Psion Series 7 Frequently asked questions

A resource offering help, reference and technical information about the Psion Series 7, to owners and prospective buyers alike.
Welcome to the Series 7 pages on Geocities.com/epoc_32
PsionSeriesSeven Frequently Asked Questions
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Other information

Website information
These pages contain the last version of the Series 7 FAQ taken from the Xylographics Series 7 Website before it closed in March 2000.
It has been split into sections but not updated so some of the information is now a little out of date though on the whole it's still fairly accurate. Opera 3.62 has now been formally released and is free to all Series 7/netBook owners, Opera 5 is well under development and will be included with many ER6 machines, Psion's WAP browser is out, and Andrew Johnsons printer drivers now print colour images as well as text.
Goldcard Ethernet drivers and limited VGA-out drivers are also available from Psion and there have also been two unofficial ROM updates to give older machines the same version currently shipping with new machines. The latest ROM image doesn't offer much in the way of bug fixes or extra functionality so unless you're having stability problems it really isn't worth the bother! It now seems doubtful if there will be a IMAP4 plugin for the Series 7 even though it comes with the netBook and Ericsson MC218 (apparently Psion Computers didn't feel it was good enough!?) but SSL access is available in the form of the Opera browser.
If you are a Series 7 owner and still haven't downloaded your free copy of the Opera web browser, go to the Psion Teklogix website on your Series 7 and follow the instructions. The Ethernet drivers, VGA-out software, SSH client and other Java software is available by registering in Psion Teklogix's partner program (free!)
A fully updated FAQ will probably appear sometime after they stop making the thing!..

*  Recommended  *
nConvert from Neuon is a file conversion suite for your EPOC machine that allows you to send and receive a wide range of colour desktop formats without need for prior conversion on a PC. It currently converts Excel, Access, RTF, HTML, various image formats (including GIF, JPG, BMP, etc), TXT, CSV and many more!..
PDF+ is a handy program to view Adobe Acrobat files directly on your EPOC machine without any need for desktop conversion. The standard version is available free of charge and for a small fee you can upgrade to the ehnanced edition. PDF+ works on all EPOC machines and displays in full colour (including the images) on the Series 7 and netBook...
Tomeraider is an eText viewer that allows you to read the hundreds of available encyclopaedias, dictionaries, novels and other eTexts now available in Tomeraider format. The program allows you to search archives (or 'tomes') at incredible speed and bookmark pages etc. PC Tools are also available to easily create your own files!..
The Opera browser is an incredibly well featured Web browser that offers desktop quality features for your EPOC machine. Opera 5 offers support for HTML4, XML, XHTML, WML(WAP), CSS2, Javascript 1.4 and much more- just like it's Windows counterpart. Opera 3.62 is available free to all Series 7 owners by visiting the Psion Teklogix site... on your S7!
FontMachine from mBrain Software is an extension to the ER5 platform that allows standard desktop fonts to be installed and used on your EPOC machine without conversion to the native EPOC font format. These fonts can then be used in the applications and can even transform Web pages by allowing the browser to display the intended fonts. Supported file formats include TTF, TTC, Adobe Type 1/2/CEF, Open-Type, FON, FNT and EPOC GDR. After downloading a font, an extension to the Control Panel allows you to install the new System font in seconds without the need for a soft reset, and since many font formats are scalable you can produce large smooth text without the jagged lines of the standard EPOC bitmap fonts.
Symbian Editor is a free plain text editor that allows you to click on TXT files from the System screen of ER3 and ER5 devices and edit them, rather than just view them. The app is similar to the OPL editor, Program, but offers spell checking, wrapping, word counting and a recent file list. Font and other display settings are available for display purposes only, having no effect on the actual file contents...

Miscellaneous pages
Opera release Beta 3

Opera Software have released Beta 3 of their current browser, Opera 5.1. The new release is available for ER3 machines as well as ER5 devices like the Series 7 and Revo+.

Some of the improvements are listed on the Beta bugs page, which is updated regularly. Notable improvements in Beta 3 include:

UK Gas inspectors now using Series 7's

CORGI gas inspectors in the UK are to be issued with Psion Series 7 computers to bring them wireless connectivity while on site. As well as connecting to the office via the companied Intranet using PC-card modems and IrDA enabled GSM phones, each of the 140 inspectors will log their inspections on the Series 7 allowing on-site printing or sharing of formatted data between colleagues. The Series 7 computers were chosen instead of laptops and replace Series 5 PDA's currently in use which themselves replaced 16-bit Series 3 palmtops several years ago!

Six years ago, British Gas also issued their engineers with Psion MC600 laptops, a forerunner of the Series 7, as part of a £1.5M contract and sales reps also used Series 3a's for on-site quotes, printing and to connect to the office from home.

EPOC 6.2 to contain Opera as standard

Symbian have announced that they are to license Opera 5.1 upon release, and include it as the standard EPOC Web browser in ER6 Crystal and Quartz (With a view to using Opera-based software later in Pearl). Opera replaces the ageing and slow Web 2.2 which, like the original Psion Messagesuite, relies on STNC software...

Nokia 9210 & 9290 Communicators

A basic overview of the first in a new line of high-speed Wireless Information Devices from Nokia, due to succeed the 9110i throughout Europe and Africa by Autumn 2001, and North America during Spring 2002.

Future EPOC devices

A few images of prototype machines including ODIN, part of the abandoned Psion-Motorola joint venture to develop wireless devices running the Symbian platform.

EPOC Pearl unveiled

Symbian have finally unveiled their Pearl reference design to the public at CeBIT 2001 in Hanover, Germany. The new Symbian v6.2 design is aimed at smaller communicators and smartphones with screen resolutions of 176×208 and above (approx. 3×3.5cm) and features a full suite of organiser, contacts, messaging and Internet functions over GSM, EGSM/HSCSD and GPRS networks. You can read more about Pearl in the new pages on the Symbian website.

ER6 links

A list of links put together during the Symbian Developer exhibition in November 2000.

Opera 3.62 for EPOC

A list of Frequently Asked Questions covering Opera 3.62 for the Symbian platform. The section is split into sections to cover questions about the browser, information for new users and a list of common problems, bugs and workarounds.

Agenda screenshots

Seven shots showing the main views from the Series 7's calendar application, Agenda.

Comms manual

The user manual for the Psion Comms application found in the Series 7, 5MX and S5. Comms provides basic terminal emulation with file transfer and includes a powerful scripting language which is explained in the manual, along with a quick start guide for connecting to Windows Hyperterminal.

Wavefinder

A little information about the Psion Infomedia Wavefinder, a £300 DAB receiver for listening to music or news accompanied with visual content, and for accessing transmitted data services such as The Digizone...

Downloads

The Psion Comms manual in EPOC Word and RTF formats.

A few Series 7 wallpapers that didn't appear on the Xylographics S7 site.

A few more wallpapers that didn't appear on the original Series 7 site.

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