Windows Phone Thoughts: The Dell Axim X51v: If it Were Software, It Would Be a Dot Release

Performance: Where the Silicon Hits the Road
A few hours ago I received version 1.6 of Spb Benchmark, and ran a series of performance tests on the X51v. I updated the ROM after that, and ran the tests again, so I was able to see the impact of the ROM update on performance. I should state one thing about the X51v before I go into the Spb Benchmark results: it doesn't feel slow. Although many of the Spb Benchmark results indicate the X51v is dog-slow compared to the X50v, when loaded up with all my data, I didn't find that the X51v felt slow very often at all. Certain actions felt "Flash ROM slow" - drawing icons in the games folder for instance - but in most cases I was pleased with the speed of the X51v. Jon Westfall happens to be testing an iMate Jasjar at the moment, and I got him to run Spb Benchmark 1.6 tonight, so I've included it in the results as well. Let's dive in!


Figure 2: The overall results look extremely bad for the new Windows Mobile 5 devices.


Figure 3: A surprising amount of variance between the three Axims that all have the same 624 Mhz CPU. Notice that the ROM update Dell issued today caused a small jump in performance. The Jasjar performs well considering the CPU is 104 Mhz slower. Windows Mobile 5 seems to have some CPU overhead that slows down performance.


Figure 4: This is the score that really looks for bad for the Windows Mobile 5 devices, and where reality and the benchmarks diverge. According to this benchmark, the X51v is almost ten times slower than the X50v at file operations. But in day to day use with Calender and Contact manipulations, the X51v feels nearly the same as the X50v. I think this is an instance where Spb Benchmark may have to come up with new tests more appropriate for Windows Mobile 5 devices.


Figure 5: Windows Mobile 5 devices are faster at ActiveSync operations, likely due to the redesigned ActiveSync 4.0. The speeds are particularly noticeable when it comes to 1MB file downloads (not shown): the X51v is 27% faster than the X50v.

Although most of the benchmarks look grim for the X51v, it doesn't feel slow in day to day use. Opening Contacts, adding Calendar entries, browsing the Web - it all feels almost the same as the X50v.