The new Dell Axim X3 PDA line

[girlgeek]

This week Dell released their new Axim X3 PDA line. These are smaller and thinner than their previous X5 series, and the price looks really good. The lower end, basic model has already been seen available for about $229, and the high-end one will be available soon for about $325.

Does anyone use PDAs? Other brands are selling upwards of $500 for those running Pocket PC 2003, so Dell might get some momentum with their smaller pricetag.


Here's a review of the Axim X3:

http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?news...owComments=true (http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=1683&showComments=true)

[Mike AI]

I love the idea of PDA's, I have bought a few - but I am not dedicated enough to use them. It stinks, becuase I need help in gettin orginized. IT is one of my big weaknesses. Luckily those around me are VERY orginized, so it helps.

[Rolo]

well, I´m not buying a new PDA... I´m wating for a vulcan mini pc:

http://minipc.vulcan.com/int_template.asp?page=gallery

Might not be as small as a PDA, but it looks and acts like a normal PC :)

[girlgeek]

Mike, the PDA is your friend. The trick is to force yourself to use them for about two weeks, and then it becomes harder to put them back on the shelf.

Rolo, I like to the look of the Vulcan, and heard about my former boss entering into this market. I still have my Libretto 110CT.

http://www.infostream.com/pol/110ct.htm

Mine is actually the rarer 266MHz model and I upgraded the hard drive on it to a 6.4GB HDD. There has been a time when I found all my systems on the blink, and used this as my sole machine for about a month. It is close to the same size of the Vulcan. The one thing I didn't like about it was that I had to plug in an external KB and mouse, the keys were just way too small for any real typing.

I would have liked to see Allen disclose which CPU is driving the mini PC. X86 compatible screams something like a Transmeta chip, because with that size, cooling is definitely going to be an issue. For $1500+ dollars, I wouldn't want to run a Transmeta chip. Also, I would rather throw down a few extra dollars and go with a lightweight laptop. Right now, I have the IBM X31, which comes in at about 3lbs and is the size of a book. I carry it everywhere I go.

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.html?i=1809



Last edited by girlgeek at Oct 18 2003, 10:05 AM

[Mike AI]

I have tried GirlGeek.... I may try again soon. Wiating for the holy grail - PDA/Cell phone combo that is tiny.

http://www.dynamism.com/index.shtml has some cool things.

I bought a Sony Picture book - which I use when on the road. Tiny, and powerful.

My partner just picked up http://www.dynamism.com/u101/index.shtml he has a wireless card, and uses it everywhere. Since he got it, he makes his fiance drive everywhere! haha

[girlgeek]

They aren't going to get too much tinier, because you need that screen to make any of the internet features meaningful. I looked at that page and saw that the Nexio by Samsung is coming out. I reviewed the very first one at CES a couple of years ago, and I was very impressed by it then. At that time it had a phone feature, but it seems that they might have done away with it on the 160.

Kevin is about to get the new Treo 600.

http://www.handspring.com/products/communi..._overview.jhtml (http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/treo600_overview.jhtml)

It's a Palm OS on the PDA, but the Palm OS has always been pretty stable. I will probably take over his Blackberry 6710, if he likes it. If he doesn't, I wouldn't mind having the Treo, either.

:D



Last edited by girlgeek at Oct 18 2003, 10:26 AM

[Hell Puppy]

I'm with Mike on this one, the Axim is missing GPRS. WiFi built in is great, but I dont wanna go all the way to Starbucks just to check email.

The Treo 600 looks sweet. It's a reasonable size to tote as a primary cellphone, but has Palm OS so there's plenty of software and the calendar, etc are tried and true. And it does have GPRS, so you can surf, check mail, etc wherever. I just wonder if my fat thumbs stand a chance of working reasonably well on that keyboard.

I haven't seen one in person. I have seen the Treo 270 and used it. It's very nice, but about the size of most Palm type devices. That's just a tad too bulky for me to want to tote as my primary cellphone. The keyboard on that one is about the size of a Blackberry and I had no problem typing rapidly on it.

I currently tote a Motorola 720 and make extensive use of it's data features and in paritcular email alerts. Being a geek, I just set my server based calenders to send me email reminders which the phone picks up and alerts me to. It's also decent for sending off a quick email or doing your basic silly WAP surfing (checking movie times, sports scores, etc).