Psion Series 5 Handheld Computer

List Price: $449.99

Features:

• 8 MB RAM plus CompactFlash slot
• Backlit LCD touch screen with stylus
• Complete personal-information manager applications
• Infrared port for printing and data transfer
• What's in the box: Psion Series 5 Handheld, Serial cable connection, Stylus, PsiWin 2 CD-ROM

Accessories:

Targus PA870U Universal Wireless Keyboard

Customer Reviews:

A great replace of HP 200 LX [Posted on 1999-09-22]
I have been using HP200LX for 5 years. The unit was broken last year and I started to look for a replacement, I have tried Nino P/PC and a HP H/PC, but none of P or H PC would do as good as the 200LX (I almost switch back to 200LX). They are either battery life too-short or too slow, just too slow to start another application which make you wait, wait and wait. But psion does just do the right thing, it keeps it in B&W, thr' not as good as colour ones, but the battery does last longer, say a month. Cann't it be done by a WinCE stuff? No. The draw backs of psion are: a bit expensive, the calculator is not as good as HP's (both WinCE and 200LX), phone book's fields can't be moved around...

those are the minor ones, it's time to switch to a newer machine, think of psion, I recommend it.

compared to previous psions [Posted on 2000-01-26]
I have had the Series 3a for two years. It was given to me, and has enormously helped ot organize my life. The features that enable you to set alarms in variable advance of an appointment come in especially handy. I have also written 6 page script outlines while in an airplaine on the word section and downloaded it into word on my macintosh. For the user who complained that this function didnt work, perhaps he should contact the manufatrurers in England to get either the appropriate software or instruction booklet. It worked for me. I can ony imagine that this version is better. And a little advice for the man with the battery problem. I have a double AA battery charger and two sets of rechargable batteris. (cost around $15) This works fine, I never need to buy batteries, they work for two weeks before I need to recharge, and I dont pollute the environment.

I love my Psion.

Good all-round pocket computer - more than just a PDA [Posted on 2001-10-29]
I bought mine in 1995 in Europe. It worked fine until last year when the screen stopped working. Even though the warranty period had expired Psion USA repaired it free of charge, within about 2 weeks of my shipping the product to them. I have also found the technical service in the US (via e-mail) to be outstanding.
I have now upgraded to the Series 5mx, which has twice the memory and a faster processor. I only did this as the old one was stolen. I would not recommend upgrading unless you need the extra memeory. The only other advantage of the 5mx is that the paint on the casing is much more durable. ...I would certainly recommend the 5mx to anyone buying now.
The diary and address book work fine. I had about 1700 addresses in a 614k file. The spreadsheet is compatible with Excel, but with less functions. Sketch program is similar in performance to MS Paint. It is possible to record voices or sound, I have never found a compelling use for this feature which uses memeory quickly - 60 seconds takes about 500k.
The monochrome (grayscale) screen is OK. 2 std. AA batteries less about 20-24 hours, less if the backlit screen is used.
The main differnce I notice betwwen the EPOC operating system and MS systems is that the EPOC system never crashes - not once in 5 years, and the computer boots up instantly.

My Life in my Pocket [Posted on 2002-09-19]
I bought my first PSION when I was due to attend an Austrian Economics Conference at Claremont McKenna in the early 1990's. Rather than lug my overfull Filofax on the 10 hour flight from London, I opted for the PSION rather than a laptop. The little computer did an admirable job but the screen was a little samll as well as dark.

When the series 5 was launched I replaced my existing one with this current model. Why not choose the Palm. Good question. I wanted a computer that could handle word processing as well as a spreadsheet and be more than an organiser. I wanted something small and inobtrusive that could fit in a jacket pocket and that was stand alone. As a reuirement was ease of portability I did not want to carry around all of the little gadgets and add ons that make this little computer such a remarkable device. I preferred a keyboard. These were all advantages over the early Palms.

Why am I writing this review now after years of faithful service? Another good question. This machine has been dropped on several surfaces, it has had hot tea spilt on it, it has been passed around many, many students some of whom went on to buy later models but now it is at the end of the road. the company is getting out of hardware and focussing on software and applications. My PSION is still going strong. I prefer it to my Palm and Clie and BlackBerry. The capacity is good and I still have no add ons.

I just wanted to place on record my testimony about the efficacy of such an excellent machine. Alas no matter how good the product, if the market does not cast it's vote of approval, it is doomed as is the case with the PSION family.

R.I.P. old friend.

2006  [Posted on 2006-07-09]
Ive just a bought a psion 5 from ebay a few weeks ago and would like to add my 2 cents.
I'm surprised that its 2006 and this 10 year old computer was the only one that was capable of doing what i needed and more. it actually surpasses all of my expectations. For 20 pounds (the guy i bought it from actually lives in my city so i saved 8 pounds on the postage) I have a minature laptop with a great keyboard and instant functionality. I just switch on and the document that i was typing is there ...its like opening a book , only you dont have to look or the page so its actually easier. I havnt got it synched to my pc yet because i need a usb to serial adaptor which should set me back 7 pounds , but once i do i can easily copy books over , so ill have a book reader in there too.
currently i have a psp which has lots of homebrew on it such as bookr on which you can read books , and pep , which i use to read comics , but unfotunately there no keyboard , which is a shame because then i would have had eveythign i needed in one little device ( games , books, comics, pdfs movies , music ........what a device, god bless homebrew ) but this is the best text input device i could hyave hoped for, cheap , lasts ages with a battery, the guy gave me rechargables so i dont ecven have to mess with the back up battery ( but theyre like a quid ) and the screen is great, even better infact outdoors (soemthign that annoys me with the psp , its practically unusable outdoors)
I can believe people buy those small pda's, but i gues they dont want to do any serious typing..seriously..its 2006 and if you want soemthing that u can take anywhere ( it'll fit in my jeans )...heck u can take it on holiday and never have to recharge it till u get back home!!! ....hows that for portabilty...forget the laptops( till the umpcs become more user friendly )...and get this little gadget...its brilliant.

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