Dell Axim X3 to launch next week

The company will introduce its Axim X3 in a press conference scheduled for this coming Wednesday, it said in an email on Thursday.

The new handheld, which Dell has said will be thinner and lighter than its current device, the Axim X5, will be the first Dell handheld to come with wireless capabilities.

Documents that the Federal Communications Commission issued this month suggest that Dell will market two versions of the Axim X3 -- one with wireless and one without.

Dell declined to comment for this story.

The more expensive of the two is likely to cost about $325 (£195). It is expected to include a faster processor and 802.11 wireless connectivity. The Axim X3 without wireless connectivity is expected to cost about $200.

The new Axim is an important product for Dell. It represents the first update of its handheld line, which launched in November 2002, and is likely to be the first of several Dell Axims with built-in wireless capabilities. While Dell still places much of its focus on other products, such as servers and storage systems, its executives have repeatedly touted the Axim's gains in the market. Dell had nearly 7 percent of the handheld market in the second quarter, making it the fourth-largest handheld seller, after Palm, HP and Sony, market researcher IDC said.

Dell's wireless Axim X3 model in particular should challenge other handhelds on both size and price. The wireless model is likely to undercut handhelds with built-in wireless from competitors such as HP and Toshiba. Toshiba's PocketPC e750, for example, lists for $450.

According to the FCC documents, Wistron is manufacturing the two Axim X3s for Dell. A filing from earlier this month indicates that both devices will use Microsoft's Pocket PC 2003 Premium operating system and come with a 3.5-inch colour display with a resolution of 320 pixels by 240 pixels.

The devices will likely use the same case, which according to the filing measures 3 inches by 3.21 inches by 0.58 inches and will come with a stereo headphone jack and a Secure Digital expansion slot. FCC approval, given earlier this month, indicates that one device, likely the more expensive model, will use an Intel 400MHz XScale processor for handhelds and have 64MB of memory; and that the other will come with a 300MHz XScale processor with 32MB of memory.