PocketPC for less: Dell Axim X5

,;cm you prewayy you work. 'a;rir OS and find it • subdued but high',taking the shift from - l'acketPC presents untold

:n mind. we had an extend' .-rod with the Dell Axim X5. that the Axim PDA suffers . .it the hands of the operating . ich is cumbersome and frus-. • .:. especially for anyone used to a „rent OS in their palmtop devices.

The layout of the Axim X5 is excellent, with a scroll/action switch that moves up and down to scroll within documents and Web sifts, or in the various directories for choosing applications. The scroll switch can also be pushed in and acts as an action key. The switch is on the left hand side of the device and affords onehanded operation of the unit by both left- and right-handed people, by using either the thumb of the left hand or the middle finger of the right.

Beneath the scroll switch is a one-touch record button that allows for easy record-

ing of voice memos, which are played

back with surprising quality through the

small speaker on the front or through

stereo headphones plugged in to the

headphone jack on the top of the unit.

The X5 is Dell's first entry into the PocketPC market and comes in two varieties: A 400 MHz unit with beefed up

RAM and ROM for $499, and a I css expensive but still very functional 300 MHz unit for 5379. The 400 MHz XS tested comes with an attractive desktop charging and synchronizing cradle. The X5 slips into the front slot and, as a nice added feature, there is a second slot behind it for charging a spare battery sans PDA.

The X5 is rated for eight to 10hours of use on a full charge. Presumably this rating is taken using moderate use — no movie playing. and with the processor scaled back to 200 MHz (which happens automatically when the PDA is removed from the charging cradle, but can be changed) and the LCD screen's brightness set low. In our tests, the XS easily lasted throughout the day, but battery life starts to fall when playing media files like MP3s and movies. However, it still offered up an impressive seven

hours of use, alternating between media playback and regular, everyday use like using the appointment book, phone directory, or scribbling short notes, before giving the low battery warning.

Text input is very similar to Palm's Grafitti method, but is a marked improvement. It does a better job of recognizing keystrokes, and since the text entry window is part of the LCD screen, shows users what they're entering as the screen traces the stylus strokes with a black line. Other text entry options include an onscreen keyboard; Letter Recognizer, which is similar to Graffiti but offers spotty results and Transcriber, which allows users to write anywhere on

the screen. Transcriberdoesagood job of converting writing to text if your writing

style fits into its parameters: mine didn't, and I had more than a few "beat up Martin / cat up Martha" moments, for youSintpsons fans out there.

Moving from my old Handspring

Deluxe — which is under-powered by today's standards but still does most

everything I need — to the Dell Axim X5,

it's hard not to be impressed with the 3.5inch 65,000-colour LCD screen, 400 MHz XScale processor, 64 MB SDRAM and 48

MB flash ROM storage on the model tested. These features and others — like the side Secure Digital storage expansion slot and top Compact Flash Type II slot for expansion modules — are impressive, but for those only looking for a digital alternative to a paper day planner, they're overkill. However, someone looking for a powerful device that can rightly be called a PC in your pocket may find that Axim fits the bill as well as other PocketPCbased PDAs, at a price point significantly lower than others on the market. •

ore

Adm XS 400 MHz $499 300 MHz 5379 Dell vnew.dell.com

INFO

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