Moved from a x50v 2003SE to a x51v WM5 and oh, boy

joshua362 · 12-20-06, 02:13 PM

Hi all - a somewhat power user here, long time x5, x50v user who just bought a x51v yesterday due to headphone jack problems on the prior units. Nothing on the new unit yet except for the Outlook PIM data (after fighting ActiveSync for 3 days).

Can't say I am impressed, especially with the critical Calendar app, impossible to move around without severe delays. So slow (15+ seconds), its useless to me and I never know if its locked up. Seems like switching months really sends it into a tizzy, which I could live with, but intra-month movements are inconsistent too.

After a morning of reading, it seems like a 3rd party calendar app is the only way to go? I really don't want that. Is there a way to force the PIM database to RAM or a SD/CF card for better speed?

Also, I have ROM A12 and it seems current on the Dell web site dated 11-20-06. Another thread seems to be waiting for a ROM update, like today. Is this for the x51v, so soon? I might as well wait for it if so.

Any tips for a struggling soul moving from x50v 2003SE to a native x51v and WM5? I'm NOT updating the x50v into WM5 and there is a ton of info and workarounds for that.

Thanks for any tips, pointers or links. I'm about to just send it back and spend the $75 to have the old jack on the x50v fixed at this point but want to give it the benefit of the doubt being a huge Axim fan.

ThundaAx · 12-20-06, 02:24 PM

If the Axim x51 takes 15+ seconds to perform native PIM functions then NOBODY would use it! Sounds like there is something wrong with your X51 (duh!). The speed of my X51v/WM5 is comparable to the response of my X30h/WM2003se. The only appreciable delay I detect with my X51 is right after I perform a soft reset - its like it takes a few seconds to load apps into the ROM memory initially.

One thing to check is the processor speed and make sure it is not set to "power-saving". It's found in Start Menu --> Settings --> System --> Power --> Processor.

It Active Stink was causing problems for a few days, then it may be worth it to punt and perform a hard reset to see how the unit responds to factory default conditions.

joshua362 · 12-20-06, 02:38 PM

Thanks, the speed is at max, in reading about this I tried that and many other things first but it almost seems like this "just is the way it is".

I'm glad you don't agree. I do want to hard reset but make sure that a ROM update isn't imminent first.

joshua362 · 12-20-06, 05:40 PM

Ok, hard reset, put only calendar data back on the x51v. A virgin machine. Same problem.

Could someone try this? From the today screen, tap on an appointment. It might take 15+ seconds to get there. Switch to "Agenda" mode (more lags). Use the Dpad left or right arrow to run through the days. It may do it or not immediately. If and when it does (a minute plus), I can go up and down the days quickly. But cross to another month either way and it locks up for a good minute or so.

I don't have these lags and movement issues in Tasks, Contacts, Emails or Notes.

And more often than note, the "hourglass" DOESN'T show during the wait.

Any comments? Just want to hear from others if this is the new "normal" as earlier posts seem to indicate with the calendar function before I go through the hassle of a return.

ThundaAx · 12-20-06, 06:02 PM

I know you want to hear from others, but I gave your calendar test a go. It takes about 1 second to bring up the calendar app from the Today screen. Switching display modes or paging from day to day in agenda view is virtually instanteous. There is pause, about 1 second, when crossing over to the next month.

I have 6 months worth of appointments stored on my X51v, averaging > 1 appoint per day. I have A12 ROM loaded. I am using ActiveSync 4.2.

I believe that you either have a bad A12 ROM image or bad hardware. The hardware angle is harder to explain if the device is snappy for built-in applications other than calendar.

aedmunds7 · 12-20-06, 06:12 PM

If you want a more reasonable price to fix your x50v problem; contact PDASmart.com @ (512) 258-4500 or online; they have FREE diagnostic, competitive prices, & excellent turnaround time.

joshua362 · 12-20-06, 06:48 PM

Thanks for both posts, I appreciate the comments - It gives me hope, maybe I'll reimagine the A12. I can't imagine its hardware if everything else works. I do have a ton of appointments in the past but the x50v handled them fine. And I will see if I can get the jack repaired too for a backup.

joshua362 · 12-20-06, 10:28 PM

Ok, did some testing, setting the calendar AS settings to "all" seems to create a massive problem while "6 months" brings the lag down to an acceptable, but noticiable rate. While it might be crazy to have 10 years of past appointments at one's finger tips, it would be helpful to have more than 1/2. Thanks, ThundAx for pointing me in the right direction.

If anyone has an idea how to move the PIM database out of ROM, maybe things will improve?

tfriedag · 12-21-06, 04:23 AM

I have the same problem with six years of busy diary activity. Going from week to week is very slow eg 15 seconds, from month to month the same. Cannot understand why as previous x50 was quick and responsive. Frustrating!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

laurie53 · 12-22-06, 02:09 AM

I thought the slowness of the X 51 was a selling feature to enable us to reduce the pace of life! lol

Let's face it, while some are happy, for many of us the X 51 is c**p.

Laurie

jwthompsonphd · 12-22-06, 10:11 AM

After a technician at the office did a hard reset, I am no longer able to get the Axim X51v to find the GPS device. I used the Holux GPS Viewer as instructed, but it sometimes finds one com port but not the 2nd port. It worked just fine before the reset.

Any suggestions?

joshua362 · 12-22-06, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by laurie53

I thought the slowness of the X 51 was a selling feature to enable us to reduce the pace of life! lol

Let's face it, while some are happy, for many of us the X 51 is c**p.

Laurie

I'm coming to that sad realization now - 3 days of fighting with AS on both the PC / PDA, the calendar issues and now BT Sync problems. I'm tired and don't want to spend more of my Christmas vacation on this. I was soooo happy with my x50v/2003SE except for my headphone jack issue.

I think WM5 must be the culpert here - its essentially the same machine, right?

I'm going to have the old one fixed for $75 at PPCTech and send the new one back. PDASmarts emails are bouncing back to me for 3 days now and the phone isn't answered.

What do non-geeks do if us "power users" have this many problems right out of the box? Maybe my expectations are too high...

Thanks to all that help, Merry Christmas.

cravaus · 12-22-06, 08:15 PM

Things I like about the x51v: much better batery life and better memory management. I often run several programs at once TextMaker, PhatPad, PlanMaker, and SprintDB Pro all interacting. This would crash my x30 High. Not so with the x51v. That pleases me. Bluetooth is horible. The x30 worked much better with bluetooth. I get crashes all the time with ActiveSync and bluetooth although I am getting better performance when I forst join a Bluetooth network. I am repeatedly having to tracedown and patch up crash issues. WM5 is less stable than 2003SE that is disappointing. It is mainly a Bluetooth issue as far as I can see. I have used the Widcom stack and am still not happy. Crashes are part of the MS lifestyle I guess. Again I lement the loss of the rock stable Psion machines that never let me down (except ribbon cables but they were easy to replace). The battery and memory management plusses are overriding my desire to go back to 2003 SE however.

joshua362 · 12-22-06, 09:23 PM

Thanks cravaus,

I went from a x5 to the x50v and once I learned to load EVERYTHING to a SD / CF, the x50v was perfect. I too would load it up with a mp3 player, a GPS program and play chess or work my calendar all at the same time. And BT easily to the GPS and/or cell phone and laptop with no problems. I used to do that on the x5 too. And memory / battery life were never an issue on either one, especailly with the extended battery (a must).

Has anyone put 2003SE on a x51v? Is it possible? I might be tempted to try that before shipping it back...

cravaus · 12-23-06, 02:09 AM

I had no problem with MP3 and GPS running along with 2003 SE. My calandar is always open. For some reason the TextMaker and PhatPad combination would crash it consistently. And depending on the size of my database, I could not run TextMaker with SprintDB pro. Now they all play nice with eachother. I am more of a business than a multimedia person. I have had no problems with my TomTom working. Music plays fine. Battery life of the x51v is 30% to 35% longer than with the x50v. To me that is a significant difference because I have the thing on all day when I am in the field. I would just like it to be a bit more stable. I hope they continue to perfect the OS. We will see. For now I am finding ways to work around the quirks.