Should I buy a refurb Maestro?

[IronSerif]

Well this should prolly go under the Hot deals section as well, but the reason I am posting it here is because I am considering buying this unit.

I definately like to hear everyone's opinion about this though, so any thoughts/comments are very well appreciated, as usual :)

Anyways, the Maestro is $299 - $150 Internet Savings = $149.99.

Here is the link (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=298259&cm_vn=cusa_1_5_03&cm_cat=PDAs&cm_pla=hpfod&cm_ite=298259#checkstore)

Thanks!

[Ioman]

Have you read any reviews on the net? This appears to be a great deal.

[IronSerif]

Well when I was really big into pda's I read a lot of stuff on it, but that was like a year or so ago :(

I'm doing my research on it now, and hopefully can come to a conclusion within the next couple of days.

The Dell unit doesn't seem to bad either, although it's probably a bit bulkier than the maestro. But I definately want to buy one very soon.

[IronSerif]

Well the Maestro is now out of the picture, so the new players in the game are the Dell Axim, and the Toshiba e740.
My primary use, other than is wi-fi capability.

The Axim has all the features I need (apart from the wifi, but I can add that via cf card), but the bulkiness of the unit is what is turning me away.

The Toshiba would be great...but that price tag is kinda steep

[Archon]

I can get the Toshiba cheap :) Employee Discounts ;)

[llbbl]

How come you don't want the Maestro anymore?

The Dell looks like it is the best one right now. I would be able to deal with the bulkiness of the unit. It's not like I expect to carry my PDA around in my pocket, but then again I don't even like to carry around a cell phone. If I had a smaller one I would stick it on my belt. I don't want anything larger than my fist dangling from my waist or in my pockets.

[Archon]

I have baggy pockets, I can fit an e740 in there easily. Hell, I can fit an NX70v in there easily ;) along with a cell phone ;)

[IronSerif]

Originally posted by Archon
I can get the Toshiba cheap :) Employee Discounts ;)

Aww you suck!

Psssttt...you wouldn't be able to hook someone up eh eh eh *nudge* :)

Originally posted by TecknoGeek
How come you don't want the Maestro anymore?


Ehh...I think I just want the newer technology, ya know?

I also heard the Maestro's battery doesn't last that long, and I'd be afraid that it would be even shorter once I plug in that wi-fi card.

But for anyone else, that Maestro might be a heck of a deal :D

[llbbl]

I was going to ask how the tech specs compared with the dell but as long as you don't plan on buying one ...

Hey I wouldn't mind a Toshiba laptop either !

See if you can get some of the new Toshiba tablet PC's to do a first look / review of. It would be nice if someone wrote up a big article on the tablet PC's so that we could stick it in our Computer Guides section. Check pcmagazine for a similar article. I don't have the link handy.

[IronSerif]

Well I did it.

After a long decision making process, and with the help & support of many, I decided to get the Dell axim x5 :). Ordered it a few hours ago, and expected arrival date is in the beginning of feb, right around my birthday actually.

So I'm hoping I'll be happy with it, but from what I hear/read/saw, I think I will.

PS: I really did struggle on making this decision, did A LOT of homework and research lol

[Archon]

hope nothing goes wrong with it!

[Ioman]

I think you made a good decision. Dell makes some good products and for the price, the Axim appears to be a solid product. Can wait to hear what you have to say about it bro!

Originally posted by IronSerif
Well I did it.

After a long decision making process, and with the help & support of many, I decided to get the Dell axim x5 :). Ordered it a few hours ago, and expected arrival date is in the beginning of feb, right around my birthday actually.

So I'm hoping I'll be happy with it, but from what I hear/read/saw, I think I will.

PS: I really did struggle on making this decision, did A LOT of homework and research lol

[IronSerif]

Originally posted by Ioman
I think you made a good decision. Dell makes some good products and for the price, the Axim appears to be a solid product. Can wait to hear what you have to say about it bro!



It was crazy last week man. I have a whole favorites folder that was dedicated to links to forums, pics, reviews, previews, videos, and everything else about the axim. And all I really did that week was go over that material...

lol over at PDAbuzz we had like an 11 page thread about which device I should get :P

Everyone that I talked to was very helpful and supportive, so I think it was an informative decision.

But I'll definately give you guys my impressions of it :)

[IronSerif]

Awsome! I got my Dell today! Woo hoo. Expected ship date was feb 4th, and I received it today..very happy. So hopefully within a few weeks time I can get a review up. Hardest part now is school started today as well, so that's rough.

Anyways, if anyone has any questions about the Axim, just let me know:D

[dang]

after you've played with it, let us knwo what you like/dislike about it most!

[llbbl]

Originally posted by IronSerif
Awsome! I got my Dell today! Woo hoo. Expected ship date was feb 4th, and I received it today..very happy. So hopefully within a few weeks time I can get a review up. Hardest part now is school started today as well, so that's rough.

Anyways, if anyone has any questions about the Axim, just let me know:D

What kinda of accessories did you get for it? Are you able to sign in to the forums. I saw before that you were able to post. I am wondering how much different surfing is on the PocketPC than on a regular comupter.

Also how does the Axim connect to the internet? I don't remember reading about it having wireless built in. If you were already online this means that you bought some sort of expansion card for it.

[IronSerif]

Originally posted by TecknoGeek


What kinda of accessories did you get for it? Are you able to sign in to the forums. I saw before that you were able to post. I am wondering how much different surfing is on the PocketPC than on a regular comupter.

Also how does the Axim connect to the internet? I don't remember reading about it having wireless built in. If you were already online this means that you bought some sort of expansion card for it.

As far as accessories goes, I only bought the extra USB cradle, which is gorgeous! Other than that, I plan on getting some screen protectors for it sometime soon.

I also bought a Sandisk cruzer, which acts as a portable USB drive, but is expandable via SD/MMC cards, and it came with a 128mb SD card.

As an aside not with this storage, if you are gonna store some videos, such as music videos, convert them over to .wmv files and shrink'em down a lil bit. Most of my music video's are 3mb big, so I can fit a ton of them on the card. Just an FYI if you didn't know :)

I'm not too sure about signing into the forums, I'll try that later today. I was able to post, but for some reason it didn't use my registered name, just "ironserif". But I'll try to double check on that again later at work when we're not busy.

To connect to the Internet, which was the biggest reason I chose the axim over many other units, I had to get a 802.11b CF card. So of course you'll need some wi-fi access, where as mot of my day is comprised around it, between my house, work, and school, they all have wi-fi access.

Browsing the net is kinda difficult, because the pages do not shrink down to size, so you have two long scroll bars, one on the side and one on the bottom. It takes a little extra longer time to load some pages too.

I wasn't able to get onto hotmail, but I was able to check my email through pocket outlook (or whatever it's called), and was also able to connect to AIM.

Definately let me know if you guys have any other questions or need more info!

[llbbl]

Wow sounds like a great buy. My dad was thinking of one and I just wanted to make sure I understood what it was capable of. Thanks for the info !!

[IronSerif]

Originally posted by TecknoGeek
Wow sounds like a great buy. My dad was thinking of one and I just wanted to make sure I understood what it was capable of. Thanks for the info !!

Np man! If you need any more info of any sorts definately let me know :) And hopefully your dad will find a device that'll suite his needs.