Axim users still waiting for OS update from Dell

Frustrated Axim users are once again complaining on Internet message boards and forums about the lack of a patch from Dell Inc. to correct performance problems in their Windows Mobile 2003 handhelds. It now appears they will have to wait a while longer as Dell distributes the ROM update via CD, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

Dell was supposed to make a patch available through its Web site on July 30 to correct performance problems that stemmed from faulty firmware shipped with Dell's Axim handhelds sold after the launch of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile 2003 operating system on June 23. That patch never appeared, but some Axim users were able to find it on Dell's FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site on July 30, and fix their Axims.

Other Axim users who found the ROM update that day were unable to load the new firmware due to a problem with the installer, the spokeswoman said.

Dell needed to fix the installer problem before shipping both the ROM update for Windows Mobile 2003 users and the operating system upgrade for Pocket PC 2002 users who purchased the upgrade, the spokeswoman said. In July, Dell said those CDs would ship in two to three weeks. 

Dell will not make the ROM update available online, the spokeswoman said. The ROM update was only supposed to fix the problems on the limited number of Axim handhelds shipped with Windows Mobile 2003, but several users were able to find a way to hack the patch to give themselves free upgrades from Pocket PC 2002 to Windows Mobile 2003.

The company pulled the ROM update from its FTP site after it discovered the software was being used to upgrade older Axims, and promised to make a new patch available through a targeted download. That targeted download will not happen, and users will have to get either their ROM updates or operating system upgrades via CD, the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman was unable to provide a time frame for when users would receive their CDs.

Windows Mobile 2003 users who successfully downloaded the ROM update will not need to install the CD version of the ROM update, although they will still receive it anyway because they are on Dell's distribution list, the spokeswoman said. Dell does not plan to go after Pocket PC 2002 users who managed to obtain free upgrades to Windows Mobile 2003 by hacking the ROM update, she said.