Palm TX vs LifeDrive vs. Dell Axim 51V

[xbaez]

If you could receive any of these palms for free (really, don't think in the spending to vote for your favorite), which one will you prefer?

1) Palm TX with 4 GB SD card
2) Palm LifeDrive
3) Dell Axim 51 V with 4 GB SD card (keep in mind you could add an 4, or 8 GB Compact Flash as well)

I've used the LifeDrive and the infrared problem is getting me on my nerves. I have to backup my whole memory a lot of times, and my unit resets every week or so (then I lose the infrared, which forces me to do a hard reset, and install the latest backup)

I've tried the Dell Axim 51V with 16 MB of graphic accelerator and it seems a very nice unit.

However I don't like the 'windows based' OS that much (viruses, firewalls, more costs in security..). ANyway, it seems like a better option than my current LifeDrive.

I appreciate your thoughts. I've heard the TX is like the LifeDrive, but stable.

[timepilot84]

I'd take the TX with the memory card. Heck, I'd take the TX without the memory card. I've been using an X51v for several months, and I had an X50v for year before that. Windows Mobile is a lousy platform. It makes really fast hardware slow to a crawl. The Palm devices are much more responsive and the networking works a whole lot better.

I have both a LifeDrive and a TX. The LifeDrive I like, but it has pretty bad battery life (for a Palm device). It's still better than the Axim X51v, but it doesn't have swappable batteries. It's not that big of a deal unless you're flying somewhere on an airline that doesn't have DC power adapters.

The TX has great battery life and is very responsive. I don't use the voice memo at all, that's one thing the LD and Axim have that the TX doesn't. Third party solutions exist if you really need it.

I wanted to check out the Axim X50v/X51v because of the VGA screen. Windows Mobile doesn't really take advantage of all that screen real estate, instead it gives you a smoother looking QVGA screen that takes 4 times as long to refresh. There's a fancy graphics accelerator in the Axims but hardly any software supports it. The OS does not. If only we could run Palm OS on an Axim, that would be a sweet device, to be sure.

If you have a choice, take the TX, unless you need an integrated voice recording option. Then I'd suggest the LifeDrive. People claim the lag on the LD is horrible, but I get far more lag on the Axim, with no reasonable excuse. At least the LD is running off of a hard drive, which explains the lag. If you're an adventurous soul, you can replace said hard drive with a flash card and be done with it (I'm going to do that when I get back from vacation). That gets rid of both the lag and the lousy battery life, from what I've read.

[Cooley]

Dell Axim 51V screen is dull. May be TX and Lifedrive have better screen.

[deuse]

lets put this baby into the pot
http://www.4winmobile.com/1-vt2602.html

now...who wants this one...mmmmmm

[firelord901]

I voted x51v since i like dual slots. Like that its a newer version of BT. I also use my PDA for video/games a lot. If it was PIM i'd vote T|X. I also like tryin different OS's. I'll be gettin a x51v for christmas. Still lookin at the T|X and LD so this will help me as well. Don't forget that the opinions are going to bias since its a palm forum.

[xbaez]

Yeah but with LifeDrive, my infrared is lost around 1-2 times per week, I have to soft reset it, and then install a fresh new backup

Apart from that the TX and the Dell X51V are much smaller

The screen from the X51V is amazing! THe quality of the screen is much, much better

Apart from that I do like the multitasking, this OS seems much better than Palm OS

Things I don't like:
Windows, insecurity
Apart from that, hmm, sometimes the device is 'stuck' for no reason. Like a windows computer, I guess installing lots of programs will make the registry bigger, and make the pocket PC slower, dumber

THanks for all your suggestions, please keep posting

I'm undecided. Palm Support is a joke, haven't tested Dell's support.

[christo101]

Hi there all...

A question to all the modders and technically minded LD owners - would it be possible AT ALL to load Palm OS on the X51v? You need to get rid of WinMob OS, find a way to get Palm OS on there & make Palm OS boot off the X51v...

And you would also need X51v hardware Palm OS drivers - for the WiFi, BT, IRda, etc, etc... And what to do w/ the Graphics chip... But I mean, the X51v is a great PDA, just a shame about the OS...

And maybe get the LD d-pad & buttons onto the X51v, coz the buttons are TINY!

Any takers?

[JAmerican]

Hi there all...

A question to all the modders and technically minded LD owners - would it be possible AT ALL to load Palm OS on the X51v? You need to get rid of WinMob OS, find a way to get Palm OS on there & make Palm OS boot off the X51v...

And you would also need X51v hardware Palm OS drivers - for the WiFi, BT, IRda, etc, etc... And what to do w/ the Graphics chip... But I mean, the X51v is a great PDA, just a shame about the OS...

And maybe get the LD d-pad & buttons onto the X51v, coz the buttons are TINY!

Any takers?

As always, the problem is drivers. Who will wrtie the drivers that will make the USB on the Axim work in Palm OS to sync? Who will create the WiFi drivers? Etc. Also the Palm OS supports a different screen resolution than that of Windows Mobile so you would end up with a 480x320 image on a 640x480 screen.

JAmerican

[firelord901]

Theres a program called StyleTap (search google) that emulates Palm OS so you can put some palm programs on ur axim or ipaq. You'll still have windows mobile but you can use some of the palm programs.

[xbaez]

Has anybody tried StyleTap?
I'll download the program right away

[Furball]

I was just wondering, how would you know if your LifeDrive's infrared is lost every week? Are you using a wireless keyboard daily? I mean, I can't think of any other reason why I would use my LD's infrared... :confused:

Ciao! :)

[xbaez]

If for some reason Agendus Mail, Agendus Pro, Blazer... make my LifeDrive reset, then I'm almost 100% sure that the infrared is lost

Also, sometimes I hotsync my device with my computer, and I reset it

I try to use InfraRed, and it's lost

I do not use Wireless keyboard

[JAmerican]

I use Wireless Keyboard so Infrared better work for me. I have a TX so I don't have the issues as the LD has. If I did, I would be even more irate about Palm products as some already know I am.

JAmerican

[firelord901]

Well good news i'm thinking of getting T|X instead of x51v. Anyone know if theres gonna b a working GBA emulator soon?

[xbaez]

If the X51V and the Palm TX would cost the same, would you still buy the TX?

Could you please specify me the reasons?

[JAmerican]

Using Windows as your home OS where the applications outweigh any other OS makes sense while using Windows Mobile with its viruses, registry and large processors in handhelds that still lag is a perfect example of why to stick with Palm OS. I tried the Treo 700w and loved the keyboard. It actually made me consider a Treo thanks to the fatter and more comfortable keys compared to the 6XX series. But while I loaded apps, I remember waiting like 2 minutes for the device to unlag itself and load right. I took me minutes to get to the Task Manager area to delete apps that were running. This annoyed the heck out of me. This is why I stay away. The virus-free nature of Palm OS as well as the multitude of applications available makes it sensible. If Mac OS had around the same amount of apps as Windows, it would be more favorable to me. I'd go to Linux if it had the amount of apps Palm OS had. Get the picture. The software makes the device. That includes the OS, first-party and third-party apps.

JAmerican

[xbaez]

Well, with my LifeDrive, I can't make Agendus Pro 11, Agendus Mail 5, Splash Money, Splash ID, Splash Picture, Splash Shopper, eReader, TimeTracker, Novii Remote, AvantGo, Power48, UDMH (Needed to run Power48), Warpspeed, Skin UI, Bible+, Resco Backup, Ultralingua, TextPlus, Documents to Go 8, PalmPDF, Pocket Tunes and WorldMate run together

So I don't care if there are thousand of apps, I can't even make 20 apps work together.

I am trying a totally new installation of the LifeDrive, with hard reset and everything

I will install apps one by one, and see at which point the infrared is lost.

I think my LifeDrive may have bad sectors in the disk or something is wrong with the memory, ram, I don't know

I have contacted Iambic telling them that I hard reset my device, I install Agendus PRo 11, I create 3 contacts, then I create a new meeting, then I edit the atendees. I do that 2-3 times and my device resets.
once it resets, infrared is lost!

NOt even that company has a solution for my problem
I've spent so many hours fixing my LifeDrive that I want to sell it and get either a Palm TX or a Dell Axim 51V.

And the tech support from Palm sucks big time "Perform a full reset" is their only solution

I've heard a PalmTX is very stable.
and I've tested the Dell Axim 51V and with either
Battery Pack Pro
or Spb daily

You can force the programs to quit when tapping on the 'X'
You can also make Switcher bar load every time you load windows
and you could buy an antivirus and end of the problem

I hope you get my point. Really I think I've spent around 15 work days fixing my palm LifeDrive in the previous year.

I've used the Dell Axim 51V for 2 weeks and haven't resetter it once

[blues]

I've always wanted a LifeDrive. That Dell is WM, so it's worthless to me.

[jmccullough]

I know it's brand new, and I've been a Palm OS guy for a long time, but does anyone else have any thoughts about that Loox?

[wodkadrinker]

I have an Wm device Hp 2210 for a period of 2 years but since I have a TX I am happy.Very stabile, very simple too use and no more resets.
The biggest problem with WM was for me that it not close's all the programs I used before ( Multitasking ) and so it happend several times a day that a reset was nessersary.With the TX I don't have this problems and why I must use multitasking ?

[danielmaradona]

Are you use that you have the HIehg end model of the AXIM I think it terms of speed it is one of the fastest pocket PC out there both in data access and multimedia performance.

[flogisto]

Any news on Axim x51v performance?

[xbaez]

Multitasking - there are programs that fix that, I believe Battery Pack Pro and SPB Daily fix that, and give you more utilities

Believe me, Dell vs Palm is over
I used the LifeDrive for about 9 months, and I've used the Dell for about 3 months

Dell Axim 51V is SO MUCH BETTER than Palm TX
Palm TX is SO MUCH BETTER than the LifeDrive

Applications for Windows Mobile are more complete, you can't compare SPB Finance to Splash Money for example