Dell Axim X30 and TomTom Navigator 3

20:25.53 - Sunday 5th September 2004   (Link to This Entry)

I received both of the above on Friday and set about learning how to use a Pocket PC, since this was the first time in my life I'd ever laid my hands on one. Perhaps not suprisingly it was quite easy to get used to, with XP-style icons everywhere and the usual array of very obvious applications: Internet Explorer; Pocket Word; Pocket Excel; MSN Messenger and so on. After five minutes exploring, you're at home.

The major difference aside from the obvious lack of keyboard is that there's no file browsing to speak of. Ordinarily one would find a file and double-click on it to load it into the relevent application, with Pocket PC you load the application from the start menu - no clicking on My Documents to see a list of your MP3s for example. It's a minor detraction which will only affect users who are used to doing things their way.

ActiveSync is a minor wonder in itself, making it easy for me to copy files to and from the PPC, as well as having my recent email and appointments from Outlook available. There was some confusion with applications not actually being closed when you click the 'close' button, but the Dell Switcher Bar handles that nicely, giving a kind of mini-Task Manager/Alt-Tab functionality. The only fly in the ointment there is that the Switcher Bar doesn't start automatically - at least I haven't found out how to do it.

Windows Media Player v9 is included as well, and it was a matter of a few moments to have the live QVC stream playing full-screen in the palm of my hand. If Internet TV is your kind of thing then this device adds a new element to it, but only if you have the required wireless networking setup.

Aaah, wireless! Both the WiFi and Bluetooth (I plumped for the all-singing-all-dancing model) work completely flawlessly here. This afternoon I hooked it up to my Nokia 6230 and used the Dialup Networking features of the phone to connect to the Internet where no WiFi was available. Again, everything was very simple.

The major reason for the Axim purchase, however, was to get myself a TomTom Satellite Navigation setup for the car. We had considered the TomTom GO all-in-one solution but I really wanted the added functionality of a PDA. In the end, the price of the Axim X30, TomTom3 and a 512Mb Kingston SD card worked out to about a hundred quid more than the cheapest TomTom GO I'd seen. A top-line Pocket PC for £100? Sold!

Not wanting any more wires than necessary, I purchased the Bluetooth GPS receiver kit. The receiver itself is a small silver hub, slightly larger (and a lot heavier) than a box of Swan matches. Charge it up from the mains and it's pretty much good to go. We left the unit loose in the car, but it is magnetic, and sticks fairly solidly to a suitable surface. A sticky mounting plate is included for those vehicles (like ours) which don't have a handy metal surface.

Pairing the Axim with the GPS receiver is as simple as selecting it from within the TomTom 3 software. After that you simply ensure the receiver is on and that bluetooth is enabled on the Pocket PC and the software does the rest. There was no manual (that I could find, though I confess I didn't look too hard) with the TomTom software, but in all honesty it's more or less idiot-proof. Click on the map, click on 'Navigate To..' and enter a Town, Street and optional house number.

In use, the software is very impressive. The 3D map view rotates to match the direction in which your vehichle turns and marks your route in a deep red colour. Direction changes like corners and roundabouts are highlighted in green as you approach them, and there's always a diagram of, and distance to the next one at the bottom of the screen. One nice touch is that the software will re-calculate your route if you leave the suggested one for whatever reason. If you are forced to detour, for example, it will devise a new route from wherever you are at the time.

Downers: The PocketPC seems to hang occasionally. It's early days yet and so I haven't found the cause of the problem, and for all I know it could be user stupidity. There's a reset button on the back of the Axim that you can jab with the stylus if you find it not responding at all.

The TomTom software doesn't seem to appreciate being left running on the Pocket PC when you put the device into standby. Powering back up tends to crash it full mightily. In addition, the software doesn't work correctly if you switch the screen to landscape mode. That said, neither does Adobe Reader.

Bottom line though - this is a seriously impressive piece of kit. I've already taken to reading ebooks on it, browsing the Internet and of course using the GPS whenever possible (although M is the bugger for that). Eventually I hope to try a few games out from a friend of mine over at 4pockets and see how they play, but for now I am more than happy.

More info on the TomTom range is available from their website, here.
Information on the Axim X30 is available from the Dell website, here.