I bought an X51 after trialling an iMate converged device for a few months. Two reasons: 1. the iMate isn't comfortable up against your ear as a telephone; and 2. Mobile phones come and go a lot faster than PDAs - and they aren't cheap.
Having said that, I'm now looking for a reasonably priced bluetooth phone that is guaranteed to work with the X51.
I too will weigh-in and say that I have no desire for a converged device for practical reasons - i.e. I don't like how they look, I don't think speaking on the PDA telephone is comfortable, battery drain etc...
but can you imagine the first Dell devices coming out if the way they deal with 2005 is .....well, let's use the word "controversial" (i give a head nod to those who have been able to deal with theirs and are happy with it both on the x50 as well as x51).
I guess this depends on the kind of rep you have. My IBM and Compaq reps were always very informative about their product roadmaps. I've never dealt with a Dell rep because, well, I won't buy Dell for other than personal use. I don't have a problem believing the story.
A recent Supreme Court decision may throw a large speed bump on the information super highway. The decision may cause Blackberry devices may stop working in the U.S.
I first looked into the Dell and HP PDAs about a year ago after Nextel quoted me something like $50 per month extra to use a Crackberry on their system, not including the additional charges for the email message traffic. Fine for a marketing executive or politician sponging off the corporate/public t!t, but I pay my own bills thanks!
I'm all the way with you on that one... It seems like ever since Sprint got its hooks into Nextel each bill is higher than the last, and if you want something more interesting than yet another cameraphone - like a Crackberry - they figure that's a great opportunity to really stick it to you.
On the general subject, though, I'd agree with the person who said that this is more of a feeler than anything. I've been involved in a couple of things like this with Palm where they sent out feelers on discontinuing certain products or introducing new ones and every time it turned out to be an information-gathering process rather than an announcement...
I've been on this side of the argument for a while now. Michael Dell never believed in the market, and has stated such in public many times. I still think Dell's entry was an attempt to distract HP/COMPAQ from the Desktop/laptop market by attacking them on one of their strategic lines of business. But he misread their ability to react. Face it, except for the PIM functions (which I consider to be contacts, calender and task lists) the handheld has not become an indispensible tool for the business executive. So far all they've really established themselves as is an expensive MP3 and DVD player. Pocket Word, Excel, Powerpoint and other PC office apps are poor substitutes at best for a laptop. I/O and storage are the two biggest drivers. The screen's too small, its a pain to type/write with a stylus, and finally, battery life isn't real good either. A hassled business exec (and I keep using them because if you don't convince them they're a useful productive tool there is no enterprise use which drives volume, features and prices)doesn't want to carry a phone, Pocket PC and MP3 player. Too much to pack and carry on those quick trips out and back. Smartphones aren't there yet either. Other responders have already detailed their issues. Finally, handhelds are such a small part of Dell's business they'd hardly notice the loss. Just run another discount on desktops and they'd recover the revenue overnight. Just my $.02 but I can easily see Dell pulling the plug on handhelds in the next year or two.
To me, I prefer to have 2 devices instead of one. Let's say I want to go to the beach, I would just take my cell phone with me. If it gets wet or sand gets in there, I can just replace the phone for cheap. If I have a pda/phone device, it could be expensive to replace it. Plus, if I am going to the beach, I don't think I will be using my PDA(at least for me).
This is the exact reason I chose an Axim over a SmartPhone. I didn't want to always carry around a "large" device, sometimes all I need and/or want to carry is my cell.
The screen's too small, its a pain to type/write with a stylus,
You think the X51 screen is to small? Wait until you start using a Smartphone or Windows Mobile Phone Edition device.
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Bobby
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I like having my pda separate from my phone for many reasons.
I am very interested in having my pda and phone's BT interface more functional. For example, an incoming calls ID would be sent to the axim to display before I answer my headset. If I had this feature, my phone would stay in my pocket/backpack next to my BT gps unit.
I think the current size of the axim is the max.
I don't want anything bigger.
You know what they say about convergence / do-it-all devices, they are the jack-of0all-trades, and Master of none.
You'll never merge the PDA with the phone - the PDA requires too big of a screen for a phone, while the phone can't be as big as a PDA. The only way it will work is if you integrate the phone into the PDA and hook it up via a BT headset - but given the mish-mash of "standards" in the US, it will be impossible to have one that isn't tied to (and crippled by) a vendor.
Too bad we don't have a universal standard for Cell Phones in the US
I must admit I would really like to have a cell and a ppc in one but i just don't think i'll be as good as my x50v. What can i say i use my x50v for mostly entertainment purposes, but it does it soo well! I am guessing i'll be using my x50v for a long long time, at least until they come out with an x50v with a phone built in.
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DELL Axim x50v > ETEN M600+ > HTC P3600 Black Trinity::GPS Enabled::4gb SDHC::AX3L Rom v2.0.8.1::Radio 1.46.00.11::Bluetooth Moto S9
I like having my pda separate from my phone for many reasons.
I am very interested in having my pda and phone's BT interface more functional. For example, an incoming calls ID would be sent to the axim to display before I answer my headset. If I had this feature, my phone would stay in my pocket/backpack next to my BT gps unit.
I think the current size of the axim is the max.
I don't want anything bigger.
Like it or not, I think we are rapidly headed toward your choice of two types of convergence devices.
A mini device, like a flip phone, that goes in pants pocket or purse. With small VGA screen, it can be used for streaming video, PIM functions, there are many parts of the world where people commonly use screens this small for video.
A Treo style device, shirt pocket size, with square or larger VGA screen and thumb board for input. Much like current PDA with built in phone.
These are the two type devices you will choose from in, say, two to three years. Stand alone PDA or cell phone, as we know it today, simply won't be made for one good reason - neither generates the ongoing revenues for a cell company that convergence devices do.
I had the decision to either buy a smart phone such as the treo or a ppc. I made a forward looking decision by going with the pocket pc because I reasoned that at some point cities would implement city-wide broadband thus allowing me to use skype as my phone service.
My issue with verizon and all the cell providers is not their services but the fact that they stifle municipalities from implementing locality-wide broadband.
The beauty of the axim is that ,using its wifi card, you can connect to the internet and do all the stuff inexpensively(email, telephone, etc) that cell providers make you pay for.
I think they best thing for us axim users to advocate an internet setup that gives our axims something similar to an 'always on' internet.
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