum occurs when someone loads a third party program. The only issues I have encountered, such as lockups or crashes, occurred when I was running, installing or uninstalling third party applications.

I find the operating system and bundled applications fairly stable, although a soft reset is needed on occasion to recover some memory - but Microsoft has trained us well to do that over the years with the Windows products.

The versatility of the unit FAR outweighs any issues you might encounter. I use my x50v all day at work, and then for coaching soccer in the evenings, and then listening to MP3s at night.

If you are a bit timid about encountering issues, try to limit the third party applications that you load. There is a lot of free software out there that is not worth the price you paid!

I never hesitate to recommend one to anybody - it's a great tool and a fun toy.

ValkyrieRider · 01-17-05, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by BobMcN

I have been ready to order an x50v for several weeks. Reading of all the ‘challenges’ that are being encountered with the x50s has given me cold feet. I’ve reluctantly decided to let my 20% coupon expire today in hopes that I will have more confidence and a comparable discount some time in the near future. My question: Is everyone generally disappointed with the x50v or am I hearing of problems only from the vocal minority?
Bob

It's my 4th PDA, and it's by far the best one I've had. If you're careful about the 'crap' you load into it, think things out about where/how to load the apps, and follow these boards for hints, you shouldn't have any problems. I've encountered NO problems with the device itself, and I tend to only load apps that are VGA aware to take maximum advantage of the display (there are PLENTY of them available).

zim2dive · 01-17-05, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by BobMcN

I have been ready to order an x50v for several weeks. Reading of all the ‘challenges’ that are being encountered with the x50s has given me cold feet. I’ve reluctantly decided to let my 20% coupon expire today in hopes that I will have more confidence and a comparable discount some time in the near future. My question: Is everyone generally disappointed with the x50v or am I hearing of problems only from the vocal minority?
Bob

While I am "vocal", and perhaps a minority, I believe there are at least 2 VERY common problems, tho many users may not run into them because they don't use Bluetooth, and/or Wifi.

I have now had 2 x50v's... the 2nd was a replacement attempt by Dell in case the 1st had a manuf defect... it did not.. the defect is in the drivers, and/or design.

I saw both problems with an out-of-the-box device. Nothing loaded onto the device.. I didn't even enter an owner name.. I only did the screen taps that one must do after opening a new device (just like after a HW reset).

Bluetooth has problems with file xfers. Search the archives here, but there are enough reports to establish this as a bonafide problem.

The Axim also likes to claim there is an unrecognized network card... why, I don't know. Hitting cancel then trying again seems to usually get past it.

Personally, my opinion of the device is lukewarm at best. I'm following the chain of tech support to try to make sure they know about these issues. Perhaps they will impress me by solving the problems.. but so far I am still at the "drone" level of support, where they "understand my problem" and promise to resolve it, most probably without even understanding it :)

I wonder if most of these problems are due to Dell short-cutting the RAM levels. If I were to start over, I might look for a device with 128M RAM. It might not "solve" the problems, but if low RAM is the issue (as is somewhat suggested by people), them maybe that's at least a work-around.

Dell certainly is the price-point leader, but I wonder if they cut things too close.

Not trying to be bitter.. but I'm 2 weeks an owner and in the middle of setting up Axim #2, knowing that it works no better than Axim #1 did. I'm beginning to think this will be a stop-gap device for me, until something better comes out (better might just equal less buggy)

Or to put it differently.. what does the x50v supposedly offer over other Axims/competitors?

- VGA .. its there, but it takes some real effort to gain any real-estate, vs just making the same real-estate look crisper... that is the fault of the OS perhaps, but the reality still falls short of what could be
- Built-in bluetooth... one word, buggy
- Built-in Wifi ... less buggy, but still buggy.. with a client Oddysey that everyone seems to dislike, and a WLAN configurator that can make you want to pull your hair out to get connected at times. It certainly does not have the gracefulness of a desktop-OS with regards to picking networks and connecting to them. A well thought out connection tool does not require horsepower, so the "its a PDA" argument should not apply.

Mike

Bud Pritchard · 01-17-05, 09:09 AM

I'v had zero problems with my X50v, other than Wifi/Bluetooth occasional problems. Which I think is related to the OS, not Dell.

However, even though users having problems may be in the minority, their concerns and gripes are legitimate. It is very frustrating when the unit fails for some reason, or a problem is hard to troubleshoot.

At least we, as Axim owners, have this great site to learn from other people's problems and solutions. :approve:

drop · 01-17-05, 09:14 AM

Are you kidding? :D

I am very happy with X50v. A good percentage of "problems" you saw was caused by software conflict, which would happen if it were other devices.

It is healthy that we have a community like Aximsite where people could ask questions and get answers. I see the "challenges" you mentioned as the strength of this community. If you spend sometimes on other forums you would see similar comments on every device out there.

Don't worry, X50v is as good as PPC as any.

Gassius · 01-17-05, 10:02 AM

Never happen to me any BT/WIFI problem, which is by far the most common problem reported here.

ppcinfo · 01-17-05, 10:06 AM

Here's another positive vote for the X50v. I've had mine for the last two months and it works great. The VGA screen is clear and crisp, the system runs fast, and I use the WiFi with my home wireless router with no issues. I've never used the Bluetooth transceiver, so I can't comment on it's performance.

The only negative aspects of the X50v I have are the following:

- Applications that draw graphics to the screen can be slow if they are not designed for the VGA screens.

- The X50v is substantially larger and thicker than my previous iPAQ 1945 device.

Even with the size issue, I'm very glad to have purchased the X50v unit. The VGA screen is great, which makes this device appear more like a "laptop" to me than a PDA!

ppcinfo

zim2dive · 01-17-05, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by drop

Are you kidding? :D

I am very happy with X50v. A good percentage of "problems" you saw was caused by software conflict, which would happen if it were other devices.

It is healthy that we have a community like Aximsite where people could ask questions and get answers. I see the "challenges" you mentioned as the strength of this community. If you spend sometimes on other forums you would see similar comments on every device out there.

Don't worry, X50v is as good as PPC as any.

The BT and Wifi problems occur on an out-of-the-box device. They are not show-stoppers, but they are show-interrupters. They are NOT due to any 3rd party user-installed software.

The Axim community is good. Can't say its any better/worse than, say, the iPaq community.

I do still wonder how many issues would have been resolved with 128M RAM, as some other VGA devices have.

Mike

guvnor · 01-17-05, 10:57 AM

there are many posts of problems on this forum because that's what it was designed for; to resolve problems that arise by consulting other users.

I bet everyone loves their X-Box, but imagine how many people had some sort of problems with it. sometimes the problem is beyond the consumer's control, but generally it's lack of experience. most problems turn out to be a misunderstanding or user error, and not an issue of the device itself.

the only problem I might have is the lack of support for VGA devices among programs, but that'll get better with time.

01-17-05, 11:13 AM

It's strange hearing about wi-fi and BT problems. Maybe it's experience, or maybe I'm just lucky, but I've had no problems with either. Within a few minutes of finishing the first charge I had full wi-fi access to my network and the web, was BT-ing files to my X50v from my X30h and was punting docs to and from my Nokia 6260 (via BT) with no issues.

My only gripe, now that I'm a month in, is the occassionally low refresh rate of system screens. But many PPCs have that problem.

Oh - and it could be my imagination, but Transcriber doesn't seem to work as well as it does on the X30h. I'm currently trying out calligrapher which seems to respond to VGA a little better.

Mark.

zim2dive · 01-17-05, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by bohica

It's strange hearing about wi-fi and BT problems. Maybe it's experience, or maybe I'm just lucky, but I've had no problems with either. Within a few minutes of finishing the first charge I had full wi-fi access to my network and the web, was BT-ing files to my X50v from my X30h and was punting docs to and from my Nokia 6260 (via BT) with no issues.

My only gripe, now that I'm a month in, is the occassionally low refresh rate of system screens. But many PPCs have that problem.

Oh - and it could be my imagination, but Transcriber doesn't seem to work as well as it does on the X30h. I'm currently trying out calligrapher which seems to respond to VGA a little better.

Mark.

The Wifi and BT problems aren't for a lack of experience. The 1st "network card error" I got was after pressing the "on" button... I'm not expecting that I'll learn to press it differently with more experience :) Maybe I ahve to learn to sneak up on it, I dunno.

As detailed in other threads the BT works with some devices, and in with others only one one direction (OFF the Axim, but not TO the Axim). Its a driver issue with the BT stack, not a user-experience-level issue. Axim to Axim is the only place I've seen the BT work without a problem (one should hope they tested that). But it seems to have some serious interop issues with _some_ other BT devices.

I'm happy for everyone that gets it to work, but its a real, and prevalent problem. Considering how few ppl use BT, I'm not suprised there aren't more problems. When I first reported it, the typical forum reply was "who cares, use the Wifi, or a card reader".. so if those ppl wouldn't care about fixing the problem, they just work-around/ignore it. Peronally I expect it to work as advertised, hence my posts about it.

Email tech support has "punted" and pointed me to the telephone support now, seemingly they were unable to replay my case and have them call me.

Mike

01-17-05, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by zim2dive

When I first reported it, the typical forum reply was "who cares, use the Wifi, or a card reader".. so if those ppl wouldn't care about fixing the problem, they just work-around/ignore it. Peronally I expect it to work as advertised, hence my posts about it.

I agree completely. BT is essential for me - especially in work. I'm sat at my desk at the moment with my laptop (BT), mobile phone (BT) two Axims (inc. my X50v) and the only way I can keep on top of things by having everything working together.

The only time I've experienced any problems is with my Sony Clié - but Palms never seem to sit too well with Windows of any flavour :)

It is an odd problem you're experiencing. It wouldn't surprise me if there's a firmware problem affecting some X50v's. It could be that models manufactured after a certain point had an amended version of the BT drivers that dealt with this problem. I suppose, in your case, it's a matter of waiting for deal to release a ROM update that hopefully fixes this problem.

Good luck,

Mark.

auntbeckymac · 01-17-05, 12:02 PM

I just upgraded to an X50v last week (relegating my old X5 to a universal remote control), and I am a very happy camper. I haven't tried Bluetooth because I don't have any Bluetooth devices (yet), but I haven't had any problems with wireless, the OS or the hardware.

Yea, implementing VGA can be a bit of a pain sometimes because not all apps support it, but thats the price ya pay for going with bleeding-edge technology. The screen is incredibly gorgeous, and software manufacturers will catch up eventually. As for any other bugs/issues/problems, many of them are user, networking, software, or OS issues that Dell can't do anything about. You are going to get that with any device, and there's always going to be something that's going to tick you off (and seems to work just fine for others). Aximsite and Google are great resources to try to find fixes.

It would be nice if everything would be perfect out of the box, but technology (particularly Microsoft) doesn't work that way. I'm amazed Pocket PC's work as well as they do, and playing around with them to try to get them the way I want (or get them to work) is part of the fun as well as part of the frustration.

I guess my overall advice is to go with your comfort level. If you don't want to mess with trying to get apps to work with VGA or have to switch back-and-forth to QVGA mode, then go with an X50 mid. If price is an issue, and you're not that hip on speed and graphics, go for an X30. If you don't want to have to fuss with much of anything at all, try a Palm. As for waiting for a "more stable" device, I'm not sure there is such a thing.

Good luck!

:)