Customer Reviews

Psion Series 5MX Palmtop Computer

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Having used the 5mx for nearly a year now, and the Psion 3a for several years prior, the 5mx has become indispensable. All contacts and schedule/agenda keep my life in order, but hey, any Palm platform can do this. Where the Psion really excells is in its ability to become a near desktop (or laptop) equivalent in your pocket, and therefore be with you all the time. As a physician, I use it for all office notes, and with a slick program called ChartNotes, can convert notes to letters, etc. While this program will only appeal to a select audience, it points out the versatility of the platform, with literally hundreds of programs and applications available, most either free or for a modest sum, easily obtainable on the web, directly downloadable, for whatever the user's interest or occupation is. The ability of the accompanying PsiWin to seamlessly synchronize with MS Outlook, both for schedules, contacts, and emails, as well as allow rapid direct printing or faxing, and rapid transfer and conversion of Word, spreadsheet, and data base files makes the 5mx an extension of the desktop. Indeed, this redefines the concept of "personal computer", as for me, in order to be truly personal, it needs to be where I am, always available, all the time. This is much more than just an "organizer" or PDA. I find myself doing at least 50% of my "computing time" at my Psion. The 56K travel modem also allows me to retrieve emails, and fax off documents. The small (monochrome) screen makes web browsing sub-optimal, which is about all I end up using my desk top PC for now. The EPOC platform never crashes, even when running multiple files and programs simutaneously. I only wish Windows was as robust!

I've had my 5mx for a year now and I love it. The native applications are great, the OS is very stable, the batteries last, and the keyboard is the best I've seen. etc, etc.

However, I thought it would be more interesting to highlight some of the non-standard things you can do:

o For truly mobile email, I use an Ericsson sh888 which connects via an infra-red link. Works in Europe and Far East. For the US you would need a different phone (triband?).

o Routplanner gives you mobile maps and route planning. Add on a GPS (I use an old Garmin GPSII+) and the map follows your position - this is a superb package which really works well in the car. I attach the GPS to the dashboard with velcro and the 5mx connects with a cable. Now that the GPS signal is no longer degraded, the accuracy is good enough for street level navigation.

o You can swap compact flash cards with a suitable digital camera - and send them as attachments to an email. I use a Kodak DC240. Great for postcards.

o The Opera web-browser is just out and will get you onto your hotmail account and other sites that require SSL security. I personnally only use the web on the move when I need to retrieve specific pages, because portable phones are still too slow for true browsing. You could of course get the infrared modem which gives you 50k when connected to a landline.

I'm a long time Palm user. After two days with the 5mx, I'm a convert.

The bad news about the 5mx: It is larger than a Palm III, Palm V, Visor, etc. The screen contrast isn't great.

The good news:

1. It has a keyboard. I find input of text much faster and easier than the Palm even though I am fairly experienced with Graffiti.

2. It has 16MB of RAM and is expandable with off the shelf CompactFlash cards. One of the first things I did was purchase a 48MB CompactFlash card.

3. You can program in perl, java, or python on the 5mx.

4. There is a lot of freeware/shareware available. Not as much as for the Palm, but still I find that software is available to duplicate almost all the functions that I used on the Palm.

5. The 5mx can multitask.

6. The built-in Email client can use POP/IMAP/SMTP to fetch and deliver mail to an ISPs mail server.

7. The screen is big enough that web browsing on the 5mx is actually fairly practical.

8. The 5mx runs nethack ;-)

As someone who works in the high tech environment I am exposed to a variety of PDA's with coworkers and clients. I have used a number of different devices and have found all of them lacking. Well now I have what I consider to be the best PDA available, the Psion 5mx. I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that this was the best value I could find in today's market. What a delight to enter data with a real keyboard. To be able to download Word and Excel files from my office desk top computer to the 5mx and work on them while I am traveling. Meeting with a client and being able to make changes to a price quote because I have the spreadsheet in my 5mx. Lugging around my laptop was always a pain, the 5mx gives me the access I need to files while I am away from my desk in a neat little package. A great operating system, bullt in programs that are fast and efficient, no longer am I kept waiting for the Windows hourglass. It is expandable with Compact Flash cards, (the same type as you use in a digital camera) so they are much less expensive and easier to obtain than a PDA's manufacturers proprietary card. There is a lot of software available on the net, much of it freeware or shareware. This is a great PDA designed for someone who is serious about having a real business tool without all the marketing hype.

I have had a series 5 for 1 1/2 years. I love the size, capacity, features and display. Unfortunately, my Psion broke just in time to be out of warranty. The company will repair it for $160 without guarantee that it won't break again. I have heard from several others that their Psion Series 5 or 5mx also broke shortly after the warranty period had ended. Psion does not offer extended warranties, either. I have had a very poor experience with customer service; they are not helpful, and don't seem to care whether they maintain the customers they work so hard to acquire. Furthermore, I've noticed the company being more stingy, unaccomodating and generally customer-unfriendly over the past few years. I would be surprised if Psion stays afloat given the competitve climate for hand held computers out there.

I bought the 5mx about a month ago and have had great luck with it. It works well with my home pc and transfers text flawlessly and easily. The only problem I have had is it sometimes doesn't want to connect to my home pc and I have to keep clicking on connect until it does. I love all of the features. The keyboard takes a little to get used to, but now I can type about 30 wpm with it. If you have large fingers, this probably won't work for you. I love the spreadsheet, the "daytimer", the notebook for daily lists, and how easy it is to download some awesome programs from the internet including lots and lots of books. I haven't dealt with customer service since I have had no problems with it at this point. If you want a word processor, spreadsheet, address book, ebooks, and lots of games to entertain you, this is the "computer" for you. If you need more, look for a notebook computer. I am happy with the battery life as well as it being lightweight. I take it backpacking and use the tape recorder to record notes and then at night, I type out my notes. It works great for this. So far, I have suggested this little beauty to several friends. A color screen would be the only additional feature I would like. I have 3 books, 8 games, lots of notes and addresses and have only used about 1/4 of the memory.

I have had the Psion 5mx for about two months and have found it to be a very usefull machine. It is a wonderfull design and is full featured with very usable software.

The case has a nice grey metalic finish, It really feels good in your hands. On the front side of the case you will find buttons which enable one touch voice recording, which is great for meetings. The volume is not that loud due to the small size of the speaker but it serves the purpose.

On one end is a flash memory card slot. The machine comes with 16 mg, but this slot allows for upto 128 extra, which is more memory then most people could ever use. Great for storing EBook, Encyclopedias, etc. Also the stylus is stored here, It is three sided, stanless steal, with a plastic coating. It has a sturdy feel.

On the other end is a cover for the Lithium backup battery and a soft/hard rest button. On the back of the case is the AA battery compartment, the speaker, and serial port connection.

When opened the keyboard slides out to revel a black keyboard and a good sized screen. The keyboard really makes the difference, it has a good resonse. You know when you hit a key. It is hard to "touchtype" but "hunt and peck" works fine. Anyone who has bought a PALM, and then one of those foldable keyboards has bought the wrong machine.

The screen is good, not great. After all it is 16 greyscale, not color. But there is an excellent backlit for dark conditions. However this does drain batteries. (I use rechargable and get about 7 hours of normal use) Sometimes there can be glare because of the reflective nature of the screen, but tilting the unit will alleviate this.

On great feature is an enlarger/reducer icon. This is like changing the % of a document you want to see. Great for spreadsheets and EBooks. There is also a cut/copy/paste icon which is very handy.

All of the major software applications have an icon on the bottom of the screen for quick access. Word and Excel are easily converted to/from your PC. The Psion versions have excellent features. All of the standard formating options are available, bold, underline, outline etc. The sheet has many mathmatical, financial and logical functions. There is also a nice graph feature, PIE, BAR, Line etc. in the sheet software.

I have seen Excel on PALM devices but it is not the same. The screen is to small and if you want to WORK with a file you really need a keyboard!

Adgenda and contact are standard. There is a regular and scientific calculator. There is a spellchecker/thesaurasis

There is a Jotter program, which allows quick entry of notes into what looks like 3 x 5 cards. Great for meeting notes.

There is an excellent clock program as well an outstanding freeware program for world views of time.

Also included is an "Etch a Sketch" program that allows free from writing/drawing and has many different brush featuresIncluded is a decent clipboard collection which can be copied into any document. This program is very usefull for quick notes, or drawing maps, flow charts, etc....

There are other features such as internet connections, database, infra red printing and even programming on this that I have not even looked at.

On the internet you amy easily download alot of freeware/shareware games, software, etc. I really like the EBooks on a Psion, the screen makes a BIG difference when reading.

One last thing to remember, because of the keyboard and screen size, the Psion can seem a bit bulky when compared to a PALM device. However I carry it my back pocket or in a suit coat. If could easily fit inside a purse. If you travel alot you do not need to worry about docking stations, all you need is a couple of AA's. All in all a very good computer.

Overall, it's a fast little machine and fits okay in a pants pocket. It's the only way to go if you word-crunch and/or examine spreadsheets on the road. It's not hobbled by the ridiculous marketing ploy known as Windows CE; its OS (EPOC) is optimized for its hardware.

That said, the construction feels kind of delicate in the hand, like a tense fragile kitten. I doubt it would survive much of a fall. It's totally different from the solid construction you find in most Japanese and American devices. Those tea-sipping Brits are a different sort of people I suppose.

The software is good with one exception: JPEG support is slow. Large JPEGS, the sort your digital camera contains (yes, the CF card slot is fully compatible!), take minutes to render. There is at least one shareware software package (MBMView) on the market which discards most of the colour data when rendering JPEGS and this is at least twenty times faster. I highly recommend this if you intend to be using you PSION to help you discard camera images in the field.

If you already own a desktop system and are looking for a portable computer this is a SERIOUS alternative to a laptop computer. Small exceptionally neat package, instant on, multitasking, complete office functionality (word, sheet, web brower, + MUCH more freeware from the net). The keyboard is small but I honestly find I can achieve two handed touch typing on it. Battery life is completely satisfactory (about a month). I've seen my friend's Palm - it's small but it is no contest to the 5mx. I am a computer systems engineering student and this is no personal organizer - This is a real computer system: The 5mx comes with a Java virtual machine! You can compile and run Java applications and applets on the 5mx! Because of so many massive fans of Psion, and backward compatibility with the inclusion of it's own programing language in every Psion there is so much free software out there. Also, amazing amounts of shareware (eg Gameboy emulator!). I have an encyclopedia and 120000 entry dictionary on mine :-). This is a serious bit of kit. I love mine.

Why don't the British make computers? Cos they couldn't find a way to make them leak oil. This is supposed to be a joke, as the British do actually make computers, like the Psion 5MX for example. This is a serious computer, it has fully functional Word and Excel programs and it will synchronize with a PC using Outlook, meaning you can keep appointments, phone numbers, in fact anything at all on both computers. It has a lot of neat little programs built in, so you can tell it your home city and it will tell you the time there, including when to expect sunrise and sunset, and you can then use the pen thing to select any other city in the world. The Psion will tell you how far away that city is in miles, kilometers and nautical miles, what time it is there, what the local sunset and sunrise times are and what area codes you should use should you want to call someone in that city. You can also program the Psion using the EPOC language, a variant on Basic, you can store drawings which you can then put onto your PC, in fact it can do pretty much anything a normal portable can do. You can also record conversations and music, print stuff out directly or through your PC and cruise the internet and do email if you buy the nice little travel modem. I also bought a DOS emulator so that I could run some of the old DOS programs I had lying around, and they all worked fine. All this in a package about the size of a check book, so I carry mine with me everywhere. It's revolutionized my life and I'm constantly surprising people with my ability to show up for meetings on time and quickly find information which previously I wrote on little yellow pieces of paper and subsequently lost. So now I always know what my computer passwords are, what sort of brake shoes I need to buy for my motorcycle, all that kind of stuff. Finally there is a ton of useful software which you can download from the internet, and I have all kinds of dictionaries, language courses, games, solar system simulators, star maps, travel maps etc etc. all for free. Among the free software are some pretty serious programs allowing you to read *.pdf and powerpoint file, pretty astonishing in my opinion. I've had my machine for a year without any problems and can't understand why everyone doesn't have one of these obviously superior products.