now if only Dell would ship my Axim that I ordered on 06/22/04

one can only imagine the delays you'll encounter from them with the Tablet

I hope DELL does better with tablets than it does with notebooks.....
But, rather than simply say DELL stinks, I'll stick to the facts.
Consider my nightmare experience (below) with the first and last DELL I'll ever buy...
_____________________________________________________________
SUMMARY of 21 FAILURES/REPAIRS in 24 months ( for DELL Inspiron notebook purchased for $4208.76 ):
[] Replaced 2 times: Notebook Service Tags: for i7500:2H0440B(18-Oct-2000), for i8100:93DH811(05/30/2002), for i8600:GHTMS31(11/15/2003);
[] Replaced 6 times: Motherboard: 05/20/2002,06/06/2002,12/16/2002;02/16/2004;02/17/2004;03/25/2004;
[] Replaced 3 times: CD/DVD drive: 03/22/2002,03/25/2002,05/21/2002;
[] Replaced 2 times: Hard Disk Drive: 03/21/2002,05/22/2002;
[] Replaced 2 times: Keyboard: 05/22/2002,05/24/2002;
[] Replaced 4 times: Video Card: 1/10/2003,5/9/2003,2/17/2004;3/25/2004;
[] Replaced 1 time: Lid latch: 05/22/2002;
[] Replaced 1 time: Intel CPU:03/25/2004;
[] i8100 notebook malfunctioning for first 12 months and last month;
[] extra battery purchased for 1st notebook is incompatible with 2nd replacement notebook;
[] extra battery purchased for 2nd notebook is incompatible with 3rd replacement notebook;
[] i8100: repeated unresolved video problems and system lock-ups for 12 months;
[] i8100: LCD failure; LCD developed red-tint at start-up (16-Oct-2003), LCD back-light failed (22-Oct-2003);
[] i8100: Failure: Error: IDE Hard Disk Write Test: Fail (28-Oct-2003); Status: Fail Status Code: DOS DDG-D DISK 030 068, Disk: Msg: Block 7022454: Uncorrectable data error;
[] i8100: Failure: Network Interface Card-PCI 3Com NIC Interrupt Test: Fail (28-Oct-2003), Status: Fail Status Code: DOS DDG-D MINI3COM 030 026;
[] i8600 notebook malfunctioning for first 4 months; despite next-business-day-on-site-warranty, motherboard not replaced until 8 days later (2/16/2004); problem still persisted; motherboard repalced again (2/17/2004); problem persisted; video-card replaced (2/17/2004); problem persisted; formatted drive and re-installed operating system; problem persisted; upgraded BIOS and all drivers; problem persisted until 3rd motherboard, 2nd video-card, and CPU were replaced on 3/25/2004 (now seems to be functioning OK at the moment).
________________________SIG-LINE______________________________________
DELL Inspiron 8600, 1.6GHz P4 Mobile, Service TAG:GHTMS31 , L2 1024KB Cache, Model:PP02X ;
BIOS: DELL-INSPIRON 8600 ROM BIOS Version A05 , 03/04/2004) ;
MEMORY: 512MB DDR 333MHz (two 256MB DIMMs) ;
VIDEO: ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 32MB DDR 4X AGP M9 3D Video Driver: version A04 (10/13/2003), ati2dvag.dll, PN:8X960/X1913 ;
LCD: 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 60Hz, Samsung Part# Y0316 ;
HARD-DISK: 60GB IBM-MRGA, PN:0T673/X1629; Intel(R) 82801DBM Ultra ATA Controller ;
CD/DVD: CD-R/W & DVD combo SN:CN-0K0033-68861-3A9-01HT REV A00, QSI SBW-242 DMOD, PN:K0033/C3414 ;
ETHERNET and MODEM: Broadcom 440X 10/100, V.92 56Kbps, PN:D2465/00009 ;
WIRELESS: DELL True Mobile 1400 Dual band WLAN Wireless Broadcom , PN:3X548/6X216 ;
SOUND: SigmaTel-9750 C-Major Audio Controller ;
BATTERY: 72 Watt Primary Battery, 9 Cell Smart Lithium-Ion, Rating: 11.1v ; 6486 mAHr, for Inspiron 8600/8500 , Type 8N544 , DELL Item # 312-0101, Sanyo Manufacturer Part # 2P700 , DELL PN: 9X472 A00 ;
USB: Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller ;
IDE: ATA/ATAPI Controller: Intel Bus Master IDE Pri/Sec IDE Channel, external(floppy) drive ;
OS: Windows XP Professional 2002, Windows XP Professional SP1
________________________SIG-LINE______________________________________

Ouch. I've always found them to be reliable, if unspectacular :)

Dude , you must be extreme! What in blazes were you doing with that Dell? Temp. Extremes, pressure drops, UW ops. (underwater operations), etc.? If that's what I can expect from my Dell 8600, I might as well trash it now and get the pain and aggravation over with! Who (or what) did you take your aggravation out on, that sounds like a shipload to me! So what is your conclusion, Sony? Toshiba? someother?

Somehow i dont think you had that many replacements Daniel.

LCD back-light failed - was that the cause of the earlier red tint then? I have a Dell and the red mist is creeping across it. I'm trying to find out if Ineed to change the whole LCD, the backlight, or what? Any help gratefully r'cd at p_v_collins@hotmail.com

We had rumors of a Dell Tablet back in July 2004, but of course those rumors stayed rumors. I said then

We had rumors of a Dell Tablet back in July 2004, but of course those rumors stayed rumors. I said then