Big review of Dell Axim X5

June 21, 2004 | Pavel Koza | format - Other (ar.) | viewed - 249x
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(62 votes) | category - -

Big review of Dell Axim X5

CLASS="code">WARNING: This review is very outdated... But I wanted to have all Widows Mobile 2003 devices reviewed on my website so I did this review. Please, do not tell me that it is off-topic. I KNOW it:)

As far as I can remember, Dell's first Pocket PC PDA called Dell Axim X5 was quite a success, mainly due to its price which helped it win a relatively high market share. Dell offered the device in two modifications from the very beginning, differing in both price and performance. In my opinion, their naming policy was a little unfortunate, because they were called the same, Axim X5, and the only difference was in their attribute - the basic version was called Standard, the most powerful one Performance. They had different processor clock speed (400 MHz vs. 300 MHz) and memory (64 MB RAM + 48 MB ROM vs. 32 MB RAM + 32 MB ROM).

If you are still looking for an ideal device and require two expansion slots and favourable price, this review may help you decide. I'd like to thank AH Mobile and Dell for providing the device for review purposes.

What is in the box?

A new Dell customer, who is otherwise used to colourful packaging of electronic gadgets, may be a little surprised upon the messenger's arrival. Dell selling its products only directly, an attractive glossy box is a pointless luxury. It's the content that matters.

Dell Axim X5
USB cradle
AC adapter with detachable cable
Rubber-coated case
Applications CD-ROM
User manual (English)
Quick-start guide (English)
Safety instructions

I did not like X5 as much as its younger brother - Dell Axim X3i - but more on that later. On the other hand, I found the cradle quite elegant. In general terms, it is a hemisphere with canted edges, made - somewhat surprisingly - of translucent plastic. A blue Dell logo shines on the front during charging. Behind it, there are two slots - one for charging the device (front), the other for charging a spare battery (back). On the rear, there is a power cable connector. The cradle is very stable due to a piece of some metal - it won't move unless pushed by force.

The case did not impress me much. I doubt the primary purpose of an ordinary case is to provide protection against rain, which is the only explanation that occurs to me for the rubber coating that is quite unpleasant to the touch. Besides, the device itself is large and when put in the case, it will fit only in a bag or a very large pocket. There is a small pocket inside for a memory card, for instance. In any case, I think almost all users will opt for a different protection of their new device. Dell probably eventually realised that this was not ideal and ships a 300-percent better case with Dell Axim X3. NOTE: There is probably a new, leather case instead of this one in the new shipments.

On the other hand, the AC adapter is convenient, small, with detachable cable and will not take up much space in your suitcase when travelling. The cable is compatible with the standard cable used in electric shavers and tape recorders.

Finally, the box contains a CD-ROM, a relatively extensive user manual in English, a four-page quick-start brochure (also in English), and safety instructions in several languages including Czech.

Design

As I have hinted above, I did not like the design of Axim X5 very much. Although this is highly subjective, I cannot help myself: the device seems too plump, to say nothing about the excessive dimensions. It is hard to describe the shape - you'd better take a look at the photographs. In the upper half, it is rounded only slightly, the diameter increases towards the bottom while the device grows narrower. The grip is fine, though. The upper part is made of silver-painted plastic, the sides are reinforced with rubber stripes (that HP later copied rather unsuccessfully in its iPAQ h2210), and part of the shell is black at the top. The dimensions are 3.21 x 5.04 x 0.71 in (81.5 x 128 x 18 millimetres), weight 6.9oz (196 grams). Side note: I have not seen another device which would sport the manufacturer's logo on so many different parts - the Dell logo is on different places of the body of the device, on the stylus, both expansion slot plugs, the AC adapter, case... everywhere:)

Under the display of a standard 3.5" (88.9-millimetre) diagonal, there are four user-definable buttons with a joypad in the middle. If you don't like switching the device on by pressing any button, you can deactivate this feature. The joypad looks nice but was quite inaccurate in real life. With some effort, you can control games with it. On the right, below the buttons, there is a modern-design loudspeaker. Above the display, there is the main switch in the middle, which also serves as an event and status indicator - it has a green and orange LED built in to indicate charging, appointments etc. To the left, there is a pinhole - yes, you guess it - it is a microphone.

There is nothing but two battery compartments on the back. The larger one is for the main battery and closes with a latch, the other holds a backup, button-size battery. The question is which solution is better - whether an integrated rechargeable backup battery or a normal replaceable one. Anyhow, Dell opted for the latter.

While the right side is plain, there are four interesting things on the left side - an SD slot, a highly sensitive scrolling wheel, sound record button, and a software reset button. Major objection here - it is easy to press the reset accidentally with your thumb, which happened to me several times when I wanted to start recording sound.

On the top side, there are also four things to notice. Most of the side is occupied by a CompactFlash slot type I and II. Right next to it is the infrared eye, and on the other side, a standard 3.5-millimetre stereo headphones jack. On the very right, there is the stylus shaft. On the bottom side of the device, there is a connector for direct charging and a data connector for linking the device with the PC.

Pocket PC	Dimensions (in. / mm)	Weight (oz / g)
Asus MyPal A620BT	3.02 x 4.92 x 0.52 76.8 x 125 x 13.3	4.98 141
Asus MyPal A716	3.07 x 5.31 x 0.69 78 x 135 x 17.6	6.95 197
Dell Axim X3i	3.04 x 4.82 x 0.59 77.2 x 117 x 14.9	4.94 142
Dell Axim X5	3.21 x 5.04 x 0.71 81.5 x 128 x 18	6.9 196
FSC Pocket LOOX 420	2.81 x 5.12 x 0.56 70.6 x 113.1 x 14.1	4.41 125
FSC Pocket LOOX 610BT	3.07 x 5.81 x 0.72 113.1 x 70.6 x 14.1	7.23 125
HP iPAQ h1940	2.75 x 4.46 x 0.5 69.8 x 113.3 x 12.8	4.38 124
HP iPAQ h2210	3.01 x 4.54 x 0.61 76.4 x 115.4 x 15.4	5.09 144
HP iPAQ h4150	2.78 x 4.47 x 0.53 70.6 x 113.6 x 13.5	4.66 132
HP iPAQ h5550	3.31 x 5.43 x 0.63 84 x 138 x 15.9	7.3 206.8
MiTAC Mio339	2.83 x 4.88 x 0.6 73 x 122 x 13.8	4.36 120
MiTAC Mio558	2.83 x 4.88 x 0.6 72 x 124 x 15.3	6 170
Toshiba e400	3 x 4.9 x 0.4 76.2 x 124.4 x 10.1	4.59 130
Toshiba e800	3 x 5.3 x 0.6 80 x 125 x 15.2	6 179
T-Mobile MDA II	2.75 x 5.12 x 0.71 70 x 130 x 19	6.53 185

Parameters

Dell Axim X5 offers the most common components that we can find in present-day Pocket PCs. The device is powered by an Intel PXA255 processor running at 400 MHz (if you see Axim with PXA250, it is not a mistake - this processor had been used before PXA255 was introduced). You can adjust the clock speed using a software utility from Dell. The utility offers three static modes and one dynamic mode that adjusts the speed automatically as appropriate for the workload. The maximum setting makes the processor run at 400 MHz, the lower settings decrease performance. The main reason for this regulation is to decrease power consumption when you don't need the maximum computing power. The only minor problem is that you need to reset the device for changes to take effect. There is enough memory for data and applications, although 64 MB is nothing very impressive these days. On the other hand, you can use a full 63.33 MB, which is not very common. The device offers a larger flash ROM than standard, a total of 48 MB, out of which over 21 MB can serve as a safe storage for sensitive data.

The display appears slightly worse than those of competing devices. It is not very bright even with maximum backlight intensity, and has a slight yellow tint. Although the specifications are the same for all transflexive TFT displays, in reality, they differ. Axim's display compares to the competition only in the standard resolution of 240x320 pixels, 65k colours and an 88.9-millimetre diagonal. I would also criticise excessive black borders around the viewable area. At least it is well readable in direct sunlight. You can adjust the backlight intensity manually at eight different levels separately for battery and mains operation. Dell does not offer the automatic backlight adjustment feature. Just to make the information complete, you can easily toggle the ClearType technology.

Unfortunately, the audio features are nothing to write home about, either. The main problem is that for my ears, the headphones output produces a higher than tolerable level of noise during MP3 and video playback. Theoretically, it could be remedied by reducing the trebles, if Axim offered such a settings option. It is not so apparent when listening to loud rock music but if you prefer calm music and require clear sound, this Axim is nothing for you. However, the general audio quality is not very good even if you forget about the noise. The only praiseworthy quality is a high maximum volume. Question is though if anyone will use it considering the overall quality of the sound output. Likewise, the microphone performance is rather below standard. A direct, close-distance recording is quite OK but the mike fails in recording a debate of several people. That despite software adjustment of microphone sensitivity. On the other hand, the built-in loudspeaker produces a good-quality output.

Communication features can be summarised in one sentence. There is no other way to communicate with the outer world but a standard serial infrared port and USB cable, unless you use a CF expansion card. Axim could have gained more points in the overall rating had it offered the possibility to remotely control home appliances, such as a TV set, VCR or DVD player, but it did not.

The only outstanding quality of Axim X5 is battery life. The battery lasted for almost 6 hours with maximum backlight and normal usage (the test utility stopped measuring at 1 % but Axim stayed alive for another 10 minutes or so), which is an excellent result. On the other hand, it would be a shame if it performed worse, considering its 1440-mAh battery. The battery is replaceable and if you like, you can buy a spare 3400-mAh (!) battery which will be able to power the device for more than twice as long. A replaceable backup "button-size" battery protects the memory contents during the time you need to replace the main battery.

Expandability

Expandability options are the same as in other devices equipped with two expansion slots. You can add any functionality to Axim, from wireless communication to a digital camera. However, the SD slot will work with memory cards only. Besides that, Dell offers e.g. a foldable keyboard for those who need to type more than appointments and brief notes.

Software

By default, the device comes with a pre-installed operating system from Microsoft, in this case Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Premium Edition, which means the ROM contains the complete package of Microsoft applications for Pocket PC (except for those designed for Phone Edition, obviously). On top of that, Dell bundled a few bonus apps both in the ROM and the accompanying CD-ROM. They are mostly applets and simple utilities, but you know how it is with the gift horse...

One of the bonus utilities is called Home and does nothing else but launches other applications. The user can arrange applications in groups and easily launch them from a menu activated by a press of one of the buttons (which was assigned this task by default) or from the Start menu.

Another application has a self-explaining name Data Backup and makes it possible to easily back up your data to a memory card or the safe storage and restore them again. If you want to economise on space, you can choose to back up only selected files, such as PIM data.

Possibilities for managing running tasks on any Pocket PC are atrocious, so most users opt for third-party solutions. Dell spares its customers the desperation and preloaded a simple utility called Switcher Bar in the ROM. Upon activation, the utility sits in the tray and will display a list of running tasks when tapped. You can easily switch between them or close them. On top of that, Switcher Bar also offers a shortcut to the Backlight and Power applets.

The only CD-ROM provided with the device contains nothing but the usual combination of Microsoft Outlook 2002 and Microsoft ActiveSync 3.7 for desktop PC and several applications for Pocket PC. Besides a few free utilities, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader for Pocket PC, there are also a handful of demo versions. Unfortunately, Dell's aggressive pricing policy did not allow for bundling full versions.

Pricing

Note of the editor: Since the X5 is no longer available from the Dell's website, this part of review is no longer valid... ~~In my opinion the price tag of $299 is a little exaggerated for a rather morally outdated device, especially now, when there are several dozen various models of different brands.~~ Last but not least, we should not forget about the new Axim X3 series, which I liked much better (as far as I can remember from my review). On the other hand, Dell offers traditionally good warranty conditions. The manufacturer will replace your device on site within two days upon reporting a problem. On top of that, if you spend a few extra bucks, the warranty will apply to all problems, including those evidently caused by the user, such as letting the device fall, spilling coffee over it etc.

[POLL]

Benchmarks & Tests

In my effort to offer increasingly value-added "services", I have extended the Benchmarks & Tests chapter to include detailed description of the tests I performed on each device. I have complied a 128-MB test SD card with various games (Anthelion, Snails and Z-Raid [affiliate]), videos (a trailer for Shrek 2 in MPEG format with 650 kbps bitrate, and the same short video in Windows Media format with 250, 500 and 1000 kbps bitrates), MP3 music of various genres, several documents and images. I chose the 1-Mbps limit for videos because with this bitrate, a 150-seconds clip has more than 21 MB, which means that a two-hour feature film would take up over 1 GB. Even though memory cards are available in ever larger capacities, I think there is no point in bothering with a better quality, especially if we consider the fact that on such a small display, there is virtually no difference between this clip and a clip with half the bitrate. In fact, the subjective quality of a clip with the lowest bitrate is more than sufficient. One more note - while in the previous parts of the review I tried to give priority to the facts over my impressions and feelings, it will be the other way round in the following part:)

First tests were a great disappointment, the device's performance was very poor. Only later did I realise that I may have a "lethargy -stricken" device. And really - the device had a ROM version A04, which is known to be problematic. After half an hour or so of searching on the internet (could not find it on Dell's website), I found a new version, A05. The upgrade process was not particularly smooth either but I was eventually lucky. See below a table showing the difference in benchmark tests with the two respective ROM versions. Apparently, X5 without upgrade is a disaster.

	Dell Axim X5 (A04)	Dell Axim X5 (A05)
Spb Benchmark index	514	1063
CPU index	1658	1808
File system index	274	1140
Graphics index	433	450
ActiveSync index	2076	2303

Nevertheless, the best available ROM did not improve the performance significantly. It was possible to watch Windows Media video saved on an SD card only at the lowest bitrate (250 kbps) and it still was not perfect. On the other hand, an MPEG video was quite OK, yet not perfectly smooth, either. When I copied a WM file with medium bitrate (500 kbps) to the main memory, it played without any problems but this solution is not ideal given the size of movie files.

As far as playing games is concerned, there is no point in repeating what I wrote earlier. The joypad sometimes had its own will. The speed was worse in comparison with similar devices - in Z-Raid, the refresh rate was 45 fps, which is ca 10 fewer than in most other Pocket PCs I have tested. On the other hand, the difference was not so apparent in the 3D game Anthelion.

The expansion slots worked fine. I tried several memory cards in the SD slot; the CF slot worked even with a Microdrive.

And finally, some figures. I use Spb Benchmark for a complete performance test. Having reviewed several new Pocket PCs, I can compare them. If you are interested in the detailed results, the complete .XML file is available for download here:Benchmarks [3KB]. If you copy the contents of the file to the form on this page (click on Add device), you can compare the results with other devices.

I tested the graphics also with the GXmark graphical performance test. It is not as sophisticated as Spb Benchmark and offers comparison only with iPAQ h3600 but it at least shows how many graphic objects can move on the display simultaneously:)