Handspring Visor vs. Dell Axim x5

In a previous post, I mentioned that I had destroyed my old trusty Handspring Visor and had replaced it with a Dell Axim X5. I've already compared the different Operating Systems of the two devices, so here is my comparison of the two devices themselves.


Size and weight: While the Dell is slightly more ergonomical, the Handspring is the smaller and lighter of the two PDAs.

Battery life: The Dell's Battery life is superior to the Handspring's, but this is more of a comparison of apples and oranges. The Dell has 2 rechargeable batteries; the second to backup the data in case the first dies. The Handspring uses 2 AAA batteries, which can be replaced more easily. The batteries in each lasted about 1 or 2 weeks, but I've found myself using the Dell much more often.

Screen: The Handspring has a 4 color screen (4 different shades of gray) while the Dell has a true color screen, supporting 65,536 different colors.

Stylus: The Dell's stylus is a little flat and can be awkward to use. The Handspring's stylus is a simple cylinder but it feels more natural to hold and use.

On-board memory: The Handspring Visor Deluxe contains a total of 8 MBs of storage, while the regular model only has 2 MBs. The  Dell has 32 MBs of Read-Only Memory (for use by the OS and the various applications) and another 32 MBs of storage space.

Expansion slots: The Handspring has an expansion slot for use with Springboard modules. These proprietary modules offer many options, including a modem, camera, and memory. The Dell comes with two expansion slots, a Type II Compact Flash slot and an SD Card slot. Both the Compact flash and SD slots became standard so they offer many different options and are more readily available, including memory and WiFi. These also have the added benefit of working with many other devices. I have at least half a dozen different devices that use SD Cards around the house. (Note that the SD slot on the Dell only supports cards up to 1 GB in size. The Compact flash slot supports at least 512 MBs.)

Synchronize with PC: Both devices offer synchronization cradles to copy data from the PDA to the PC. I used this option extensively with the Handspring, but only rarely with the Dell. Since I use an SD card on the Dell I use this to copy data from the PDA to the PC.

Navigation buttons: Each PDA has Navigation buttons to the most common applications. There are also scroll buttons to scroll up and down. On the Dell, there are also horizontal scroll buttons and a second set of vertical scroll buttons on the side of the case.

To Do lists: Finally, I wanted to discuss a very important application, To Do lists. The Palm OS has a very simple, yet effective to do list. The To Do list that comes with Pocket Windows 2002 is very powerful, but the user interface is very cumbersome.


All in all, the Dell Axim x5 is a superior device due to its screen, battery life, expansion slots, and
onboard memory. The Handspring Visor has several benefits, including a simpler interface and batteries that are easier and cheaper to replace. While both are great devices, they have both been going for around $20 on eBay, and at that price, the Dell Axim x5 is definitely the better deal.