Anyone see this? Dell halts PDA development

[socpsy]

If Dell does stop making the Axim, just curious to know what everyone will do for their next PDA? Who would you buy from? I personally want to keep my phone and PDA as seperate devices, but it looks like I'm losing out on that.

I'm with you. I don't want a converged device. Right now, I'm likely to consider a UMPC if they get developed to my liking over the next year. Why! ...because I want one!

[BAM BAM AXIM]

I read about it over at toms hardware
and jumped over here to spread the news
Heres what tom said


Dell halts PDA development
From the Web
August 2, 2006 11:31
Dell apparently halted R&D development of PDA products since the middle of 2005, when Dell's Taiwan Design Center (TDC) completed development of the PC vendor's last Axim-series device, which was manufactured by High Tech Computer (HTC), according to market sources.

According to the sources, Dell's TDC switched all PDA-related R&D resources to the notebook segment in the middle of 2005, following the company's plan of reducing the number of its R&D staff at its handheld device division at the end of 2004.

[TripleTTTT]

I'm with you. I don't want a converged device. Right now, I'm likely to consider a UMPC if they get developed to my liking over the next year. Why! ...because I want one!

For real, I'll keep it seperate..I dont want to combine them.

[eagle47]

I don't like this. I don't want a converged device. I don't upgrade pda's like I do cell phones. I buy one and I expect it to take care of needs (work and fun and games).

With the cost of today's pda/cell phones, prices are pretty close. Who knows, maybe in another 3 years, I might change my mind, will see where technology goes.

As for now, I really like my Axim. Let's AX away.

Looking at what the x51v has for capabilites, there isn't much left before it becomes a laptop. There is a need for various levels of pda's HP and Palm will be around for a few more years than Dell will be with PDA's too bad though, really too bad.

[mikeyp]

even though im not a dell fan, i do see this as a bad omen for the pda market in general. palms last non phone device was the tx... whuch was released 10/12/05

[star882]

Well, we can always get the Asus.
http://anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2777&p=4

The Asus R2 is based on a 7 inch WXGA LCD platform that is powered by a Celeron M ULV 900MHz CPU with up to a 60GB 1.8" hard drive. It features a GPS unit, full digital video and audio functions, Bluetooth V2.0, 1.3M-Pixel camera, and a RF Biometric Fingerprint reader for security.

There was a speculation that it costs $1000, which I think is a very good price for all its features. Not to mention that it runs plain Windows instead of buggy embedded Windows. And since it can run regular Windows, it should be able to dual boot Linux.

[richpjr]

I personally want to keep my phone and PDA as seperate devices, but it looks like I'm losing out on that.

I am just the opposite - I can't wait for a more polished all in one device. I hate carrying around a phone, a PDA, and an iPod. Too bad none of them are a good enough package yet.

[Quidam67]

I think it's a shame the Axim didn't get one more model revision before they pulled the plug.

I mean, I think the x51v is (overall) a pretty sweet unit, but better performing 2-D graphics; 128k RAM; WiFi g; and a more stable implementation of WM5 would have been a fitting end to a great product line.

Oh well.

Namaste
b

[timepilot84]

HP will eventually stop there PDA development to. Small tablet pc's will be dell's next focus point.

I concur. At least amongst Microsoft licensees. Windows Mobile is a pig. It makes what should be screamin' hardware slow to a crawl. The only reason I tried WM 5 is to test drive the new .Net Compact Framework, and to tell you the truth, I'm not impressed. Microsoft doesn't seem to be interested in porting their most useful frameworks to Windows CE (read DirectX, DirectPlay, etc.). I have a feeling that they're going to pitch Windows Mobile (all except the Smartphone version, of course), and finally come out with a new OS or environment, for the "Zune" devices, that combines media player features with compatibility with DirectX (to expedite game production) on a new platform. I'd spring for one. I tell you this: I'm not going to buy an entertainment oriented WM5 device, that's for darn sure.

There are a lot of problematic areas with WM5 that MS doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to fix. I'd like to see something more stable and more pointed at entertainment than PDAs. It irks me that the graphics acceleration on the X50v/51v goes pretty much completely unused because the OS doesn't support fancy graphics hardware. Just looking at the specs, you'd think the Axim X51v would fly. Instead it's an earthbound battery-hog that routinely gets lapped by devices with far lower specs. Now what does that say about the OS?

I really hope MS can come up with a real embedded OS, using the traditional requirements of an embedded OS, not some pie-in-the-sky techno-crud that requires at least 3 revisions in order to be usable, let alone useful.

[netthewarp]

This is a true story. As part of my job, I am in weekly contact with a local Dell sales rep. I asked him straight up 2 weeks ago, and he confirmed that the X51 is the last PDA that Dell would produce.

He acknowledged that Dell has developed in-house prototypes of cell phone/PDA combos, but does not know if they will reach market. If no standard emerges in that market, chances are, Dell will never sell it.

Dell has had Tablet PC prototypes in-house for over 3 years, but has yet to release a model - again, because no standard has emerged, and the demand is insufficient to justify it.

[athlonduke]

i dont really care for tablet pc's. they need that damn proprietary pen (which you'll lose) and they are bigger/heavier

i love the fact i can write and interact on my axim with my finger. any of the tablet pc's i've seen you cant do that.

[netthewarp]

Athlonduke, I don't think you'll have to worry about a Dell tablet PC ever hitting the marketplace.

[spanglish]

Sorry guys, I saw the news late on geeks.com and started my own thread without seeing this one! (I've just cancelled the other thread)

Well I'm about to receive a refund on my X50v, a long story which is well catalogued in another thread, but it means I'll have the reddies to buy another unit. When I get the refund I'm still going to take the plunge and order the X51v. From what I'm reading the A12 ROM on the whole has ironed out a lot of the problems and I now have quite a lot invested in software that I chose carefully to make my life that much easier.

Business is business so at the end of the day if it's not making Dell money you can understand why they have to make the decision on what stays and what goes from their ranges. I would have loved to have seen what Dell would have come up with to replace the X51 but then when I bought my Socket A monster who'd have anticipated that in 2 years we'd be at 2x64bit cores and not a Socket A board in sight in our local PC shops, Spain included, but that's life sadly.

The Axim forum will continue as for now there are still too many Axim fanatics out there who are daily discovering what these beauties can do and want to tell others about it. Dell may feel forced to make their decision on the Axim range but that shouldn't stop us celebrating what we still have and will have for some time to come and that is the Axim, still one of the best pda's on the market. Raise your glasses for the Axim!

[dennisma]

TRAITOR!!!! Let's get him!!!!!!!!!!!

just kidding...i like HP stuff too...i just got a HP laptop and I like their design as well as sturdy built, unlike Dell's notebooks.

I did not want to at first but my wife never had a single problem with hers and I had also bought one for my son (the one with the biometric fingerprint reader for logging in). They work like champs and after a while I wanted one too. It seems my Dell Axim has a memory problem (when loading up Riven it fails when crossing the bridge).