Winner!

July 13th, 2005 (02:36 pm)

I didn't win the Smart Car, the Alienware PC, or the Bluetooth enabled satellite navigation system (probably just as well, since I don't own any satellites) but I am one of the five winners of a Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC.

I took part in an MSDN competition recently about developing for Smart Clients and apparently I didn't do too badly. Most of the answers were traceable without following too great a proliferation of links if you didn't already know them, but even so I was unsure that I'd answered a few optimally.

It's nice to follow in scottymcleod's footsteps, as he recently won a similar competition for people on the admin side of things. I think he got the better prize (a tablet PC), but I'm not knocking mine!

I guess I'll have to keep it and the Palm in separate pockets, in case they fight. Now, where can I plug in yet another cradle...?

Comments

Posted by: silverwhistle (

silverwhistle)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 01:55 pm (UTC)

Congratulations! Yet another gadget!

My Dad has just got a mobile phone (which is more than I have!), primarily so Mum can contact him if he's out and about. Learning how to use it will be fun...

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Posted by: Nik Whitehead (

sharikkamur)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:09 pm (UTC)

Very nice! Congratulations! Gadgets are always good, and free ones even more so. :)

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Posted by: Andrew Patterson (

qidane)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:16 pm (UTC)

If you give up coffee you can use the coaster space beside the ipod?

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Posted by: Gavin Greig (

ggreig)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:23 pm (UTC)

Give up coffee? Never!

You can see my celebratory choccy biccy in that shot - the purply-foil-wrapped thing on the right. It's not there now.

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Posted by: Andrew Patterson (

qidane)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:36 pm (UTC)

Artist's Impression

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Posted by: msinvisfem (

msinvisfem)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 05:56 pm (UTC)

I like the idea of his Pocket PC having a cookie cradle... :-)

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Posted by: Toby Atkin-Wright (

tobyaw)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:17 pm (UTC)

So are you just going to use it for software development? Or will it replace the Palm in your affections for regular day-to-day use?

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Posted by: Gavin Greig (

ggreig)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:30 pm (UTC)

I'll have to wait and see how I like it when it arrives, but I have a pre-existing investment in the Palm in the form of the software I use on it. It's possible I'll end up using them for different tasks. For example, the Pocket PC has WiFi, which the Palm doesn't, so there are opportunities there.

Of course, I'll now be able to run the as-yet-unreleased Pocket PC version of Impressions without having to borrow the company's iPAQ. Won't that be thrilling? :-)

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Posted by: Toby Atkin-Wright (

tobyaw)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:34 pm (UTC)

I haven't found recent Palms inspiring, but that LifeDrive looks interesting.

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Posted by: Nik Whitehead (

sharikkamur)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:37 pm (UTC)

I just wish I could find a WiFi card for my T5. :(

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Posted by: Gavin Greig (

ggreig)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 02:44 pm (UTC)

The LifeDrive is the first Palm that's interested me in several years. I don't know why they've taken so long to build WiFi into new models, especially as the Tungsten C had it, and Pocket PCs have had it as standard for some time. Now the LifeDrive has WiFi and a hard disk.

I do wonder how much that hard disk affects battery life though; and I haven't seen any mention of it on Palm's web site. It's also been pointed out that the hard disk is still smaller in capacity than the smallest iPod.

I think I'm inclined to wait for a second model - for more of an idea of where they're taking it - before I make a decision.

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Posted by: Toby Atkin-Wright (

tobyaw)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 03:13 pm (UTC)

Mad, isn't it. There must be a reason why they haven't had WiFi in the whole range - its such a natural match, having wireless networking in a handheld.

The MacUser review of the LifeDrive commented on the poorer battery performance, but otherwise was pretty positive.

I won't be rushing out to buy one, but I'll be keeping an eye on developments.

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Posted by: Tomm (

hobbitomm)

Posted at: July 13th, 2005 03:48 pm (UTC)