Yet Another Mini Review of my V

[grouch]

Since I pounded this forum with my wailing with its delayed shipping, it's only fair that I give my impressions now that I have it in hand. :) Previous Pocket PCs - 3 Casios and an X5 Advanced.

Screen Wow! Wow! And yes, wow! It's better than I anticipated and I'm very picky about screens. I do a lot of ebook reading and this will definitely be much easier on the eyes. I loaded the game pack to let the X50V strut its stuff. Amazing.

I've seen other reviewers, including Chris, say that the X50V isn't as vivid as the 4700, when placed side by side. I'm wondering if the 4700s aren't actually slightly off color with a bluish cast that makes the default Windows blue theme look "better." I'm thinking that the X50V may actually be a truer white. I'm a photographer and am pretty sensitive to color casts. I don't have a 4700 to compare, so I can't say for sure.

I can and did compare it to my X5. Rather than using the theme screen, I think a better comparison is the white based Start, Settings screen. The X5 has a slight blueish yellow cast that I'd gotten used to.

I do wish that MS would add back the adjustable contrast into the OS.

Brightness I've always been of the "use it if you've got it" persuasion. Why pay a lot for a great screen and then run it so dim that you can barely see it? I ran my X5 at half or slightly more brightness. The X50v is much, much brighter at the 3rd lowest of 9? if counting full off and full on setting!
This extra increment may be why Spb Pocket Plus's onscreen brightness setting doesn't work.

Screen Protectors and Screen FeelThis screen takes a bit more stylus pressure for taps to be recognized. The bare screen
gives a "sticky" feel when writing on it using Calligrapher for text recognition. It's not really sticky to the touch, but there's a definite drag on the stylus that previous Pocket PCs didn't have.

I had gotten WriteShield's C2 screen protectors. I did the steamy bathroom installation to avoid dust. I follwed the directions to the letter and was very careful in applying the first protector. I blew it. Same thing happened with the WriteShield I put on my X5 and it still has that original protector on. I never had to replace it.

It does take a bit of technique to get it alligned correctly and with no stray dust bits underneath. The second one went on easily and perfectly. The surface is a bit slipperier than the bare screen. To me this is a better feel. I'm proficient with Calligrapher and can get recognizable script input at a pretty fast clip, so screen feel is important.

Size: It *looks* smaller than it is. It's not a brick or anything, but looking at it next to my X5, it looks much smaller. However, when I line them up with one on top of the other, the dimensions aren't as different as they first appear. Again, not a huge unit, but not as small as it looks.

Feel in Hand It really fits nicely into my hand and is quite ergonomic. Holding it for an hour or so will be no problem. It is noticably lighter than my X5.

PerformanceI've been running it on Auto. Since I mostly installing things and setting program options, I haven't been able to really test this out.

Buttons Not loving 'em. The front buttons are fine. A bit small, but I'll get used to that. But, for heaven's sake bring back my beloved scroll wheel! I've remapped
the side buttons, so that I can scroll. Still not as good as the scroll wheel. This is actually better for another reason - I kept hitting the wireless button by mistake. No problem in remapping that button, as there's an icon to tap on the bottom of the screen.

I hated to lose the side recording button, though. I tried remapping it to the top side button and kept the bottom side button remapped to scroll down. Ebook reading is a pain though, without the scroll up feature, but I may get used to that.

The Dpad, though small, seems very responsive. I havne't used it much yet, but it seems fine so far.

Cases I got the Rhinoskin hard case for protection, but I really don't like it. If you don't use the side buttons a lot, it would OK. HOwever, it's almost impossible to press the side buttons without using a fingernail inside the Rhinoskin. Since I'd anticipated reading ebooks with the case on, this just won't work.

Surprisingly enough I'm liking the Dell provided slip case better. If I'm going to have to be taking the V in and out of a case, it's much easier and more compact. I'll still use the Rhinoskin when tossing it into my purse, though.

Power Button and StylusThe power button is much brighter than the X5's and is actually useful for seeing reminder alerts with the volume muted.

The stylus is much better, too, than the horrid metal fish of the X5. It's more comfortable in my hand and is just enough longer that continued use isn't cramp inducing.

Battery Life I haven't had it long enough to judge.

Overall ImpressionsI've gone into some of the things I don't like, but don't let that give you the impression that I don't like the V. I love it! The screen is worth every penny I paid for it. In the 14 hours that I've had it it's made my beloved X5 look ... well... primative. Once you get used to VGA, there's no going back.

Nelia