On 10/13/04 04:26 ET, JordanW said...
Now that the X50 has been officially released
by Dell, I figured that Don (or anyone else here)
are likely out of any NDAs that were holding them
back from speaking much about it in the past weeks....
You are ALMOST correct. I can talk about nearly anything, but full disclosure cannot come until the product release, which I have down as the 21st. Still, happy to blab about what I can now.
Chris Leckness (owner of Aximsite.com) has tested
the X50 and X50v using PDAwin's software, and
was only able to get about a 12 foot maximum range.
I don't doubt it, and I don't even consider questioning his test methodology. My two primary pieces of test gear are a Sony DVD player and an Orion (made by Philips) TV/VCR combo. I did make a test that shows the Sony worked at 20 feet with the KNOWN crappy IrDA of an iPaq 5450, but the Orion only worked to 11 feet! The results vary a lot from PPC to PPC; the same tests with IrDA on an Axim X3i showed 42 feet for the Sony, and 39 feet for the Orion. If he was testing something like a Harman-Kardon stereo or a Scientific Atlanta cable box (both known to have "tricky" signals) I could easily believe his result.
Rule #1 for Total Remote, in any mode, with any transmitter: YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). ;)
Is the IrDA port used in the X50 line that much
weaker than the one used in the X3/X30 lines?
Hmm. How do I answer that and not piss off Dell? Let me just refer to practical usage; Dell's ODM manufacturer tested Total Remote to work beyond 7 meters, and I have controlled my Sony DVD player from 40 feet. Surprisingly, there was a really significant difference in the performance between the two X50s I have, but these numbers reflect the latter unit I received which should be identical to what ships.
Granted, it is a different manufacturer (HTC)
that developed the X50 models. 12 feet is still
better than the old X5 line, but nowhere near
the IR range (25+ feet) achieved with the X3/X30
line.
Fear not. It is at least comparable to the X3 and X30.
Does anyone have any more information on the IR
specs for the X50/X50v?
Other than the fact that it is not "CIR" like those 3 Nevo-equipped iPaqs, what else were you looking for?
I thought that since Total Remote is still included
on the companion CD (according to Dell's specs
at least), that Don might have been involved in
some conversations with Dell already regarding
IR strength?
Oh gawd, were there conversations! I'm not sure I will ever be able to talk about them publically, but suffice to say Dell, HTC and Griffin scrambled around at the last minute like chickens with our heads cut off before we got a build of Total Remote that performed within Dell's internal benchmark for CIR control. I had the most severe flu I have ever had in my life, right in the middle of our heated daily conference calls, but despite the 12 shots of Morphine I had for some incredible gastric pain I _STILL CALLED THEM_. Say what you will, but I like HTC (and Dell) for their level of communication when we are all up against the wall and work needs to get done.
Does it get more range with Total
Remote than 12 feet?
To paraphrase Bill Clinton, it depends on what you mean by "get", "more", "range" and "12 feet", as I have explained above. ;)
--Don
