What are the advantages and drawbacks of the x51v over the x30H

[DavidLennartz]

I have been bouncing this question back and forth as I am tempted to get an x51v and sell my x30H....I would like the experience based opinions of those who have made this switch....would you do it again? Should I wait until Dell or someone has something better?

TIA David L

X51 has the CF card slot. That fact alone kept me from buying an X30 and waiting for the X50v to be released in Nov 2004.

[darkdestroyer]

X30H X51v

320X240 vs 640X480
Small Thin VS Form fitting in hand. Somewhat thicker
SD VS SD+CF Type II
Regular VS VGA OUT
03SE VS WM05
64MB Rom VS 256MB ROM (You will need the extra ROM space in WM05)

[Pocketbrain]

• Operating system: X51v has WM05, x30H has WM03se. Advantage: X30H
• Video: X51V has VGA, X30H has QVGA. Advantage: X51V
• Size: X51 is thicker, X30H is trim. Advantage: X30H
• Expansion: X51V features dual slots, SD and CF. X30 has SD only, all support I/O. Advantage: X51V
• Wireless: Both have Bluetooth and WiFi, but the X30H's BT stack is more feature-rich. Development continues on adaptation of the Broadcomm/widcomm BT stack for WM05. Advantage: X30H.
• Storage built-in: X51V has 256MB of ROM, X30H has 64MB. Due to the nature of WM05, additional ROM is used by the OS, but it still has more available. Advantage: X51V
• Accessory Support: X51V is a newer model, but mature enough that there are plenty of model-specific accessories available, new enough that there will be new ones. X30H is older. Pretty much any model-specific accessory for this model has been made. Don't expect anything new, but the old ones can be had cheaply. Advantage: Your choice.
• O/S and software support: WM2003 is mature, and most PPC software is made to run on WM2003. WM05 is new and support still lags in places. Advantage: X30H.
• Unique Advantage: X51V's video out capability with VGA.

Basically, X30H will be reliable and X51V has more future potential. But I gotta tell ya, I have a QVGA Axim and have played with the X50V at the Dell kiosk. No way my next PDA is going to be QVGA. I hope to ride out my current X50 and wait for the 2nd gen. on WM05 (or '05se).

[jnev]

[list][*]Operating system: X51v has WM05, x30H has WM03se. Advantage: X30H

I think wm5 is better than wm2003se.. persistant storage (no need for backup battery; all your data/programs are still there when/if you run out of battery) is a very nice feature and ms made development for wm5 much easier. while the bluetooth stack does suck somewhat, this forum has made it much more bearable while we wait for dell/ms to release a better stack. if you don't use bluetooth this is a null point.

[Eric12341]

• Operating system: X51v has WM05, x30H has WM03se. Advantage: X30H
• Video: X51V has VGA, X30H has QVGA. Advantage: X51V
• Size: X51 is thicker, X30H is trim. Advantage: X30H
• Expansion: X51V features dual slots, SD and CF. X30 has SD only, all support I/O. Advantage: X51V
• Wireless: Both have Bluetooth and WiFi, but the X30H's BT stack is more feature-rich. Development continues on adaptation of the MS BT stack for WM05. Advantage: X30H.
• Storage built-in: X51V has 256MB of ROM, X30H has 64MB. Due to the nature of WM05, additional ROM is used by the OS, but it still has more available. Advantage: X51V
• Accessory Support: X51V is a newer model, but mature enough that there are plenty of model-specific accessories available, new enough that there will be new ones. X30H is older. Pretty much any model-specific accessory for this model has been made. Don't expect anything new, but the old ones can be had cheaply. Advantage: Your choice.
• O/S and software support: WM2003 is mature, and most PPC software is made to run on WM2003. WM05 is new and support still lags in places. Advantage: X30H.
• Unique Advantage: X51V's video out capability with VGA.

Basically, X30H will be reliable and X51V has more future potential. But I gotta tell ya, I have a QVGA Axim and have played with the X50V at the Dell kiosk. No way my next PDA is going to be QVGA. I hope to ride out my current X50 and wait for the 2nd gen. on WM05 (or '05se).

u can install the widcomm stack on wm5 axims (x50,x50v,x51,x51v)

[coolbre304]

Yah, the widcomm stack on the x51 is actually working pretty well so far (couple of months now) so much better than the MSFT stack. Yah, and persistent storage is a huge bonus despite what others say. But still backup!

I find the WIFI radio on the X30 superior to the X51V. Important for my application.

[Pocketbrain]

u can install the widcomm stack on wm5 axims (x50,x50v,x51,x51v)

Yeah, woops, meant Broadcomm/Widcomm, not MS.

(X)
.

[locutus555]

For me the X50v with WM2003SE is the best, I know that wasn't one of your options, but....

I have all the tricks installed on my X51v and still wake up to a dead battery. It must be the software I'm running, because others aren't having this problem, but others say they run my software and its OK, go figure?? I run the same software on my X50v and it works always, everytime. Battery stays charged until I use it.

Hopefully WM5SE will clear up my problems. Until then I'll use the X50v.

[Zaniax]

Excellent survey, PocketBrain !

I consider the lock button to be a good feature when on the road - music, GPS.



®

[LordArt]

I had to upgrade from an x30H to a x51v. (Well, I didn't HAVE to take the x51v but I had to replace my x30H. I was bathing my 2 year old and it popped off the belt holder into the tub...nuff said. I was actually able to resurrect it to fully working order in a few days, but not before I ordered the new Axim (ie. x51v)).

The x30 worked with little problems from day one, and is a brain dead device to use. Meaning, you don't need to be skilled to do what you want with it/hack it. The battery life was simular to my laptop (about 2 hours operational use), although certain applications(high-end games) would kill the battery MUCH quicker than that.

The VGA screen on the x51v was NIGHT and DAY difference. As well as the battery life. I have to go out of my way to kill the battery in comparison. Meaning, I EASILY get 3-4 hours and that's WITH playing games on it. I bought a second battery, but I never use it. Even surfing with Wi-FI that USE to kill my battery on the x30, really doesn't on the x51v. (Addmittedly, it's perspective. On the x30, I might be out of power in 20-30 minutes, where the x51v I would be on for hours. It still might be killing my battery, but I don't notice because I don't have to rush off because of lack of juice!).

The battery life comparison and VGA ALONE is worth the switch.

However, I WILL say you need to hack things more to make it nice. I did the server fix, and never had the "typical" problems after that. However, in WM5 you eventually end up with the "reminder" problem, that can be fixed with memmaid. Also, the bar at the bottom in WM5 eats up your today screen space, so you have to get a hack to shrink that (so it's more like PPC2003SE).

Turning on and off the bluetooth and wifi independantly, is MUCH better/easier on the x51v. I remember that on the x30 that it's a little tricky playing with just bluetooth or wifi without turning on the other sometimes. But this might not matter to you.

The persistant storage is REALLY neet, but I will say, the "instant on" of the x30 is better. On the x51v you have to wait for about 3 seconds for it to be responsive initially. Which if you get into the habit of turning it on before grabbing the stylis becomes a non-issue. (Keep in mind, ANOTHER hack on the x51v is that the Odessey client sometimes goes nuts, and can end up making the x51v unresponsive for 30 seconds or longer on turn on. All you need to do is go into connections and manually turn off the client, and everything is fine again. Even if you need the client, you can turn it back on, and it "resets" itself, so I haven't had a problem since. But this gets back to being willing to hack the PDA to get it to work the way you want.)

The Extra on board storage is REALLY nice (32 MB x30 versus 256 MB x51v). Althougth admittedly the usuable ram on the X30 can be higher, but you never notice. Also the fact that it can use both SD and CF simo, is also REALLY nice on the x51v.

Overall, since hacking the PDA doesn't bother me at all (and I've only had to do each fix once), I would recommend the x51v. For someone who is technology paranoid, I wouldn't. But if you LIKE using your PDA, your more than likely skilled enough to do the minor things above as they crop up, so that it's never an issue.

Good luck with your choice!