I constantly see (on other forums and blogs) people saying that they will not get a Dell Pocket PC because 'everyone' is having problems (on AximSite). I want to explain something which should in it-self be self explanatory.
AximSite currently has 115,207 members. I will make a wild guess by saying that half the users own either an X50(v) or an X51(v). Thats 57604 people on this forum alone. Do you see 57604 people complaining about their Axims? No, you only see those people who are having problems. :throwcomp They exist, and Axims do have some problems, but do not make your "to buy or not to buy" decision on these posts alone.
If your device is working fine, do you go on a forum and let everyone know? "Hi, I have no problems with my Axim. Cool. Close this thread please." No, when people don't have problems, they don't post about it. Only a small percentage of Axim users are seriously outraged, the majority aren't.
Don't make your decision based on the opinion of a minority. Do your own research, and make a well educated decision yourself.
Last edited by kerunt; 01-19-06 at 02:41 AM.
Reason: Forgot the word 'make' in the last sentence.
It's ironic then that I have 2 X51v's, purchased months apart that have exactly the same problems!
Your logic assumes that everyone on Aximsite uses their Axims and everyone is aware of and reporting their problems.
Hypothetical SWAGs aside, there is NO question that Windows Mobile 5.0 and especially Active Sync 4.1 are both full of problems that make what is probably a fine piece of hardware, difficult to enjoy and all too often a real pain in the butt!
My comments and a few cents shy of $5.00 will get you a Starbucks! (I'll bet it works "out of the cup" better than my Axims did "out of the box"!)
They have problems, its a fact. I cant recomend a Windows Mobile 5 device from Dell. Their support is possibly the worst ever. They dont give a sh**, and their products show this.
- Bluetooth sucks on all Dell devices with Windows mobile 5.
- GAPI performance sucks with VGA devices
- CF cards disapearing is a problem with every unit
- Performance SUCKS, much slower than 2003SE
- Battery drain is affected by many different things
- Software compatibility still isn't perfect
The reason why not everyone is complaining is because:
- Not everyone even uses the missing bluetooth profiles
- Not everyone uses a CF card or leaves it in all the time
- Not everyone has a point of reference to compare the speed
- Not everyone has a point of reference to compare battery life
- Leaving CF and SD cards in while in standy can sometimes drain your battery
- Using a battery meter plugin for the today screen can sometimes drain your battery
- Doing none of the above and it still sometimes has battery drain problems
- It may the users first VGA device and they think thats why games are so slow
- Some just dont use it enough or pay attention to it enough
The people who run into problems are like me. We love seeing what we can do next with these devices and how can we make them better. Im constantly tweaking, and playing with new applications and utilities.
The average user wouldn't come across or even notice these problems.
You sound like an angry Dell employee trying to make a stupid point. Go back to work and fix the f***ing OS and get us our god d*m update.
First of all, the problems encountered by "the minority" are real. The user's satisfaction of the product will depend on how they use their unit. Example, for bluetooth extensive users, the X51 will simply not be acceptable because of the currently missing profiles. But if you are going to use it just for multimedia and games, or browsing the internet then you will be happy that it works, not even bothered by the fact that your unit came with a crippled bluetooth stack. The author of this thread suggests doing your own research. That is a good suggestion, however there is a little problem with this. Most of the reviews are specifications related, not problem based. Another problem is that some reviews are made based on their public relation with the OEM. And if you encounter a review wherin the problems are being discussed, guess where do they get their information? , from message boards like this. Here is an example. http://www.pdabuzz.com/Home/tabid/54...epthPart4.aspx
That review reflect exactly what problems people are posting in these message boards.
Yes in July I would have recommended the Axim x50v. I had mine and I enjoyed it. I even debated on waiting for the X51 or simply purchase the x50v with the WM5 upgrade. Unfortunately the WM5 hasn't happened yet. (technically the cd was released but there have been too many problems thus I had to roll back).
My complaint isn't that I don't like my Axim - If I did you would have seen it on ebay or some other site.
My complaint is that I have a product that is just over 6 months old with the expected OS (WM5) not installed on it and not working correctly. So being a bit harsh with Dell is my right. I'm not a Dell or competitor salesman so its not like I'm saying "buy brand X its better!" I'm simply saying do not purchase the Axim yet. It has had too many problems.
Even the rollback has left my device with "issues" that quite frankly this site NOT DELL has helped to address.
In addition part of my purchase contract included free warranty. Yet my warranty clock is ticking away and I still do not have a working WM5 OS yet.
Also surprisingly is the lack of response from Dell in addressing this issue. I've contacted Dell 5 times now since Nov 1st due to problems with WM5. (Contacting Customer support does not take away time from the engineers so its not like I'm bugging the ones that are supposedly trying to make a fix. I'm simply bugging someone who has a prepared script in front of them to read.) Each time CS has said wait till next week, check back soon, we're working on it. It has now been 2.5 months and still no fix other than the roll back solution!
Had this been a car I would have returned it ASAP and yes there I can because there are laws in most states to allow this - its called a LEMON LAW.
So again summarize - I have a product that quite frankly isn't what it was promised to be and yes a purchase order with the free WM5 upgrade is a contract.
I have my x51v for about a week now and I love it. I bought it despite reading all the negative stuff on this forum.
I have had no problems with active sync or dissapearing SD card, about 2 or 3 soft resets and one hard reset, but I did the hard reset myself because I wanted to bring it back to its original state and re-install some stuff.
Did get a couple of error messages, but heck I get those a lot on my pc too, it's after all windows, nough said. ;)
I don't use Bluetooth or internet on my device so if there are any problems with that it's not that big a deal for me. I use it mostly to get more organized in the home and to put in all hospital appointments of my parents etc and some gaming.
All I can say is that I am happy that I ordered it despite all the negativity on this forum about the x51v and dell in general.
And somehow I think if it becomes a bit unstable it will probably have to do with me still experimenting with some software, as I'm still tweaking mine to become what I want it to be.
I totally :love: my Axim x51v.
Edited to add that I still have the A01 rom version because foolishly I ordered it with Dutch OS and there is no rom update for that one yet.
i have a X30 and now for 3 weeks a X51v. Befor i installed the A06 upgrade i would have said that the X39 was better but now i have Upgraded i am thinking how i ever lived with the old X30. The speed of the X51v is great and graphics are supereb. No problems with Bluetooth and i get online with ease.
Recommend a DELL
OH YES
Although I sympathise with people who have problems, it seems the majority are simply WM5 related.. more specifically, a manufacturers customisation of WM5, before WM5, things where reasonably peachy, I've owned about 8 different PDA's from 4 manufacturers, and know that they all suffer from software issues, more so then a PC..
Just look at some of the new smartphones, the O2 XDA Exec, the Orange M5000, the iMate JasJar, this is the same phone hardware running WM5, customised by 4 or 5 manufacturers, and the complaints for this device are massive, it makes the X50V WM5 Upgade look super-stable..
So we are not alone on this front..
The Bluetooth stack is just one of those things.. they've clearly just gone for the minimal in a hope it is more stable.
I've had 3 HP's, and my last, a 2210 had plenty of profiles, but was really, really unreliable..
as said, you need to research any PDA, to see if it has 'issues' that will affect you...
In my opinion, one of the biggest problems is that people that used WM2003 are not happy with WM5. It is going to be slower by it's design. Also, those that used WM2003 in the past likely have a lot of software at their disposal and much of it isn't designed for WM5. Just because a program runs doesn't mean that it runs properly. This is especially try for system level things like Today screen plugins.
The problem with battery monitors is a perfect example. Just because they appear to work doesn't mean that they work right. Just because you see a battery gauge and it has the correct number doesn't mean that it's not getting that number the wrong way according to the new operating system. If you try to run a program written for an older OS and it doesn't work properly it's hardly the fault of the hardware manufacturer.
Most of the problems listed are Microsoft problems. This is my 3rd WM5 device and all of them have exhibited most of the same problems. WM5 is still in it's infant stage.
Some things such as the Bluetooth issues are Dell issues. And they should be blasted for those issues. But people really need to examine which problems are Dell related and which aren't.
:attn:
Don't make your decision based on the opinion of a minority. Do your own research, and a well educated decision yourself.
I completely disagree with this mindset.
This "minority" opinion is crucial to your buying decision. For me when I first came to AximSite. I was looking for opinions on both side of the fence. The negative as well as the positive. If Id done just a google search and based it on overtly biased reviews(the reviews were not correlating from what I read on AximSite from the real users).I would have bought the x51v in a heartbeat not knowing what I was getting myself into.
However since I did what was not recommended and read the "minority" opinion, I had a much clearer idea of what I was purchasing and Im gladder for it. I made my own decision stacking the negatives and the positives and based my purchase decision based on what I expected to get and what I needed to do to fix it.
I also factored in how technically proficient I was so I could deal with problems as well, I figured if I could handle it with this great online resource then Im sure it would not be too much of a problem.
After all the tweaks and adjustments it hasnt really been that bad, but yes I agree with what Lofty said about most users being content with their limited usage of their Axims.
If they were tech crazy and wanted to fully maximise their Axims, Im sure theyd be really mad or at least annoyed at the lack of promised functionality and stability.
I knew from day1 I would get an unstable product, and yes I repeat that I knew before buying that it would be unstable. However with the knowledge I obtained from AximSite users who had trouble, I found fixes to these issues. :approve:
Im all for people displaying/posting their opinions because it gives the potential buyer a complete view of the Dell Axim their intending to purchase.
Just read everything you can, both the good and the bad. Then make your decision. The "minority" opinion is certainly valuable. Dont forget that :)
I am a heavy user of the Dell Axims for business purposes, and consider them to be the best of breed. I currently have active an HP4700, an iMate K-JAM, a Dell X50v, and a Dell X51v, and it's the X51v that getss 90% of the usage. For my purposes:
- The bluetooth works flawlessly when connecting to a Nokia 6230 for Dial-Up Networking.
- The battery drain issues went away completely once I change the default Activesync schedule to Manual.
- I keep a CF and SD card in the device permanently and have only had one instance when the CF disappeared. A soft reset fixed this.
- It's about the same performance as WM2003SE other than the initial load of programs.
- I don't use games other than the occasional Bubble Breaker, but if that's your bag use a PSP.
- I have some additional software loaded, particularly AvantGo and Pocket MindMap, and find few problems. Some I couldn't load such as PocketWinc, but then it's a new OS and the software writers need to catch-up.
I do have a couple of problems, and they are common to the X51v and the K-JAM, i.e. both WM5 machines:
- when scanning through a large number of emails, reviewing and deleting, quite a number are skipped so you have to go back to review again.
- problems occur fairly frequently with GWES.EXE.
The K-JAM has an additional problem which is the reason I have stopped using it, in that any changes to emails that haven't been synced are lost on a soft reset. All that time you spent replying to emails and deleting emails on the train is completely lost. The Dell doesn't suffer this fatal problem.
So overall the X51v is the best and most stable PDA I have ever used (well since my Psions anyway). Regarding Dell's responsiveness, they have issued 2 ROM updates already which shows they are addressing the issues.
The thing that I am missing in all these 'Dell sucks' vs 'Dell rules' debates is how Dell compares to say HP, Asus, Acer..
I think the initial poster is right in his assessment that the majority of axim users are satisfied.
What any new buyer should do is simply become aware of what potential problems can crop up. I think that if you intend to bluetooth print over your bluetoothing bluetooth handset with bluetooth blinking light then you probably should stay away. All other problems are fixable (as far as I know) with reading these forums.
If you want a dependable, but slower/smaller/less cool experience, buy a 2003 device. If you want service, buy a completecare setup.
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