Dell's Axim finally hits Australian shores. Has time passed this PDA by, or is it still a worthy buy? Check out our Australian review.
It's been a while since we first heard of the Dell Axim; at first Dell was cagey about its existence, then it launched in the US just before Christmas in a very busy market. Dell's main pitch for the Axim was that it was cheaper than its competitors. Now, some months later, the Axim is finally available locally, and the question of whether its lower price still makes it compelling made it worth another look.
First, the bad news; it's more expensive to buy a local Axim than an American one. The 300MHz Axim Dell sent us retails for US$249, or around AU$420 at current conversion rates. The exact same unit, purchased locally, will cost you AU$578.60, which is a fairly large upwards conversion. As we noted in our initial review, you could always import one, although how Dell would treat you in support terms is an interesting question to ponder.
At AU$578.60, though, the Axim is still a pretty compelling little unit. Its closest competitor is the Toshiba e310, which retails for AU$698.50, and comes with a slower processor. Both of these units, of course, also pitch their wares against the lower-priced Palm alternatives; it's great to see some real competition in this space. The entry-level Axim comes with a 300MHz XScale processor, 32MB of RAM and ROM and a QVGA (240x320) screen. Like the much costlier Toshiba e740, the Axim supports both SD and CompactFlash media, although unlike the e740, the SD card slot is on an odd side of the PDA rather than the top of it.
Our previous review covers most of what's good (and bad) about the Axim, although we did notice a few other interesting design choices for the Axim. We can't say that we're greatly impressed with the five-way navigation button at the bottom of the Axim; it's pretty loose and prone to mis-navigation. Likewise, it took us some time to get accustomed to the Axim's unusual stylus. While most PDAs opt for a circular, pen-like stylus, the Axim's stylus is more reminiscent of a flattened and elongated fish. It's not the most immediately comfortable thing to hold, and unlike pen-shaped styli, it's possible to put it back in the unit the wrong way round.
Dell's certainly not being backwards about accessories for the Axim; while many PDAs are launched with promises of add-ons, the additional time we've had to wait for the Axim appears to have paid off, with optional keyboards in two variations, a choice of USB or Serial sync cables and secondary batteries up to 3400mAh. Adding any of these in, of course, does erode the price differential pretty quickly.
Dell Axim X5
Company: Dell Australia
Price: AU$578.60
Phone: 1800 812 393
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