DervMan’s
PDA Column
4
June 2007 – The Psion Experience
This isn’t
my first time using a Psion device, but it is my first time using the Series
5mx unit.
First
impressions of the Psion 5mx are favourable.
It has a nice keyboard, a decent software suite, a large screen and a
quoted long battery life.
In use,
the 5mx isn’t perfect. The keyboard,
whilst large, is still cramped compared to my foldable keyboard I use with my
PalmOS devices; check out my article on PDA input. The screen is large but can be difficult to
use under certain lighting. Fortunately
many of the applications available for the device have a global zoom facility,
which improves visibility. Psion claim a
forty hour battery life but this is using a profile of ten percent active use,
ninety percent idle time. I tend to use
the device when it’s switched on and it doesn’t idle for long before being
turned off, I see between fifteen and twenty hours to a pair of alkaline
AAs. This isn’t bad but it just goes to
show, don’t believe the hype.
The
Psion 5mx runs Epoc32, which is an early version of SymbianOS. Epoc32 is fast, stable and efficient. It is bullet proof using the standard
applications.
If the
Psion does have a weakness it’s in the connection to another machine
department. PsiWin, Psion’s connectivity
software, is unstable and prone to simply not working. Synchronising ones personal information
database between Microsoft Outlook and the Psion takes quite some time and
occasionally refuses to work properly.
It doesn’t help that the 5mx uses a serial connection, which compared to
a USB device, is slow. One can also
convert Microsoft Word and Excel documents to and from the Psion (and they are transferred very well too)
but I don’t see a way to synchronise the files between the two machines.
This
highlights how the Psion is supposed to be used. Whereas a Windows Mobile device is very much
chained to the desktop, the Epoc32 device is a standalone computer. The Palm personal digital assistant sits
between the two - it can be very much a companion to a desktop but for me
personally, I use it more as a standalone machine.
It is a
flawed device but it is also very powerful too.
It’s a good writing tool... but is it as good as a PalmOS device with a
foldable keyboard?
I’m
still undecided. On the one hand I am
writing this review on my Tungsten T3 and portable keyboard but this is because of the
difficulties I have in connecting the Psion to my notebook computer so as to
post onto the website. On the other hand
the Tungsten T3’s battery life is three to four hours and the combination of T3
and keyboard is larger than Psion 5mx.
If
PsiWin offered a more robust connection, the Psion would make a more tempting
prospect. At this time, it is relegated
to one of my writing tools and I continue to organise my life using the
Tungsten T3.
3
April 2007 – Another Change
I’ve
been reconsidering my choice of primary personal digital assistant.
I’ve
been running with my Tungsten T3 for six months
now. Since then, I’ve replaced my PalmOS
GPS navigation software with a Garmin unit, which is even more portable than
the Tungsten T3. I’ve replaced my MP3
playback functionality with a Sony Walkman mobile ‘phone. I also replaced my mobile email solution with
a BlackBerry for a short while. So what’s
the Tungsten T3 been doing?
It’s
been doing what PalmOS devices do best: personal information management and a
writing tool when used with my foldable keyboard. It’s been doing plenty of things but nothing
that taxes the gorgeous 320 by 480 pixel screen, 400 MHz processor and 64 Mb of
memory.
I could
get by with my spare device, the Palm Vx. Even if I find the Palm Vx’s screen difficult
to work with that is.
A trip
to
Would I
be better served with a more “back to basics” device, something that sacrificed
the quick processor, ample storage space and beautiful screen for battery
life? Yes I could be, except, I’d miss
many aspects of the T3.
How
about a Psion? The Series 5, especially
the 5mx, has a very good reputation.
Yes, the Psion 5mx is larger than the Tungsten T3 but it has a built-in
keyboard. I need to bring my T3’s
foldable keyboard with me if I’m to do some serious writing and it’s slightly
too wide for an airliner tray.
Psion
5mx users make do with a monochrome 640 by 200 pixel screen, by T3 has a 16-bit
colour, 480 by 320 pixel display. That’s
twenty percent more pixels in a smaller area.
Epoc32,
the Psion 5mx’s operating system, manages to combine PalmOS’ simplicity of with
Windows Mobile’s complexity of operation, throws in some nifty features (such as stability) and just works. The 5mx is a pre-Bluetooth,
pre-802·11 wireless device so you don’t have access to wireless technology
beyond infrared. You do get a
CompactFlash Type 1 slot and replaceable AA batteries.
That’s
right, the device is powered by AA batteries.
Uptime is reckoned to be in the region of twelve hours with the
backlight in use or twice this without; Psion quote a forty hour uptime, but
this is with the keyboard in use over four hours and the device turned on with
the screen in use for the remaining thirty six hours.
Experience
tells me that twenty four hours is around two weeks of my ordinary use.
But do I
want to give up my Tungsten T3 for a Psion 5mx?
I’ll find out soon enough, I’ve bought one, now I need to settle down
with it.
12
November 2005: My Ideal Device(s)?
I am drawing closer to one of my
ideal personal digital assistant solutions.
But first I should take a step back and reintroduce what one of my ideal
devices would be.
Okay, combination devices are a great
idea. If nothing else it allows one to
integrate the contact database with a means of calling, emailing or sending
either a MMS or SMS message.
The Tungsten W‘s weakness is that one could not place the device
to the ear and needed a wired headset.
The Treo 650 does not have this weakness since it has onboard Bluetooth and will happily
communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled headset.
Getting a PalmOS device to communicate
with a cell ‘phone is nothing new. My
old Palm IIIxe supported an
infrared connection with a likewise equipped cell ‘phone. My m515
with the Bluetooth card would happily communicate with my Bluetooth-enabled
Nokia 6310i. And my Tungsten T2 will
happily communicate with my Sony Ericsson T610.
I can use the Tungsten T2 to send
or receive messages (currently only SMS,
I have not investigated using MMS via the Tungsten). I can make data calls using the T610’s GPRS or a conventional data call. And I can use the Tungsten T2’s address book
to dial numbers, placing the call on the T610 for me.
I’ve bought a Bluetooth headset, a
Sony Ericsson HBH-662. This is a
Bluetooth 1·2 compatible wireless headset with caller identification.
The caller identification facility
is fully compatible with the T610 and if a number in the cell ‘phone’s memory
calls me the headset displays the name.
Very neat. Otherwise it shows the
number.
Readers may query the logic behind
having the headset show the caller number when one would be wearing it. Yes, however at the office I try to avoid
wearing the headset unless on a call... with the HBH-662 my ‘phone can live in
my briefcase and I can make or receive calls using my personal digital
assistant and the headset. The Tungsten
doesn’t leave my side and the headset fits nicely over the numeric keypad of my
computer keyboard.
As well as the caller identification
facility the screen also shows a battery and status: this is good news. Now I can see when it needs a charge. More importantly the HBH-662 does not have a
blue LED on it.
This is surprisingly important to
me and the reason why is because all blue LEDs I’ve seen on either a PDA,
Bluetooth headset or ‘phone are bright.
Very bright. Dazzling bright if
you’re in darkness, such as when driving at night.
In conclusion, although I have
three Bluetooth-enabled devices (cell ‘phone, PDA and headset) for most
of the time I can use just two. The cell
‘phone can live in my pocket or my briefcase and only needs to come out for
either charge or for MMS.
It’s not quite as elegant as a
combination ‘phone and PDA but it will for the time being.