jkOnTheRun reader question- Where are the good inexpensive Pocket PCs?

jkOnTheRun reader Michael Nelson asks:

Where are the good, inexpensive Pocket PCs?

I purchased my Dell Axim X30 (312 MHz, with wifi) in the summer of 2004 for approximately $220, directly from the Dell website.  That was almost 2 years ago and it still works brilliantly. I would expect to be able to find a superior product two years later given advancements in processors and memory (does Moore’s law apply to the PDA world?) However, that does not seem to be the case. The least expensive HP model (the iPAQ rx1955) is $299 and roughly comparable in features to my Axim (it runs WM 5 instead of WM2003SE). The least expensive Dell model is regularly listed at $299 (now on special for $239) but lacks wifi. To get wifi you have to spend more than $100 more!

When I was in the market for a PDA a couple years ago there was no way I was going to spend more than $200. I was convinced to stretch my budget a bit ($20), but even that made my wife a little unhappy. I was and still am, after all, a graduate student with little income. Now that I have had my Axim for a couple years, I realize that within another year or so I will likely want to upgrade. But what will my options be (especially as a–hopefully—new professor with the typical low salary new professors receive)? Will there be any comparable Pocket PCs for the budget-conscious? Will I be able to get something that is an improvement on my old, reliable Axim?

Michael, basically what we have run into is a combination of two things.  The OEMs have not made any real advancements in Windows Mobile devices on the hardware side.  We are still working with the same processors we had two years ago with nothing really new on the horizon.  The Windows Mobile Pocket PCs available today look for the most part like your Dell of yesteryear.  Speaking of Dell, since they have killed off the Axim line there are no really cheap Pocket PCs likely to come along that are cheaper than you paid for your Dell.  Usually hardware gets cheaper over time but you are correct in your observation that apparently that’s not true for Pocket PCs.

The other factor at play here is the sales numbers that show Phone Editions and Smartphones are passing the traditional PDA so OEMs are shifting in that direction.  These devices with integrated radios, often 3G, are more expensive to produce so the only way to get cheap hardware is to sign up for a data plan and get the Phone Edition subsidized.  Those that have no need for wireless connectivity are getting left in the dust.

Anybody want to chime in and share your thoughts with Michael?

-jk

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