Dell Axim X51 Pocket PC

"The Bottom Line"
The Dell Axim 51V is a very expensive handheld PC with more limitations than a cheap insurance policy. Unless you have a new computer with all of the recent updates installed and you never plan to use it outside of your own home then avoid this device.

"Why I purchased"
I purchased the Axim 51V from Dell to use as a portable PC to bring with me during my chemotherapy infusions. I also wanted to take it along to places like Borders, Starbucks, etc. My primary use for this device was for e-mail, web browsing, music, videos and games. I chose the 51V model primarily because it had the fastest processor and best graphics of the Axim family.

"First Day with the Axim: The problems begin."
Upon receiving the Axim I tried to install the synching software on my laptop computer. I was horrified to find out that the software will not install on a computer that is not running Windows XP with Service Pack 2. (My laptop has some issues that will not allow me to install XP Service Pack 1 and 2.) There was no mention of this requirement on Dell's site nor did any of the Dell customer service reps inform me about it when I asked for the full system requirements. Unfortunately for me, I had a brand new Axim with no way to synch it with my computer. No synching meant that I would not be able to install firmware updates, games, music, videos, etc.

"The Wi-Fi Fiasco"
The wi-fi connection setup was extremely easy and worked very well. The setup program on the Axim recognized my home wireless network right away and I was checking e-mail and surfing the web immediately. Unfortunately this is the only place I was able to use the wi-fi feature as it would not connect to any other wi-fi hot spot anywhere. I even tried to connect it to my wireless phone, via Bluetooth, but even that failed. So now I had a brand-new Dell Axim 51V that would not be able to install firmware updates, games, music, videos, etc., nor use e-mail or Internet anywhere else than my own home.

"Crippled Internet"
I started surfing the web and found that many sites would not work on the Axim and I would get error messages that said my browser was outdated and required an upgrade. The pre-installed browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer but for some reason it was deemed as "incompatible" with many common web sites. I did not find any newer versions of the browser to upgrade but even if I had, I would not have been able to upgrade online and would not have been able to install it due to the synching issues. Sites that deliver streaming media such as YouTube, iFilm and Myspace would not work on this device because it requires Shockwave and Flash software which, again, could not be done on the Axim. So now I had a brand-new Axim that would not be able to install firmware updates, games, music, videos, surf most web sites nor use Internet or e-mail anywhere outside of my home.

"Power Struggle"
After closing the browser, disabling the wireless and closing all other open applications I saw that the battery on the Axim was at 10% full. I had only used the device for an hour and it had been fully charged when I began. With Windows Mobile 5 you must go into "Settings" then "System" then "Memory" and then "Running Programs" and close all apps from there to get them to stop hogging the system resources. I also had to open "Settings" then "System" then "Power" then "Processor" to reduce the processor speed to conserve battery use. So now I had a brand-new Dell Axim 51v that would not be able to install firmware updates, games, music, videos, surf most web sites nor use the web or e-mail from anywhere but my own home and it would only run for about an hour. In other words I had an expensive product that was basically worthless to me.

Epilogue
I still have the Axim but I rarely use it. I now have a new Blackberry 8830 and it does internet, e-mail, games, updates and more with no problems or hassles.