Boxwave VGA Presentation Cable for X50V only
www.Boxwave.com
Price: Around $49.95

One definitive feature of the Dell X50v Pocket PC is that you can buy a VGA output cable from Dell that you can use to display the screen content on an external monitor or projector. This has been greatly marketed for doing power point and similar presentations for traveling workers. Even though all the components are built into the X50v and all you need is a cable to use this feature, the cable from Dell costs around $80-$100. This has made it only practical for the heavy duty users of this type of use, but what about the rest of us?

Well, Boxwave has jumped in as usual and brought us a great solution and alternative to paying 80-100 dollars for the Dell branded cable. There answer is the VGA Presentation Cable that in reality is the same as the Dell cable, just made by Boxwave.

The VGA Presentation Cable is a Y cable that has a USB and VGA connector on one side and the Dell X50v sync connector on the other. The USB connector can be used to synchronize and charge your X50v. The VGA male connector is of course used to plug into your projector or monitor. One major difference between this cable and the Dell one is that the Dell one uses a female VGA connector. The other difference is that the Boxwave cable has a USB cable that is used to charge and sync where the Dell cable just has a power input that you hook the X50v AC Adapter into.

Going off the first difference, the Female vs. Male VGA connector, there are pros and cons to both options. The Female connector is the side of the VGA connection that you usually find on your PC. That means that any standard monitor can plug into it, and any thing that is made to plug into the VGA port on your computer can plug into the Dell Cable. On the other hand, the Boxwave cable has a male VGA connector on it. This means it is the same as the side of the cable that plugs into your computer. This makes it so you do not need to use another cable when connection directly to projectors and monitors that have a female connector on the back, but if they have a built in non-removable cable (which will also be male) you will need a female to female adapter.

The second difference is the power adapter vs. USB connector. The Dell cable features a connector that allows you to plug in the power adapter that came with the X50v into your X50v even while using the VGA out. There is no synchronization function with the Dell Presentation Cable. With the Boxwave cable on the other hand you get a USB connector instead of the power connector. The USB connector can be plugged into your computer to synchronize and charge your X50v (like when using a directsync cable). You also can buy accessories like the Car Charger (High Current Output), Wall Charger, and Battery Adapter to charge your X50v while using the cable. With the Boxwave cable you need to buy an extra item to charge the X50v without your computer and while using the cable, but it is more universal plus allows you to sync with your pc.

In use the Boxwave VGA cable works very well. After plugging in the cable, you can go into the settings and enable mirror mode to display whatever is on the screen on the external screen. The mirror mode does slow down your device, but that has to do with software, not this cable. You also can purchase clearvue apps that can be used to display word, powerpoint, and pdf files on the external display without enabling mirror mode AND in full screen native VGA. Unlike the Dell Cable, the Boxwave Cable does not come with any of this software, but you can find it for very cheap here.

Overall I think the Boxwave VGA cable is a good alternative to the expensive Dell Cable. It performs well and is built well so it really is a good alternative.

Thanks to Boxwave for the review sample!