PocketPC advice needed (urgent)

I just did the stupidest thing imaginable.

I was taking my laundry out of the laundry machine, when I discovered my Dell Axim X51v was mixed in with the laundry. It must've fallen into my laundry pile without me noticing.

Needless to say it did not survive. [C]

It's not under warranty anymore, so I guess I should buy a new one. Axim's aren't sold anymore, so I need something else. I was hoping you guys could help me.

My requirements:
- Not a phone. I don't want a smartphone or PDA phone. Unless bought in Japan they won't work here anyway, and I just bought a phone less than a month ago. Just a regular PocketPC!
- VGA screen. Full 480x640 192DPI required. The Axim had that and I'm not going back.
- WM5 or 6. WM6 would be nice of course, but not a disaster if I have to stay with 5.
- Specs similar or better than the Axim X51v would be nice too.

EDIT: I new a new one soon! This thing was my calendar, contacts, Japanese dictionary, Japanese kanji practice device, MP3 player, e-book reader... it won't help that I'll likely have to order one abroad to get a non-Japanese one.

And you think you're stupid? ... I've washed my PDA twice!

First off, try these folk:

http://www.expansys.nl/p.aspx?i=138684

If that fails, then you could go with something like the Acer or the Fujitsu

Ray6 wrote:

http://www.expansys.nl/p.aspx?i=138684

They don't sell outside Europe (remember, I'm in Japan).

Sven Groot wrote:



Ray6 wrote: http://www.expansys.nl/p.aspx?i=138684

They don't sell outside Europe (remember, I'm in Japan).

My mistake; I saw your flag and didn't read your post properly ...

Go look at pdadb.net for details of what's available. This URL will take you to the devices with VGA resolution displays.

http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdalist&list=vga

(There aren't that many of them.)

You asked about Windows Mobile 6 Classic (not Professional as they are phones and not Standard because they are phones and don't have a touch screen). Unfortunately, I don't think there are any devices available running Windows Mobile 6 Classic yet.

I'd recommend expanding your search to include Windows Mobile 6 Professional devices which are Quad Band and so will work in Japan.

Simon Jones
Contributing Editor
PC Pro Magazine

SimonJ wrote:

I'd recommend expanding your search to include Windows Mobile 6 Professional devices which are Quad Band and so will work in Japan.

I'm just not sure how that would work. You can't really buy stand-alone phones here, they're always tightly bound to a contract (my phone even has the carrier's name on it). The sim card in my phone is completely different from the type of SIM card European phones use. My subscription requires the use of 3G, so it would have to be a phone that supports that. It would also need to be able to support the push e-mail that all phones here have, and it would need to be able to display Japanese characters in e-mails and web pages (I get some important messages in Japanese some times). Non-Japanese versions of Windows Mobile cannot do the latter without a lot of registry hacking.

Plus, like I said, I bought a phone a month ago. I'm paying a monthly fee for it. Seems a bit silly to buy a new one.

And I don't actually like the whole phone/PDA combination thing. Smartphones have no touch screen and are too small to be good PDAs. PDA Phones are too big to be good phones (if it's my phone I have to be comfortable with carrying it in my jeans pocket all the time, which I wouldn't imagine doing with something the size of a PDA).

So far the best option is still just getting a replacement X51v, if I can find one somewhere. I sent a message to Dell support if they can get me a replacement (even if I have to pay for it since the warranty expired). We'll see what happens.

This just sucks big time.

Sven Groot wrote:

 Axim's aren't sold anymore, so I need something else.

I'm sure ebay sells them.

I have a new ViewSonic V37 still in the box.

I've been using one for years.

eagle wrote:

I have a new ViewSonic V37 still in the box.

Windows Mobile 2003 and QVGA? Sorry, but definitely no.

i'll trade you my axim x51v for an unlocked HTC TyTN 

Dylan C wrote:

You're lucky Axims aren't sold anymore. Biggest piece of crap ever. I have an X5 and it takes 3 days and 6 hours to put a 700mb video on the SD card. Also, it tells me my backup battery is running low every time I turn it on. Even if the battery is brand new, it still says it.

Well, I loved mine. Never had any trouble with it, aside some of the lousy translations in the Dutch version of Windows Mobile. Never had an X5, so I can't comment on that one.

littleguru wrote:

Can't your parents order you one and send it over?

Yeah, I'm contemplating that. I'll wait and see what Dell says about replacing the unit, and if they can't/won't/it's too expensive/will take too long, I might just do that.

So far I haven't seen any attractive alternatives to getting another X51v.

eBay??

Personally, I'm waiting until I've got enough money for a Fujitsu Pocket Loox...

Or a HTC Kaiser/Wizard

I searched on eBay and sifted through the cr@p (cases, screen protectors etc.) and found these. You might find them useful

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-X51v-PDA-with-Dell-Bluetooth-GPS-SAT-NAV-Pack_W0QQitemZ220124462073QQihZ012QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Dell-Axim-X51v-624MHz-PDA-x51-WIFI-Bluetooth-Cradle_W0QQitemZ140130285849QQihZ004QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-X51v-Pocket-PC-Mobile-5_W0QQitemZ200119992846QQihZ010QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-PDA-Axim-X51v-Bluetooth-624-Mhz-2GB-GPS-TOM-TOM_W0QQitemZ330134644627QQihZ014QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-X51v-624-MHz-PDA-Virtually-NEW-GPS-Sat-Nav_W0QQitemZ160128865763QQihZ006QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-X51V-624MHz-PDA-w-Bluetooth_W0QQitemZ270135737804QQihZ017QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-X51v-with-various-accessories_W0QQitemZ170124285823QQihZ007QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PDA-Palmare-Dell-Axim-X51V-624-MHz-Wi-Fi-with-Software_W0QQitemZ130126373944QQihZ003QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-x51v-Pocket-PC-Windows-Mobile-5-3D-MINT_W0QQitemZ300122776496QQihZ020QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Axim-X51v-Accessories_W0QQitemZ290131932538QQihZ019QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-AXIM-x51v-624-PDA-sealed-in-original-packaging_W0QQitemZ230145072866QQihZ013QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I've just placed an order for the Toshiba G900. Nice 800x480 display and a pull-out keyboard and a phone and relatively small compared with a normal PDA. Needed to upgrade as I'm fed up of my old O2 XDA IIs not having a stylus holder that works and wanted something better to host the excellent DVD Profiler Mobile app on.

I picked the Toshiba G900 after picking up a copy of "PDA Essentials & GPS Advisor" magazine and checking out the reviews. If you can wait for it to arrive I'm happy to forward the magazine on if you email me your address, although it's obviously geared towards UK readers.

irascian wrote:

I've just placed an order for the Toshiba G900. Nice 800x480 display and a pull-out keyboard and a phone and relatively small compared with a normal PDA. Needed to upgrade as I'm fed up of my old O2 XDA IIs not having a stylus holder that works and wanted something better to host the excellent DVD Profiler Mobile app on.

I picked the Toshiba G900 after picking up a copy of "PDA Essentials & GPS Advisor" magazine and checking out the reviews. If you can wait for it to arrive I'm happy to forward the magazine on if you email me your address, although it's obviously geared towards UK readers.

The G900 looks good, what's the battery-life like when playing MP3s non-stop in low-power mode, how bright is the backlight, and what graphics chipset does it have? (I'm guessing it doesn't have the X51v's 3D accelerator)

irascian wrote:

I've just placed an order for the Toshiba G900. Nice 800x480 display and a pull-out keyboard and a phone and relatively small compared with a normal PDA. Needed to upgrade as I'm fed up of my old O2 XDA IIs not having a stylus holder that works and wanted something better to host the excellent DVD Profiler Mobile app on.

Interesting, I've seen some mentions that Softbank (my mobile carrier) is going to offer the G900 here in Japan. All the sites I see mention "by the end of June" but so far nothing's up on the Softbank site. Plus they'd probably only offer a version with the Japanese version of Windows Mobile. Still, it means that the chances of this thing working over here are good.

It's rather expensive though, almost $300 more than getting a new X51v would cost me.

In other news: my X51v still works! Sort of, anyway. I checked it again this morning and it turns on!

There's two caveats though: I'm not entirely sure the battery's charging when I plug it in. You can see the LCD brightness change so it's obviously aware of the connection, but the top LED doesn't turn red (nor green, so it's not because it's fully charged) and WM doesn't show the charging icon.

And more importantly, the screen's messed up something good. Lots of striping. Maybe it'll clear up, but if it doesn't, I'll still need a replacement.

Still, I'm impressed. It spent 45 minutes submerged in water and washing detergent, and it still works. Dell builds these things to last.