Psion Revo
Jump to part 2
Time to use some
"S" words I think, like shiny, slim and stylish. Initial impressions are of a
small, light, well designed personal digital organiser (PDA). You open up it's clam-shell
case to reveal a laptop keyboard (no rubber for you fetish types), and a large
well-defined touch sensitive screen. The way the Revo opens is genius. Not only does it
provide an angled typing platform, but also gives you something to grip if you are holding
it one-handed. The stylus is recessed in a hole on the right-hand side, and allows
"point & click" mouse usage. The Epoc operating system feels familiar enough
to a GUI windows OS to be instantly usable, with it's cut-down software being surprisingly
feature-packed.
I wasn't sure if the 8MB would be adequate. The 5mx (and the improved Revo Plus) has 16,
and is expandable and can use flash cards. However the Revo's case is about 1cm less in
every dimension, half the weight, and when in your jacket pocket doesn't "drag"
or feel heavy at all. The 5mx is more like like carrying your own brick around. The other
area of concern was the lack of ports. Only an IR port, with a serial built into the
docking station. This allows seamless synchronisation with your PC (although installing
the software caused some .dll errors in MS SMS and NT), and communication on the move with
the other common devices, namely your mobile phone, printers, and other Psions.
Battery life is far better than WinCE machines, but at around 12 hours means charging
every couple of days. This is pretty heavy usage, the typical user might only need to do
this once per week, dropping the Revo into it's docking station charges it, and you can
set up automatic synchronisation, and backup when this happens too.
The software is very similar to Word, Excel, and Outlook. These all function well, and of
course you can transfer these files back and forth with you PC (this Rave is completely
written on my Psion). Other standard software includes a Contacts database, Email, Jotter,
database, calculator and phone lists. Everything is compatible with everything else,
allowing you to shuffle or link data between different programs. There is a wealth of
stuff on the Web, I have downloaded a couple of games (Nethack even!), a program to turn
you Psion into a TV remote, Tube stations, Pharmaceutical database, Ebooks, and star
charts. Everything runs quickly, and swapping between multiple apps is fast.
Hot update
I now have the Hampster dance on my Revo, you can too! (works for series 5/EPOC)
http://pda.tucows.com/epoc/adnload/dlpdaepocpsionhampster.html
The annoyances others have said are somewhat true. These are screen not being backlit, and
the keyboard size. While the keyboard issues don't bother me (long skinny fingers), it is
a little hard to touch-type. Possible, but the error rate is a little higher than normal.
Why are there no raised protrusions on the "F" and "J" keys?! I find
my fingers stray, and then it's hard to get back into the right position. Generally I
look, and type 6-fingered (plus thumbs). The screen is wonderfully clear under normal
usage, and it is only in dim lighting that things get difficult. The only times this has
been a problem is in the car at night, and in a dim pub. So while it would be nice for a
backlit screen, if it added bulk or reduced battery life significantly I wouldn't want it.
Overall this is a wonderful device. Far better than PDA's I have used, more usable than things like the Cassiopia, and more powerful than Palmpilots. The keyboard, I think, is essential for my usage patterns (typing webpages, using Excel on the move, life organisation), and I don't even see much of a memory issue. The compact size means I can carry it everywhere, and it completely replaces my filofax, and address book. The cost may not make it effective for everyone, but for me, this Psion has proved invaluable. How did I live without one?
Revo : Part 2
Ok this is part 2 of my revo rave. I've had the wonder-beast for awhile now, and am very familiar with things. I have downloaded a heap of crap from the internet, and all in all, have settled into a routine of sorts. My usage does go up and down, but patterns are mostly set.
Here's the software currently installed that gets used regularly:
Psion standard:
System - file management
Contacts - good for Tone dialling too
Agenda - life organiser
Calc - only really use the standard one
Jotter - heavily used, great for organising temporary notes to oneself
Word
Spell - my touch-typing ain't bad on the Revo, but I still need this for brain
failures. Thesaurus is pretty good too, solves X-word puzzles!
Extras:
Z80 - Amstrad emulator
MBournes - Card game
Pocket Chess
Safe Place - data encryption
Sketch - make drawings with the pointer, can import the pictures into word
RPG Dice
FIWorld - world time clocks, moon, timezone alarms
Hampster Dance - light entertainment
Asteroids
S5TV - TV remote control
This is a mix of on-the-move entertainment, and "lifestyle" accessories. A
great deal is information storage - phone/address lists, database/spreadsheets for
wargaming, or manuals for work or SCA stuff. The Revo has been excellent for
eliminating paper from my life. But I could definitely have used the extra 8MB of
RAM the 5mx has for Doom, yes Doom for the Revo, and Nethack. Both of these take up
about 2MB each, so I found them a little resource hungry to leave on long term :-(
But apart from that the Revo does do the non-PDA aspects of handheld
computing very well. Server databases, spreadsheets, and even composing webpages or
emails is faster than using my Microsoft-crippled PC. It's amazing what an
integrated bespoke OS does for speed. Flicking between Calendar and your Inbox in MS
Office 98 tacks a noticeable second, and then refresh time after, Revo is all but
instantaneous.
This all means no regrets. It still seems a little expensive, but I think you do get good value. Losing one's PDA could be a bit devastating, and while you can restore your backup, knowing someone has all your data is a little unnerving. I am waiting for cell-phones to be integrated, that would be cool, and it would be better (for me) to have the phone in the Revo, as opposed to having a phone with better software (like the current batch of Nokias). The size is good, bigger would be annoying I think. But before getting one yourself, you do need to think just why, and for what you want a PDA.
Long live Psion!
