.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT SHOOTOUT
.TITLE The Dell Axim X30 vs. palmOne’s Zire 72, Tungsten E, and Tungsten C
.AUTHOR David Gewirtz
.SUMMARY While die-hards fans will always choose their favorite OS, we decided to pit the brand new Dell Axim X30 line against palmOne’s line of handhelds. The results were not nearly as clear-cut as we expected.
.FEATURE
This article has proven to be much harder to write than I originally expected. The idea was to compare the new Dell Axim X30 to the new palmOne Zire 72 that I reviewed back in April. You can read that review at http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200404/00001272001.html. It turned out that we needed to compare the Axim X30 to three different palmOne devices: the Zire 72, the Tungsten E, and the Tungsten C.
Read on to find out who the clear winner is. The results were not nearly as clear-cut as we expected.
.H1 The palmOne Zire 72 vs. the Dell Axim X30
The idea was that because they’re just about the same price (the Zire 72 is $299 and the Axim X30 with integrated wireless is $249), and came out within a few weeks of each other, they’d make excellent candidates for a product shootout.
The thing is, they don’t exactly match in terms of features. The Axim X30 comes in three separate variants, one without wireless and a 321Mhz processor for $199, one with integrated wireless (both WiFi and Bluetooth) for $249, and one with wireless, but running twice as fast, at 624Mhz, for $349.
The Zire 72 comes with Bluetooth, but not WiFi, and has a built-in camera. Table A shows how the two machines compare on specifications.
.BEGIN_TAB_TABLE A Zire 72 vs. the Dell Axim X30 models
.TAB_TABLE_WIDTH 200 200 200 200 200
.TAB_TABLE_HEADER Feature Zire 72 Axim X30 Axim X30 Wireless Axim X30 624Mhz
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Screen resolution 320×320 240 x 320 240 x 320 240 x 320
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Color depth 65,536 colors 65,536 colors 65,536 colors 65,536 colors
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Processor 312Mhz 312Mhz 312Mhz 624Mhz
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Max camera resolution 1280×960 n/a n/a n/a
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Max video resolution 320×240 with sound n/a n/a n/a
.TAB_TABLE_ROW RAM 32MB (24 usable) 32MB 64MB 64MB
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Bluetooth built-in n/a built-in built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW WiFi n/a n/a built-in built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Voice recorder built-in built-in built-in built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Expansion SD card SD card SD card SD card
.TAB_TABLE_ROW List price $299 $199 $249 $349
.END_TAB_TABLE
The model I reviewed was the $249 Axim X30 with the built-in wireless. The biggest issue, assuming you didn’t have a preference for Palm OS or the Pocket PC, is whether you want wireless or a camera. Dell does not currently offer a PDA with a camera, so if that’s a big thing for you, you’ll probably want to go with the Zire 72.
.BREAK_EMAIL There’s a lot more to this shootout. Tap your mouse here to see who’s left standing.
Although I was very, very impressed with the Axim X30, there’s one other area where the palmOne devices win: screen. The screen on the Zire 72 is 320×320, where it’s 240×320 on the Axim X30. And, although this is a subjective judgement, the screens on the palmOne Zire 72, Tungsten E (which I’ll talk about later) and Tungsten T3 are all considerably nicer than the screen on the Axim, where you can really see the pixels.
To be fair, I’ve never seen a handheld LCD screen as nice as on the new palmOne devices, but if we’re comparing, this is an area where Dell’s Axim doesn’t really keep up. It’s not like, in a horse race, where Dell’s the last in the pack. Instead, it’s like palmOne’s screen cross the finish line just one bodylength ahead of the Dell device.
.H1 The palmOne Tungsten E vs. the Dell Axim X30
So, if you want a camera, go for the Zire 72. But what if you want WiFi? Or what if you don’t want WiFi or Bluetooth, and you also don’t want a camera? Which do you go for then?
Here, the best comparison is between the low-end Dell Axim X30 without wireless and the palmOne Tungsten E, both of which are $199. Table B tells the story.
.BEGIN_TAB_TABLE B Tungsten E vs. the Dell Axim X30 $199 model
.TAB_TABLE_WIDTH 200 200 200
.TAB_TABLE_HEADER Feature Tungsten E Axim X30
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Screen resolution 320×320 240 x 320
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Color depth 65,536 colors 65,536 colors
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Processor 126Mhz 312Mhz
.TAB_TABLE_ROW RAM 32MB (24 usable) 32MB
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Voice recorder n/a built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Expansion SD card SD card
.TAB_TABLE_ROW List price $199 $199
.END_TAB_TABLE
Here, again, there’s not strictly a clear winner. The Tungsten E again has a better screen than the Axim X30. But the Axim X30 has twice the performance and a voice recorder. In this competition, you could do quite well with either device. I’d recommend making the decision based on whether you’re a Palm OS fan or a Pocket PC fan.
.H1 The WiFi shootout
Ah, but what if you wanted WiFi. Then what’s your best choice? Here, it gets interesting. The palmOne Tungsten C comes with built-in WiFi and an integrated thumb-size keyboard (like you’ll find on a Blackberry). In this competition, the two higher-end Axim models compete directly against the palmOne device. Table C shows the breakdown.
.BEGIN_TAB_TABLE C Tungsten C vs. the Dell Axim X30 models
.TAB_TABLE_WIDTH 200 200 200 200
.TAB_TABLE_HEADER Feature Tungsten C Axim X30 Wireless Axim X30 624Mhz
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Screen resolution 320×320 240 x 320 240 x 320
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Color depth 65,536 colors 65,536 colors 65,536 colors
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Processor 400Mhz 312Mhz 624Mhz
.TAB_TABLE_ROW RAM 64MB (51 usable) 64MB 64MB
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Bluetooth n/a built-in built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW WiFi built-in built-in built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Integrated keyboard built-in n/a n/a
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Voice recorder built-in built-in built-in
.TAB_TABLE_ROW Expansion SD card D card SD card
.TAB_TABLE_ROW List price $399 $249 $349
.END_TAB_TABLE
Here, we finally have a price-performance winner. The high-end Axim at 624Mhz is considerably faster than the Tungsten C, at $50 less. Plus it has built-in Bluetooth and a voice recorder. If you want WiFi and want to spend considerably less, the slower Axim X30, at $249 gets you into a WiFi handheld for $150 less than palmOne’s product, again with built-in Bluetooth and a voice recorder.
If you’re a die-hard Palm OS fan and don’t mind blowing the extra $150, you’d go with the Tungsten C. But we’re looking at performance rather than religion here. In terms of features, then, if the chicklet keyboard’s important to you or you really, really want a screen that’s somewhat better, you’d go with the palmOne.
But if you’re looking for a price/performance winner, you really can’t beat either Dell Axim X30 in this particular competition.
.H1 On its own
Our review process here at ZATZ is often different from most other tech magazine publishers. We go out of our way to make sure that the we have devices we review on hand for quite some time. Rather than coming out with a review of the Axim X30 the day it shipped, we’ve been using it actively for the past few months. This regular use definitely helped give us a better feel for its strengths and weaknesses.
Having used a Tungsten T3 regularly, the Axim’s screen was a bit of a disappointment. But that was really the only disappointment we had. As I said, we used the middle-tier X30, the one with wireless, but at 312Mhz rather than 624Mhz.
To be honest, I’m not sure we’d need the faster device. This beast is seriously fast. I was extremely impressed by how quickly it downloaded (and rendered) Web pages and ran my usual Pocket PC applications. Because this device uses Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, it also allows you to flip the screen horizontally. This is another feature I’d come to be used to on the Tungsten T3, but it was a nice enhancement for Pocket PCs.
Because I’d never used the built-in wireless in Windows Mobile, but instead used add-on drivers for my Jornada, it took a few minutes to get the wireless configured. But after that, it rocked. Bluetooth was simple and straightforward as well.
If I have any complaint, it’s that the shape of the device is somewhat boxy. As Figure A shows, although the Axim is far smaller than my old, trusty (and a bit rusty) Jornada, it’s also much more square.
.FIGPAIR A It’s hip to be square.
For quick use, this isn’t a problem. But if you’re going to hold it for a few hours on a plane, reading a novel, the more square corners begin to dig into the flesh of your palm.
We’ll be taking the Axim’s Bluetooth functionality out for further tests in the coming months, but so far, we’ve found the built-in networking capabilities to be quite nice.
The Dell Axim X30 is not the best device ever to be built, but it contains a very well-balanced set of features for an aggressive price, and is one of the most feature-complete handhelds we’ve seen, especially for only $249. We give the Axim X30 a not unexpected 4 out of 5.
.RATING 4
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
To read our review of the Zire 72, visit http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200404/00001272001.html.
To read our review of the Tungsten E, visit http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200310/00001107001.html.
For more information on the Dell Axim X30, visit http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/pda.
For more information on palmOne handhelds, visit http://www.palmone.com.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
