When newer isn't better

When newer isn’t better.

I recently decided to upgrade to the Dell Axim v51. This may have been a huge mistake. I’ve been an Axim 3 user for several years now. Generally, I’ve like the Axim 3. I decided to upgrade due to some sale pricing and discounts. The Axim 3 tends to eat up battery life when using wireless. The Axim v51 is much better on power. But that’s about all I can say right now.

It takes forever for the device to power up and to become accessible. For instance, once you power up, it can take 10 seconds or up to a minute for the screen to receive input commands. The video is supposed to be far superior to the Axim 3. However, the graphic rendering on software applications is horrible. Sometimes, it doesn’t paint classic games (like Conquest) correctly, and performs very poorly.

One thing that I really dislike is that some of the functions in the previous version of Windows Mobile don’t translate (as far as I can tell). For instance, one thing I always liked was the ability to dial or transfer data via Bluetooth to my telephone. It doesn’t seem to have this ability at all. Although discussed in the manual, it just isn’t there.

I thought that I had waited long enough for the bugs to be fixed on the new Windows Mobile. I was wrong. Hold off purchasing a Windows Mobile device for a while. At least hold off until Microsoft becomes more interested in providing support on the website. Right now, they are obsessed with support for Windows Mobile for cell phones. There isn’t a lot there for PDAs.

BTW, for some odd reason, my Axim 3 died just as I was putting together my new device. So I can’t go back!