PDA DELL x50v vs Asus MyPal A730W

[covert]

I would like some help on decided what one of these 2 to get. I have picked these 2 ones because they have the following features I wanted in a PDA.

Wifi
Bluetooth
480x640 screen

Both have mostly the same feature list except for the following.

Dell 624MHz CPU - Asus 520MHz CPU
Dell 3D GFX chip - Asus No fancy 3D Chip
Asus 1.3M camera - Dell No camera
Asus USB Host - Dell cannot USB host

So really it comes down to having a handy camera and USB hosting function in the aus or an extra 100MHz in the cpu and a 3D chip oin the dell.

I have never been keen on the games in my Palm m500 and always said a gameboy is for playing games on. Altho it would be cool to play CS at a wifi hot spot in town

Without ever owning a PPC I am not sure if button control is all software based - What I mean by this is the Asus can have different applications launch when you press and hold a button rather than just briefly depress it. Would it be possible to do this on the dell ?

Dell X50v 624 MHz for $699


Asus MyPal A730W for $699

[StratosFear]

They were the two that I rounded down to before picking the x50v.

Reasons I didn't go with the Asus.

• The reviews I read said the build quality isn't as good as the dell. Feels plasticy.
• Battery Life with Wifi enabled on the Asus was a fair bit worse than the Dell. And the dell isn't exactly known for it's battery life
• As far as I'm concerned the camera is a useless feature. Something I would prefer not to have (i have a digicam and a camera phone)
• The graphics chip and faster CPU on the dell.
• The reviews I read for the Asus were a mixed bag, whereas all/most of the Dell reviews all pointed to it being a very solid unit for the price.

The only advantage the Asus had in the end in my eyes was USB Host feature which is a great feature. Something I would love to have. But the more I thought about it the more I realised I would probably never use it.

Good luck with the decision though.

[covert]

I am keen for the USB host because I also have a 40gig usb drive so swapping images from my SD card (out of my camera) to the 40gig usb drive would be a very handy feature for me.

I will have a read of some more reviews with focus on battery life and build quality.

[StratosFear]

The two reviews I read were the following

http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2401
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ASUS_A730W.htm

The one thing that killed it for me was the following

A730W - Brightness at max., wireless active - 1 hour, 10 minutes
X50V - Brightness at max., wireless active - 2 hours, 31 minutes

But as you say the USB host feature is great. Would be cool to get a little USB gamepad and hook it up to the PDA Would also give me a use for this 1gb USB Stick I have here collecting dust.

Anyway let us know which one you choose.

[Mattt]

Originally Posted by StratosFear

The two reviews I read were the following

http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2401
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ASUS_A730W.htm

The one thing that killed it for me was the following

A730W - Brightness at max., wireless active - 1 hour, 10 minutes
X50V - Brightness at max., wireless active - 2 hours, 31 minutes

But as you say the USB host feature is great. Would be cool to get a little USB gamepad and hook it up to the PDA Would also give me a use for this 1gb USB Stick I have here collecting dust.

Anyway let us know which one you choose.

USB powered devices are going to drain battery further.
I don't know by how much, but it won't be nil.

[covert]

Just to chuck another spanner in the works I am looking over the HP4700 again too.

As for USB host battery life I intend to be at a powered source whenever I will be using it, EG hotel room.

Got some reading todo tonight. I will sum up all I have wokred out later on tonight,

[Mattt]

I ordered a X50v today, so I should really unsub from this thread.

I managed to snag a 5% discount on top of the -$150.
Staff discount.

[johnspartan]

just wondering if you had considered the toshiba e800 has graphics card, sd/cf slots fast processor and usb host function i believe

[covert]

I have looked at the e800 and it does not have built in wifi.

[PogiPinoy]

it does have built in wifi

but you can only either have built in wifi or bluetooth...cant have both

[covert]

Originally Posted by PogiPinoy

it does have built in wifi

but you can only either have built in wifi or bluetooth...cant have both

Yeah new it was something like that. I have a home wofo network and a bluetooth GPS. Really no choice but to have both.

[johnspartan]

true but atleast you can add bluetooth or wifi, but a lot easier than adding usb host or vga mode, hope you find the model with everything for ya

[johnspartan]

just got the asus after doing some reading i decided the a730w was for me

[kung-f00-kamel]

The Asus is a crap unit and is in no way in the same league as an x50v

The only major gripes I had with x50v was its size and battery performance

The Asus is plasticy and cheap feelling, the screen was not up to standard either and I have heard of people having issue's with it crapping itself and not firing up

I had mine for about a fornight before I sold it, the x50v I kept for about 3 months, it has an awsome picture and the 3D Video card really makes your day when you play an optimized game on it, whan I first ran that enigmo demo my mouth started drooling...mmmmm 333DDDD (said in a Homer voice)