Bejeweled goes VGA
At last, another game designed to take advantage of VGA Pocket PC screens:
"Have you recently purchased one of those shiny new Pocket PC's with cutting edge VGA resolution display, and searched for games to support your new screen?
Well rejoice VGA device owners - Astraware have brought the biggest selling PDA game of all time to VGA screens everywhere! Bejeweled, the original addictive gem matching puzzle game, is now enhanced for Windows Mobile™ for Pocket PC 2003 SE devices giving you crisp, sharp VGA graphics that really show off that new screen perfectly. Tie that with an original soundtrack, and sound effects courtesy of Astraware's Aurora Audio Engine™ and you have a game you'll be proud of showing to family and friends (and help you justify that expensive PDA purchase you just made)."
Dell Axim X50 Shipping
The ship date for our Dell Axim X50v has been moved up a couple of days to Nov 17th and PocketPCThoughts is now reporting that some people are getting their X50 shipping email already.
I just checked on the Dell Site and new orders are getting a ship date of Nov 16th, I hope new orders don't ship before mine!
Dell Home: Axim X50v with free ground shipping
Loox 720 Review
Tomer Eisner has reviewed the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 720 over at handystore.co.il:
"This little story goes a long way to explain how good and impressive this new product developed by Siemens in Germany and manufactured in the east really is. True, I did find some few imperfections that I would have liked fixed, but the bottom line is that this is a true winner, the kind that every PDA buff would like to own. If you asked a Pocket PC or Palm user to describe what features they would like to have – these probably all exist in the FS720. In short, I highly recommend. This is by far one of the best devices to have reached the market and it will surely go on to conquer a serious market share."
You can check out Tomer's full review in both English and Hebrew.
Loox 720 Review
Doug Rayburn has reviewed the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 720 over at PocketPCThoughts:
"The hardware side of Pocket PCs has been pretty quiet over the past year or so, and new models being introduced had very similar features in a given price range. But the hardware has gotten exciting again with the recent release of several new models from various manufacturers that feature screens with VGA resolution. Compared to the heavily promoted models from HP and Dell, the Loox 720 from Fujitsu Siemens is pretty much flying under the radar. Much of that is due to the fact that it’s not being marketed in the US or Canada. However, the 720 is widely available all over Europe in several languages, including German, French and Spanish, and it can be purchased from several vendors in the UK if you’re interested in an English language version."
Dell Axim X50 Battery Tests
PocketPCThoughts ran some battery tests on their X50 to see if the battery life is as poor as some people have been saying.
Their full results are linked below, but basically they got 2hrs 10mins of active Wi-Fi use, 3hrs 38mins of standard non Wi-Fi use, and almost 9hrs of listening to MP3.
In their article they compare these results to the regular X50 and their X30 high.
Casio DT-10 Photos
Sorobangeeks took some photos of the Casio DT-10 VGA Pocket PC brick.
The Casio DT-10 features a 3.7" VGA LCD screen, 27hr claimed battery life, 416MHz processor, SDIO and CF card slots, 128MB RAM, 64MB ROM, Bluetooth, and 802.11b Wi-Fi.
The Casio DT-10 Pocket PC is 5.5" x 3.2" x 1.0" and weighs 10.6oz. The DT-10 will be available in Japan in November.
Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000
Ok, so it runs linux instead of windows software but it is VGA and sorobangeeks got some photos of the new Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000.
The Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 is a nice looking PDA that could only be improved if it had WiFi and was available here in the US.
The SL-C3000 has a great flip-top design with a QWERTY keyboard, runs linux, has a 416mhz xscale processor, 3.7" VGA screen, SD/MMC card slot, USB connectivity and a 4GB hard drive.
Battery life of the Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 is said to be 7 hrs, it is 4.9" by 3.5" by 1" and it weighs 10.5oz.
New Axim X50v Coupon: $444 (or $429)
A new $55 off $425 coupon is now available for the Dell Axim X50v:
Dell Home: Axim X50v for $444 with free ground shipping - Must follow instruction below.
This gets complicated as the coupon works only if you avoid the product configuration screen:
- Click on the link above (should open in a new window).
- DON'T click on any of the X50 or X50v links.
- Type "X50v" into the search box at the top of the page. (if you don't see a search box click compare all heldhelds then look for the search box)
- When the result appear click on "See All Results [21]".
- Scroll down the list of results until you see "DELL - 624 MHz Axim X50v Handheld with 1-Year Advanced Exchange Service and 1-Year Tech Support" with a price of $499. DON'T click on the product link. (if you want a different X50 or a different warranty thats ok as long as the price is still above $350).
- Click on the shopping cart graphic next to the $499 price.
- Click on "Proceed to Cart & Checkout" (if you want you can add accessories on this page).
- Under "Coupon Entry" cut and paste in S0?QQRSDTC6XBP and click apply coupon.
- The price should now show as $444. (if it doesn't you screwed something up or the coupon has expired).
I just did the above and the coupon worked for me, good luck!
Also if you add something else from Electronics and Accessories to your cart to take the total to $525 you can use code D8NT03FJGL$XMF for $70 off, and finally if you are only spending $400 you can use code KV75P5885XN0S4 for $50 off.
Here's the fine print:
Coupon code expires 11.59pm CST October 19th or after first 1500 uses. Prices, availability and terms of offer may change without notice. Taxes and shipping charges are extra, vary and are not subject to discount. May be combined with other select offers or discounts. Valid for new US online purchases through the Dell Home Systems Electronics and Accessories site only. Offer does not apply to and is not available with systems or items purchased through the online systems configurator, refurbished items or spare parts. Purchase limit of 10 same items per order, but any applicable discounts apply to only the first 5 same items per order. Dell cannot be responsible for pricing or other errors, and reserves the right to cancel orders arising from such errors. Limit 1 per customer, 1 use per coupon.
If you miss this opportunity keep checking back here as Dell regularly has similar coupons that work for the X50.
HP iPAQ hx4700 review
"VGA?
No doubt about it, VGA is cool. However, the experience is not perfect - yet. "
Geekzone takes a detailed look at the HP iPAQ hx4700 series VGA Pocket PC.
They try to focus on features that aren't always detailed in other reviews such as bluetooth with phones and headsets, business software, security, and the touchpad.
Their verdict:
"If you have read my blog, you will know that I don’t regard VGA alone as enough reason to buy a new VGA Pocket PC. However, this device is very cool and I’m probably going to get one. The reason I like this device is the combination of Bluetooth Audio (this is a killer for me – I hate cables), strong security, good screen and loads of memory."
HP iPAQ hx4700 128mb memory upgrade
PocketPCTechs have announced they now offer memory upgrades for the VGA HP iPAQ hx4700 series (hx4700 and hx4705).
The upgrade gives you 128mb of RAM but is quite expensive at $199 and invalidates your warranty.
That said, PocketPCTechs do give a 90 warranty on their work and they have a great reputation for quality upgrades.
HP iPAQ hx4700 Series 64MB to 128MB Internal RAM Upgrade
(via PocketPCThoughts)
So near but yet so far
I was at the Digital Life show in NY today (at the Javits Center, today was press day, it is open to the public Oct 15th-18th).
At the Microsoft stand guess what I spy in a case along with all the hot new MP3 players? yep, a Dell Axim x50v.
Alas, there were too many security guards around. The Microsoft staff offered to take it out of the glass case so I could get a closer look but I declined the offer.... the temptation would be too much and I don't want to spend 5 to 10 in sing-sing.
There were lots of other interesting gadgets there, all of which I had heard of, but it was nice to hold them in my grubby little hands.
Check out shinyplastic.com where I have a load of news articles and pictures from the show.
First Axim X50v Coupon : $464
Update 10/19: the code below expired but S0?QQRSDTC6XBP is valid for $55 off $425 until 11.59pm CST on October 19th
The first $35 off $350 coupon is now available for the Dell Axim X50v and X50:
Dell Home: Axim X50v for $464 with free ground shipping - Must follow instruction below.
This gets complicated as the coupon works only if you avoid the product configuration screen:
- Click on the link above (should open in a new window).
- DON'T click on ano of the X50 or X50v links.
- Type "X50v" into the search box at the top of the page.
- When the result appear click on "See All Results [20]".
- Scroll down the list of results until you see "DELL - 624 MHz Axim X50v Handheld with 1-Year Advanced Exchange Service and 1-Year Tech Support" with a price of $499. DON'T click on the product link. (if you want a different X50 or a different warranty thats ok as long as the price is still above $350).
- Click on the shopping cart graphic next to the $499 price.
- Click on "Proceed to Cart & Checkout" (if you want you can add accessories on this page).
- Under "Coupon Entry" cut and paste in W$DW3KVPQT?TB5 and click apply coupon.
- The price should now show as $464. (if it doesn't you screwed something up or the coupon has expired).
I just did the above and the coupon worked for me, good luck!
Here's the fine print:
Coupon code expires 11.59pm CST October 13th or after first 1500 uses. Prices, availability and terms of offer may change without notice. Taxes and shipping charges are extra, vary and are not subject to discount. May be combined with other select offers or discounts. Valid for new US online purchases through the Dell Home Systems Electronics and Accessories site only. Offer does not apply to and is not available with systems or items purchased through the online systems configurator, refurbished items or spare parts. Purchase limit of 10 same items per order, but any applicable discounts apply to only the first 5 same items per order. Dell cannot be responsible for pricing or other errors, and reserves the right to cancel orders arising from such errors. Limit 1 per customer, 1 use per coupon.
If you miss this opportunity keep checking back here as Dell regularly has similar coupons that work for the X50.
802.11a/b/g on one chip
Atheros has introduced the first Single-Chip 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN Solution.
What this means for Pocket PCs and other gadgets is that it may soom be possible to have a low power wireless solution that supports more than just 802.11b.
A lot of large companies have 802.11a networks, and a lot of people are replacing their 802.11b networks with faster 802.11g networks: having an 802.11b device on a 802.11g hetwork slows it down for everyone, so 802.11a/b/g gadgets will definately be popular.
Of course, once this is in devices we will all be clamoring for 802.11n connectivity, then it will be WiMax, then the next wireless standard etc.......
(via PDAGeek)
Pocket PC Processor Technology
PocketPCThoughts linked to an interesting article from Intel covering the history and specifications of Pocket PC Processors.
So if you want to learn what apart fron raw speed makes the PXA27X series processor in the X50v better than the Toshiba e405's PXA261 processor or the iPAQ 4155's PXA255 check out the article.
(It's actually not as dry and boring as I expected)
"The Intel Advantage for Windows Powered Mobile Devices" article
(via pocketpcthoughts)
