Axim x50 - is it worth the price?

[Dag]

I'll be getting a new PocketPC soon, and I've basically got my heart set on either an Axim x30 (best model) or an Axim x50v.
I'm just wondering if it's worth it to get the x50v as opposed to the x30. The x50v only seems to be better in that it's got:
- a CF slot
- a 640 x 480 VGA screen
- 64MB more on board memory
Tempting, yes, but is it worth the extra $200 (Canadian dollars)? I know, I know, that's ultimately in the eye of the beholder, but could anyone with one of those models comment? Is the difference between the screens really noticeable? Is the CF slot important to have?
My current handheld is a Visor Neo, so I'm still getting up to speed with all the new stuff
On another note, why is some onboard memory called ROM when it is not in fact read-only? Certain parts of it are read only (at least on Palm OS), but obviously it can be written to, so why the misleading monicker?

[Brad Isaac]

Hi Dag, and welcome to our forums
I guess it all depends on whether you'll be looking at movies on your Pocket PC or if you have a need for the expanded resolution. If you have and use a particular CompactFlash card that you may have difficulty replacing insecure digital format than there might be actual money savings by going with the x50v. In other words what I'm trying to say is if you have a GPS receiver that connects via a CompactFlash card, to replace that in SD format will probably cost you well over $200

[gre]

Dag
I was looking for a new device with VGA and short listed the Dell Axim X50v and the HP hx4700. I chose the Dell because it was over £100 cheaper in the UK than the HP, and all the reviews for the Dell were good. When I first received the Dell I was a little disappointed as there were issues with the screen being very slow to respond to taps etc. Fortunately Dell released a ROM upgrade which fixed this and some other niggles.
In answer to your question if you plan to use your PDA for surfing the web and using spreadsheets a lot then I would recommend out of the 2 that you go with the X50v and use SE_VGA available from http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=14679 as this will then give you true 640x480 resolutions (although this is only realistically usable with spreadsheets and Pocket IE).
Hope this helps, and if you want any more information on the X50v then please ask.

[Drum4ever]

As to the ram and rom, I think they are just staying with farmiliar naming conventions and don't think we know what they mean. They make no sense. They are different memory types but the "rom" is not all read-only.
Probably bad marketing to say 64meg of fast memory and 128meg of slow storage memory. 8-)

[PockyBum522]

I'd just like to let you know that it won't let you down, you can play everything on this puppy, watch movies at great quality, and the dual memory cards are nice too. (However if you're not playing killer games or watching high-res movies, you might want to take a little off the price and go with something older)

[Dag]

Thanks guys... I've made up my mind, and the x50v has been ordered.
Now I'm just hoping I'm not going to get unlucky with Dell's "Russian Roulette" shipping.

[PockyBum522]

I'm luckier than some, all I was missing were the screen protectors. Still unacceptable.

[corny]

Originally Posted by Drum4ever

As to the ram and rom, I think they are just staying with farmiliar naming conventions and don't think we know what they mean. They make no sense. They are different memory types but the "rom" is not all read-only.
Probably bad marketing to say 64meg of fast memory and 128meg of slow storage memory. 8-)

the 128 meg rom chip doubles as built in storage and rom. So that might be why it's called rom.

[Brad Isaac]

Originally Posted by Dag

Now I'm just hoping I'm not going to get unlucky with Dell's "Russian Roulette" shipping.

I think the ship date for Axims ordered over the weekend were today Feb. 14th. Another friend of mine ordered one and got that as the expected ship date.