Is VGA that much better than QVGA? X51v vs my HX2495

[Hank Reardon]

I've had an Ipaq hx2495 for about a year and a half. Never a problem. I use it for basic things like calendaring and contacts, Internet acces via my cell phone, and my favorite...GPS using a bluetooth receiver and iGuidance.

I'm interested in a VGA device, but not enough to go out and drop $600 on a new one. What about an Axim X51v off of ebay? How much nicer is the VGA display compared to QVGA? Is it worth the bother? I know that the X51v is spec'd a little better all around, but it's the display that I'm most curious about. There are no VGA PPC's around for me to actually look at.

I'm thinking that the PocketPC is a dead end market. I don't think HP even offers a VGA PocketPC anymore. Obviously Dell is abandoning the market completely.

Also, my hx2495 has been a rock. I'm a little concerned by many of the complaints about the X51v on this board. I know it's the nature of any board like this to trend towards the negative, but it seem like maybe the X51v suffers a little more than most. Would I be an idiot to swap a stable hx2495 for a used X51v?

Advice?

[Pedah]

Originally Posted by Hank Reardon

I've had an Ipaq hx2495 for about a year and a half. Never a problem. I use it for basic things like calendaring and contacts, Internet acces via my cell phone, and my favorite...GPS using a bluetooth receiver and iGuidance.

I'm interested in a VGA device, but not enough to go out and drop $600 on a new one. What about an Axim X51v off of ebay? How much nicer is the VGA display compared to QVGA? Is it worth the bother? I know that the X51v is spec'd a little better all around, but it's the display that I'm most curious about. There are no VGA PPC's around for me to actually look at.

I'm thinking that the PocketPC is a dead end market. I don't think HP even offers a VGA PocketPC anymore. Obviously Dell is abandoning the market completely.

Also, my hx2495 has been a rock. I'm a little concerned by many of the complaints about the X51v on this board. I know it's the nature of any board like this to trend towards the negative, but it seem like maybe the X51v suffers a little more than most. Would I be an idiot to swap a stable hx2495 for a used X51v?

Advice?

Welcome to the site Hank. It's much of a muchness, the difference between QVGA, and VGA. If you want a full featured non converged PDA the axim is the best, but remember that Dell has stopped producing them, so the prices are at premium on auction sites, as enthuiasts are backing themselves up.You'll have to shop smart.

[Mahstah]

VGA is four times the resolution of QVGA, 480x640 vs 240x320. The screen technology upgrade in brightness and colors should be noticeable as well. I can tell you that the differences between my QVGA X5, my QVGA X30, and my VGA X51v using TomTom GPS are significant.

As for the problems you've read about, my X51v is stable as ever after having never hard reset since the last ROM was released over a year ago (March 7, 06). I install and uninstall software to test for people on this site, have paired and deleted many BT devices, and connect to wifi networks all the time without issue. I've used and abused the Axim's software and hardware and it works flawlessly.

[Hank Reardon]

Thanks guys. Let me ask you this...

One thing I use my PPC for is Internet access. I have a PAM plan with my cell phone and often use my Ipaq for web browsing. How much of a benefit is VGA for displaying web pages? I mean, the screen itself is still basically the same physical size. Can you get significantly more to display legibly on the screen with VGA?

[Mahstah]

The VGA screens are slightly larger than most QVGA screens, 3.7" vs 3.5". The higher res just makes the pages sharper.