Jørgen Sundgot suffers an onslaught of deja vu as he reviews Dell's Windows Mobile 5.0-enabled Axim X51v handheld, finding mostly upsides - and a few annoying surprises.
Review summary of the Dell Axim X51v:
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 The embodiment of incrementality, the Dell Axim X51v only stands apart from its predecessor through its software and increased memory. Still, this elegant handheld harbours specifications that can compete with the best of the best, but we’re disappointed to see the improvements for one-handed navigation in Windows Mobile 5.0 exploited so poorly. For those who don’t mind relying on a stylus, the X51v is a top-notch handheld which shines from both a hardware and software perspective - and like its predecessor, it’s wallet-friendly priced. Release: September 2005. Price: $500.
Pros: Raw processing muscle; abundant, persistent memory; broad connectivity options
Cons: Lacks hard buttons mapped to Windows Mobile 5.0 soft keys; Bluetooth impaired
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Full Dell Axim X51v Review:
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As the first manufacturer out of the door with a Windows Mobile 5.0 enabled handheld, Dell has a stellar chance with the X51v to grab the attention of prospective buyers. Observant readers, however, will quickly notice that there's something eerily familiar about the device - and they're quite right, as the X51v is essentially the company's much-lauded X50v with memory adjustments and Windows Mobile 5.0. The question is: does familiarity breed contempt or success?
You know, you look just like your sister
Unpacking the Axim X51v is like getting reacquainted with an old friend; down to the very last detail, the 119 x 73 x 16 mm, 175 g device is a dead ringer for the X50v - in other words, somewhat hefty yet still attractive with a black and silver colour scheme and rounded bottom giving the handheld a very good feel. It's a bit on the slippery side, though.
The main attraction of the handheld remains its 3.7-inch VGA display with a 640 x 480 pixel resolution and 65K colour depth - not as impressive as it once was given the proliferation of such displays as of late, but still an excellent specimen with excellent brightness, clarity and ClearType performance. Unfortunately, it is joined by the exact same button array as that of the Axim X50v, significantly hampering the utilization of the new Windows Mobile 5.0 navigation paradigm despite their relative prowess as mere hardware.
As before, a quick look around the edges of the device reveals nothing too surprising; memory expansion slots are found atop alongside an IR port and headphone jack, whilst the sides harbour buttons that have minor tendencies of being too easy to press.
Marvellous memory
Again, what's old is new again with the X51v. A 624 MHz Intel PXA270 processor provides horsepower enough to pull even the most demanding of applications at comfortable speed, whilst an 8 MB Intel 2700G graphics accelerator delivers excellent graphics performance. The most notable change in the specifications department, however, is the tweaking of memory to a total of 190 MB of non-volatile memory and 50 MB of RAM - a result of the change to Windows Mobile 5.0, and a very welcome one at that.
Apart from this, specifications remain unchanged; Wi-Fi 802.11b with WEP, WPA and 802.1x is still present, as is Infrared, USB and Bluetooth - although the latter now employs Microsoft's own Bluetooth stack which is very limited compared to the WIDCOMM implementation found in the X50v.
Deceivingly, also the battery of the X51v remains as it was in the X50v - but that doesn't mean there's no change in battery life. For general use, it remains quite similar, but for audio playback the X51v chalked up a very solid 12 hours in our tests; a direct result of its use of persistent memory.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Windows Mobile 5.0
Based on Microsoft's new Windows Mobile 5.0 platform, the X51v unfortunately has a bit of unexploited potential. Although one-handed navigation has been vastly improved across the board, the handheld is quite simply unable to tap into this as it lacks hard keys mapped to the soft buttons.
On the upside, Pocket Internet Explorer has gained a new full screen mode and a progress bar, and the new Office Mobile suite has received sorely needed feature upgrades as well as a new member in PowerPoint Mobile - although roundtrip support remains poor. Also, the Contacts and Inbox applications have received visual makeovers, and now present data more legibly.
The Connection Manager, unfortunately, remains - as always - an unintuitive mess, and the removal of Wi-Fi synchronization support from ActiveSync 4.0 - required for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices - does not at all please us. Furthermore, Exchange 2003 SP2 users hoping to finally gain Tasks synchronization will be disappointed as the X51v lacks a necessary component in MSFP to enable such functionality; fortunately, this functionality is perhaps less important in the X51v than in a communicator device.
Dell also includes several minor 3rd party applications which make for a nice addition - nothing groundbreaking, yet still a nice touch.
Availability
The Dell Axim X51v is now available in Europe and North America, selling for €390 EUR and $500 USD, respectively.
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