Dell stops selling Axim handheld

Dell has stopped selling its Axim line of handhelds and is not planning a new product in the category, the computer maker said Monday.

"The Axim X51 family is no longer being offered, and we have no plans for a follow-on product at this time," Dell spokeswoman Anne Camden said in an e-mail. Camden noted that the company does sell handhelds from other makers on its Web site, including GPS devices and smart phones.

Dell introduced its first Axim Pocket PC in 2002, helping to bring lower prices to a market in which customers had grown used to spending several hundred dollars. Over time, Dell expanded its lineup, adding features such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless technologies. The company debuted its most recent model, the X51, in the fall of 2005.

However, the market for personal organizers has stagnated as many users have opted for smart phones that combine such features as calendar and contact functions with telephony.

The demise of the Axim was earlier noted by handheld enthusiast Web site MobilitySite.

[Robin Majumdar]

Writing was on the (virtual) walls....

Well, I for one think it's a bit of a shame - as you mention, many of the Axim and PPC/PDA enthusiast sites have been discussing this impending announcement for many months.

While Dell says that they won't be getting back into the PDA business, I wouldn't count out a ..... DellPhone - the SmartPhone as a device is red hot... and should continue on that trend. Look for strategic alliance between Dell and a Telco... Dell has a critical client base and is obviously seasoned in supply chain management - hook that up with a carrier and we'll see Dell back in the handheld market soon enough.

Robin

[jack1260]

DELL HANDHELL PROBLEMS

It seemed predictable enoough to me that Dell would put out a "less than working" hand held computer to keep the market, loan and re-sale values of it's desktop lines as high as possible. But, it is too late to stop the cell phone technology that will ultimately prevail in the area of picture sending, internet emails, and the web as a whole.

I'm looking at my watch. So, gimme odds!

[Stating]

Like My Axim, But No Support

I like my Axim X30, but Dell stopped supporting it about 6 months after I bought it. I had no intention of shelling out another $400 to get a newer Axim. To the Dell buyers who bought a new Axim in the last 6 months --- suckers!!!!!!!!!!

[kieranmullen]

Lousy Support

I love the Dell Axim x51v. I bought another one used a few weeks ago. Dell has pretty lousy support. They gave me a price to replace my 1st unit, higher than the sales price ??? I found postings in Dell User Forms (not dells site) which told me how to reload the ROM. Everything works perfectly.

KieranMullen

[Chapmaniac]

Had one - went back to Palm

I had a Palm IIIxe - upgraded to the Dell Axim (one of the first, early models). It was like having Windows with you wherever you want. Wonderful when it worked and a pain when it wouldn't. Can't tell you how many times all I wanted to do was run a quick sync and then go (as I hurried out the door to catch my morning bus to work) when Windows would complain "No USB device found." Can't tell you how many times I left for work with a fully-sync'd and loaded Axim only to return home with a factory-reset due to the flaky behavior of the PocketPC OS and its weekly need to be reset on the road - which dumps all your stuff into oblivion.

Owning a Palm again and running it on a Mac... smooth sailing 99% of the time. Neither complains about the other and they both "just work." Lately though, after getting a bluetooth phone (not a "smart" one, just a nice Motorola) and getting it to sync up with the Mac (while I'm walking around the house with the phone - how cool is that?!) gives me all my contacts and calendar items and keeps my wife's cell phone calendar in sync as well. I pulled the plug on my Palm Zire and it's only lately (after 3 weeks) started to complain that it's running low on power.

Last night, I connected it to my laptop (an old Pentium III which purrs like a kitten on Ubuntu Linux!) and it effortlessly sync'd up all my data. At least I have it backed up onto two computers. Now, if I can only find my Palm charger... If not, it's not going to be a big deal. The PDA as we knew it is dead - and my last Palm device will soon be as well.

[aximuser]

Axim5 memories

I like my Dell Axim X5. It have been a great portable companion. I bought it when Dell first introduced it. I still use it. Besides the installed Windows apps, I have been able to use it to play mp3 files (podcasts), watch divx movies and even do software development using the APL programming language

I certainly would have bought another Axim again from Dell if they had remained in the handheld business. At the time I bought my Axim it was the most affordable and full featured handheld on the market. Hopefully, other manufacturers will continue to produce Windows Mobile PDAs.

[lwambold]

I aslso have the X5 a useful device. I recently upgraded to 2003 operating system and understand there is a second edition to the 2003. The only problem I have had is with NETGEAR CF wifi card MA701 used several. Thanks, Larry

[rfrangioni]

Dell Pocket PC

Hey, I am a VERY Senior Citizen...not at all computer literate, but I have to share with you that Monday of this week I sat down with one of my kin in Alabama and compared my Toshiba 755 Pocket PC with his Dell Pocket PC (don't know which model it was) and it was practically a dead-ringer for my Toshiba. Nowhere in anything I've just read about this Dell that's being phased out is there any mention of a Toshiba, just Palms, HP's etc. I'm just curious about this situation. Is that an oversight or just a coincidence... Very puzzling to me...Your curious nonagenarian. "Tony" Frangioni