Monday, May 17, 2004
aximsite Reviews the Dell Axim X30
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 10:20 PM
Yup, it's official: the Dell Axim X30 is out. It's not up on their Web site yet as of this writing, but I'm sure it will be soon. Dell sent me an X30 to review, but I didn't receive it until Thursday, and I've spent the past few days doing battery tests and taking pictures. And then tonight, when I was hoping to finish up my review, I spent four hours with an insurance agent talking about life insurance. 8O So there you have my sorry excuses for not having the review finished - regulars will know that if I can't be first I don't like writing reviews at all, but in this case I promise I'll finish it off tomorrow. ;-)
One fellow who did manage to get an X30 review written is Chris Leckness from aximsite:
"Since this is the 1st 624mhz Pocket PC, there is nothing to compare benchmark scores with at this time, But compared it to the older machines, it is"Smoking"! What is the perfect PocketPC? That is a question that will never be answered, there are too many opposing views and usage patterns for that to ever be accomplished. Today, Dell released the closest to my perfect PocketPC to date. It sports the fastest processor available at this time, SDIO SD Slot, a small and light form factor, Bluetooth and WiFi, and Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. Other than a few features that some find a must, it has everything I want in a PocketPC. The only real complaint offhand is the look. I mentioned in my X3i review last year that I really wish that Dell would have duplicated the modern, unique look of the X5 when they design the X3. Just in case you have not figured it out yet, the Dell Axim X30 is the same as the X3i with some major enhancements."
What I can tell you is that the X30 is f-a-s-t. I threw a 320 x 240 WMV clip at 1011 kbps, and it played it without a hiccup (yeah, that's over 1 mbps!). That same clip on the same SD card while played in my iPAQ 4150 resulted in a brief sputtering every four seconds. The raw CPU power of the 624 mhz CPU is very impressive for multimedia. Overall, this is the most powerful Pocket PC I've ever tested - witness the benchmark results:
In fact, what's really amazing is how painfully slow the Axim X5 is with the PXA250 CPU. This is the first Pocket PC which, from a performance standpoint, feels truly faster than the original iPAQ based on the 206 mhz StrongARM CPU.
Other interesting bits about this X30 release include the fact that their entry-level non-wireless model will be $199 USD, and that they will have a Bluetooth keyboard released within 60 days or so. Battery life is decent, but not stellar - 3 hours and 17 minutes with the backlight cranked up to maximum. With the 1800 mAH battery that rises to over seven hours, which is very respectable. No backlight and CPU idle? 28 hours and seven minutes. 8O
More on this tomorrow, but definitely go check out Chris' review!
One fellow who did manage to get an X30 review written is Chris Leckness from aximsite:
"Since this is the 1st 624mhz Pocket PC, there is nothing to compare benchmark scores with at this time, But compared it to the older machines, it is"Smoking"! What is the perfect PocketPC? That is a question that will never be answered, there are too many opposing views and usage patterns for that to ever be accomplished. Today, Dell released the closest to my perfect PocketPC to date. It sports the fastest processor available at this time, SDIO SD Slot, a small and light form factor, Bluetooth and WiFi, and Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. Other than a few features that some find a must, it has everything I want in a PocketPC. The only real complaint offhand is the look. I mentioned in my X3i review last year that I really wish that Dell would have duplicated the modern, unique look of the X5 when they design the X3. Just in case you have not figured it out yet, the Dell Axim X30 is the same as the X3i with some major enhancements."
What I can tell you is that the X30 is f-a-s-t. I threw a 320 x 240 WMV clip at 1011 kbps, and it played it without a hiccup (yeah, that's over 1 mbps!). That same clip on the same SD card while played in my iPAQ 4150 resulted in a brief sputtering every four seconds. The raw CPU power of the 624 mhz CPU is very impressive for multimedia. Overall, this is the most powerful Pocket PC I've ever tested - witness the benchmark results:
In fact, what's really amazing is how painfully slow the Axim X5 is with the PXA250 CPU. This is the first Pocket PC which, from a performance standpoint, feels truly faster than the original iPAQ based on the 206 mhz StrongARM CPU.
Other interesting bits about this X30 release include the fact that their entry-level non-wireless model will be $199 USD, and that they will have a Bluetooth keyboard released within 60 days or so. Battery life is decent, but not stellar - 3 hours and 17 minutes with the backlight cranked up to maximum. With the 1800 mAH battery that rises to over seven hours, which is very respectable. No backlight and CPU idle? 28 hours and seven minutes. 8O
More on this tomorrow, but definitely go check out Chris' review!
