Rating: 
Summary: Serious tool - it really increased my productivity
Review: Psion 5mx is a real small computer - not just a toy like Palm Pilot. It is powerful; it can communicate with your PC; its operating system is incredibly stable and allows real multitasking; the supply of software (commercial, shareware, freeware) is stunningly rich. And, it DOES HAVE A KEYBOARD.I own a Psion for one year. My experience: I used to carry a bulky notebook almost wherever i went. Now, my notebook can rest in peace, except when I need to do presentations or some extra difficult calculations in Excel using sophisticated worksheets with macros. Now, I can work almost anywhere. I wrote a number of articles for newspapers and magazines in Prague, CZ, and even one chapter of a book, which I'm currently preparing. I can't imagine I could do the same with a Palm or similar toy. My Psion already paid for itself. Last, but not least, it's different and it's beautiful. It makes envy among Palm-owners. I remember a panel conference, where I sat next to a Palm-user, who wrote his notes on a clumsy add-on keyboard. I did not regret that I paid a premium price for a Psion. To me, as a native Czech speaker, it is also important that Psion enables using Czech alphabet accents (not important to most U.S. users). However, there is one shortcoming: people with big hands will find Psion's keyboard too small. My hands are of normal size, so I don't do much typos. But if I had more robust fingers, I would probably decide for a subnotebook with somewhat bigger keyboard.
Rating:
Summary: 75% of the functionality of a laptop - 100% portable
Review: Psion announced they will no longer be developing PDA's, but will sell existing models while demand lasts, and continue to support for 3 years - until Dec 2004 at least.
I work in sales and marketing, travelling internationally. I find the Series 5mx provides most of the functionality of a laptop - I use it to take notes in meetings, write visit reports, and for spreadsheet calculations. EPOC system never crashes and boots up instantly. Took 2-3 days to get used to small keyboard, which works well.
The main shortcoming relative to a notebook is preparing presentations - there is software available for the Psion but I cannot believe it would work well with the small screen. Synchronization with Outlook is excellent with latest software. Connects via (included) cable at 112k or via IR port at 56k. Takes about 10 minutes to backup 5.4 Mbytes, and about 4 min to synchronize Agenda+2000 contacts. I sometimes use the IR port to transfer data to other Psions, also works with some cell phones.
Fair amount of 3rd party software, the only one I have used for work is "Convert Pro", formerly free, ... I find it invaluable for converting currencies, English units to metric SI, you can add your own categories to the 18 provided. I have 2 games - Chinese chess and Go - but in general PCs are better for games.
The "Time" program showing chart of globe with local times is invaluable if you deal with international locations all the time, I also use the Psion as my alarm clock when travelling.
Batteries last about 20-24 hours if you do not use the backlit screen.
This is more like a pocket PC rather than merely a PDA.
Rating:
Summary: The best of whats out there...
Review: Superb Industrial design, easy to use... Its certainly the best of whats out there, if you want more (a keyboard, a word processor) than the Palm units offer. Email works great - both POP3 over the 'net and syncing to my Outlook inbox. The case is a wonderful design that fits a better keyboard than the competition into a smaller volume - the hinge is very cunning, and there is no 'dead' plastic around the keys. The freeform database has always been the most powerful and easy to use of any palmtop. Great for all sorts of 'knowledge bases'. And in the small details the built-in software keeps you productive. No hour glass, no resets and intuitive design throughout. All in all, the best of whats out there.
Rating:
Summary: I'm never without my Psion.
Review: The design of the Psion is superior to other designs. The built-in keyboard is a bit small, but compared with other alternatives are to have no keyboard or carry a big keyboard with you to plug in. The 5 MX has been the palm-top of choice for me. I wish there was an updated model.
Rating:
Summary: I'm never without my Psion.
Review: The design of the Psion is superior to other designs. The built-in keyboard is a bit small, but compared with other alternatives are to have no keyboard or carry a big keyboard with you to plug in. The 5 MX has been the palm-top of choice for me. I wish there was an updated model.
Rating:
Summary: Psion Rules!
Review: This is the second Psion I have owned and it is better and easier to use. It does everything my desktop computer does and more. I love the voice recorder that I use while driving the car when I can't write or type. Using this and my cell phone I have my office everywhere I go. I think I read somewhere that psion is going to incorperate a cellphone in one of their upcoming models. I applaud that. I only regret the lack of compatibility with my iMac.
Rating: 
Summary: Good product, but with many bugs
Review: This product has some good built in applications. On the down side, its Web browser still has poor support for tables and cookies; even after its latest improvements. The word processor application converts poorly to and from MS Word, specially if bullets and numbered lists are used. Thus, making it relatively useless for editing work documents on the move.
Rating:
Summary: Good product, but with many bugs
Review: This product has some good built in applications. One the down side, its Web browser still has poor support for tables and cookies; even after its latest improvements. The word processor application converts poorly to and from MS Word, specially if bullets and numbered lists are used. Thus, making it relatively useless for editing work documents on the move.
Rating:
Summary: I Love It - And It loves Me!
Review: Well, I like to think so, anyway. I spend more time staring lovingly at this thing than at my wife. I've had it for eighteen months now.
Really an excellent product. Great keyboard, great memory, great battery life. Synching up to the PC was no problem. Small enough and light enough to take it anywhere. Stands up to the occasional knock. No flaws yet.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Much better than a silly palm pilot.
Review: 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.
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