Dell Axim X50v - Part II - The Internal Applications

Part II - The Internal Applications Supplier: Dell UK Manufacturer: Dell UK Product: Dell Axim X50v Colour: Black/Silver Cost: £289 ex vat; £349 inc VAT & Delivery Supplier Product Web Site: http://www.Dell.co.uk Home Page: http://www.dell.co.uk This part of the review concentrates on the Applications that are provided in ROM, looking specifically at the Dell modified applications, or applications that Dell have added on top of Windows Mobile 2003SE. So Please read on and enjoy the second part of the review brought to you by Tekguru. For your delectation all photographs are thumbnails which may be clicked on to load a image. The Today Screen Pictured is the initial Today screen that appears after the first time power up, in both Potrait & Landscape mode because I couldn’t resist!! Nothing unusual here, all the usual suspects, sorry I mean standard today screen plug-ins are present. But immediately noticeable, an extra icon in the task-bar in addition to Bluetooth & Activesync connection, which gives access to the pre-loaded Dell Wi-Fi configuration utility. More on that later in the review. Included Applications First thing to note is that the Axim X50v comes with Windows Media Player 10 pre-loaded, I thought I’d mention it as I noticed that it seemed to cause quite a hoo-ha in the forums. In my limited playing with it, it is a definite big improvement on the version that came with my trusty old XDA-II. All the usual Windows Mobile suspects are there, namely File Explorer, MSN Messenger, Pocket Excel, Pocket Word, Terminal Services Client. Not a lot to say about these, as they are the standard apps supplied with most Windows Mobile devices, so, without further ado, I’ll leave it at that and move on. You’ll note that the screenshot includes a few apps that I have installed, namely Resco Photo Viewer & Screen Capture, which do not come with the native device. I know I said I’d leave the standard included applications in the previous table, but I couldn’t help but include a mention the Terminal Services client running on the superb Dell VGA screen. Truly revolutionary is all I can say, and yes, this is the first time that I have used a VGA device, which my excitement may indicate!! In my opinion, and I hope the screen shot conveys what I mean, the VGA screen on this device has made this application infinitely more usable, and as a regular user of TS at home and at work, increased the usefulness of the PDA no end. As the screenshot shows, I am able to display the entire screen of my Windows2003 server, and not a laptop in sight!! Welcome to the first of the additional applications, these are applications that are added by Dell over and above what forms part of Windows Mobile 2003SE. Dell Mirror is an interesting looking application, as documented it purports to allow an external display to be connected to the Axim X50v, although I wasn’t able to test this, as I assume that some extra hardware on a par with the XDA-II backpack, or maybe some kind of CF device, is required to enable the connection of an external monitor. The second additional application takes the form of Home, now, I haven’t seen this on any other HTC produced PDAs that I’ve owned, namely the Himalya (XDA-II) & the Magician (MDA Compact), but the application about screen indicates that it was developed by HTC themselves, so I can only conclude that Dell didn’t add this themselves, but maybe contracted HTC to include it in the OS Build. The application itself is best described as a program launcher, which facilitates large push button access to the applications that you configure within. It allows the creation of classes, probably better described as a way to group your applications together. A simple tool, and functionally limited when compared to something like Spb Pocket Plus, although it is a welcome addition if you don’t require something as powerful as Pocket Plus. Another additional application, Data Backup, once again, I surmise once again that it has been included by Dell on license from HTC. The program only has two backup states, either all data or PIM databases only, with only the PIM database option allowing you to select which databases you wish to backup. While testing, I did a full backup with Data Backup and it was plain sailing, completing well within the estimated time, the program quoted 5mins, whereas the backup actually took 3mins, although the program will only allow you to backup to a backup file, with no option of creating a self extracting archive, but, as it is stored in ROM, should you need to do a hard reset, then it will be there when the X50v restarts, allowing you to restore, so I think that maybe it’s a moot point!! The restore also went without a hitch, popping up a window stating that you should connect an AC adapter whilst restoring, albeit not insisting on it, so I went ahead without! All apps were restored successfully, and everything functioned as it was at the time of taking the backup! Data Backup is very functionally limited when compared to a product like Sprite Backup, but it does exactly as the name suggests, provides you with a standard backup service, without any bells or whistles! Once again, a welcome addition for those who don’t require the advanced functionality of something like Sprite, but still need to backup. System & Settings Once again, all the usual Windows Mobile Settings suspects, About, Clock & Alarms, Memory, Brightness, Power, Regional Settings, Screen, Microphone, Remove Programs etc. are there en masse, as you would expect, but some have been tweaked specifically for the X50v, so in this section I will concentrate on those. Lets start with the Power applet, the geek in me springing into action, the first thing I noticed was that there are more tabs on the Power screen than I had been used to with my earlier devices, the second being that the initial battery display is graphically different from both my XDA-II and my MDA Compact, with the inclusion of extra icons, and the removal of the graphical battery bar indicating the status of the backup battery. The Advanced tab carries the usual settings for switching of the PDA after preset times, dependent on whether AC power is connected or not, pretty standard fare, and again, a redesigned look, sporting extra icons. The third tab allows you to set whether button presses will bring the X50v out of sleep mode, this functionality appears to have been migrated from the original Button Lock applet that exists in the Settings folder of both my XDA-II & my MDA Compact, as this applet is not present on the X50v. The button lock is one of the first things I configure, to stop accidental activations of the PDA, and I’ll admit it took a little while of playing to discover this tab. Maybe I should RTFM a bit more! No loading of XCPUScalar required here, the X50v comes with built in processor scaling. Top marks to Dell here for included this by default. The Processor scaling isn’t as comprehensive in it’s settings as XCPUScalar, but does allow you to run the PDA in four different processor speed modes. Maximum Perfomance = 624mhz Normal = 520mhz Power Saving = 208mhz Auto = Dependent on processor load. Will automatically switch between the above 3 settings Another difference to the X50v is the Brightness applet, which replaces the Backlight applet on my other devices. From my evaluation, it appears that different terminology is employed here, but the functionality is much the same as in other Windows Mobile Devices, the first tab allowing you to set the brightness level, tailored as to whether the device is running on battery or AC power. On the second and third tabs, rather than describing the functionality as turning off the backlight, it is know as dimming the display. I’m not sure why the subtle change in terminology has been made, but as with other devices, it allows you to set the backlight to turn off after a configurable preset time, dependent once again on whether the device is connected to AC power or not. Connectivity & Communications This section of the review concentrates on the connectivity & communication configuration aspects of the X50v, the device itself supports 802.11b Wireless, Bluetooth, Infra-Red and Cable communications, which is pretty much standard on most devices today. I will concentrate mainly on the extra configuration utilities added by the device manufacturer, rather than the ones that come as standard on most Windows Mobile Devices. 802.11b Wireless With built-in wireless connectivity being part of the device specification, the X50v comes equipped with the Dell WLAN utility to aid in configuration. The application itself has been developed by Texas Instruments, as described in the about screen, clearly defining that Dell tend to license applications, rather than develop in house. The Main tab is a simple affair, giving access to the core functions, switching the wireless adapter on and off & controlling the power saving mode. The tab also sports a settings button, which is basically a shortcut to the Configure Network Adapters screen, usually accessed via the Network Cards applet. The Site, Config & Advanced tabs are more about providing current state information, rather than configurable options. The Site tab displaying the current status of the wireless adapter, including useful information such as SSID, Mode channel & Signal strength. The Config tab displaying quite the same information as the Site tab, but a bit more in depth, including the current configuration & signal quality, while the advanced tab displays more connection specific details, Authentication, Power Mode and the Adpapters MAC address along with network information relating to network mask and IP address currently in use. The remaining tabs, Receive & Transmit are once again informative, showing packet status information, and the number of bytes transmitted & received by the wireless adapter. Bluetooth The Bluetooth stack for the X50v is provided by Broadcom Corporation, and to be honest, I never had any issues with the Microsoft stack on my XDA-II, and I can confirm that I haven’t had any issues with the Broadcom stack on the X50v, with the device pairing with everything I’ve thrown at it, which has included my Nokia 6810 mobile phone and my Toshiba laptop using a USB Bluetooth dongle to allow wirefree Activesyncing. The main difference that I can see, is that the Broadcom stack has a few more configuration items than the MS stack. The General tab, gives access to turn the Bluetooth radio on & off, and it is interesting to note that the configuration tool supports different profiles, although I haven’t tested this, as my Bluetooth needs are fairly simple & straightforward. The accessibility tab controls external device access to the X50v, allowing you to configure the device name, and what mode of access you wish external devices to have, which can be as wide as all devices, or as limited to only devices that you have explicitly paired previously. It also allows you to control whether the X50v is discoverable or not!! The Services tab allows you to control what services the X50v will offer to the outside world (as long as you make it discoverable that is!! ). This is the first time I had come across this type of configuration for Bluetooth, so I am still presently trying to get my head around what some of them mean!! VPN Client The X50v includes the Odyssey VPN client application in addition to the one built into the Windows Mobile 2003SE operating system, which appears to a little more configurable. Unfortunately, this is only a fleeting mention, as I don’t have access to a VPN setup that I could test the client on, so was unable to proceed further. Conclusion As the title states, to conclude, the Dell Axim X50v is a very well specified device from a ROM point of view. The end user has everything they need in the provided internal applications to get up and running and using the device in anger straight away (well, once the initial charge has been completed!! ). Maybe more applications could have been included from a multimedia perspective, but you must remember, that the primary target for the X50v is the business sector, but I think the device has enough features to make it a truly usable product in the consumer sector. The gammut of additional software out there allows one to tailor a device to exacting needs, and I'm sure many of us go for third party apps above those built into the operating system!! The inclusion of Data Backup is a very welcome addition, as is the provision of the WLAN configuration utility, providing a wealth of information to make configuring your wireless set-up a snap. The Broadcom Bluetooth may be included in other devices, so I’ll assume that the configuration abilities for this stack would be common across those devices, but the extra configuration options certainly make Bluetooth a lot easier to use from my point of view. In my opinion, the key killer additional feature included with the X50v has to be the built-in processor scaling, this feature is a real boon to extend battery life, handy during the working day and available straight out of the box, top marks to Dell for including this in the basic package. Now, this may be available as standard on other devices too, but I’ll admit I’m not aware of it! 4WinMobile Rating: 99% Coming soon, Dell Axim X50v Review Part III – Usability & Benchmarks