Out with the old (Dell Axim X51v) and in with the new (ASUS R2HV)...

On a more personal note, after a number of years of trusty service (bought in early December 2005) I am retiring my Dell Axim X51v, which to this day I think was a revolutionary device as far as PDAs are concerned (to date I have not found a commercially available PDA with a dedicated graphics card!) and replacing it with the ASUS R2HV, both for research application development and also for everyday-task use.

Here's a short breakdown of the technical specs the almost tablet-like ASUS has:

- Processor & Cache Memory
Intel® Pentium® M 723, 1GHz, 2MB L2 Cache
- Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
- Chipset
Intel® 915GM
- Main Memory
On board 256MB DDR 533MHz, 1 x SODIMM socket for expansion up to 1280 MB DDRII-667 DRAM support
- Display
7" active matrix TFT(800x480)
- Video Graphics & Memory
Embedded Intel® 915 GM internal GFX
- Hard Drive
1.8" 30/40/60/80 GB
- Optical Drive
DVD-DUAL External (Optional)
- Card Reader
SD card slot push / push type
- Fax/Modem/LAN/WLAN
On board 10/100 LAN (optional)Integrated 802.11b/gBuilt-in Bluetooth™ V2.0+EDR (optional)
- LED Status Indicator
Power on/SuspendLED off (Battery Full) /LED on (Charging)/Low(LED sparkle)H DDWLAN enablingBluetooth
- Interface
1 x R2H Port Bar connector for external hub(S/PDIF, VGA, DC-in, 3 USB, LAN) / VGA function support via VGA Cable2x USB 2.0A ports1 x mini-USB2.0A port1 x Microphone1 x Headphone1 x AV (Audio + Video) out1 x RJ45 (Lan port)

Read a review of the device here. As for the old, long-deleted from Dell, Axim I will of course keep it as a backup but also in the hope that it may well fetch a great price on eBay one day!