Over the years of using the PSION, people have asked me what a PSION is and why I don't use one of the other types of machines on the market. This list of questions and answers is the result of having to answer the same questions too many times. This is not an offical FAQ, it's just questions I get asked a lot: -Who is PSION? -What is a PSION? -What operating system does PSION use? -What applications does PSION come with? -Can you write your own programs for the PSION? -How did I end up using PSIONs? -Why didn't I choose a Windows CE device? -Why didn't I choose a Palm Pilot? -Why am I so concerned about battery life? -My new PSION (Revo)? -Are there colour PSIONs? -Are there industrial PSIONs? -What is the PSION user group I advertise? -Where can pictures and other additional information be found? Who is PSION? PSION is a U.K. company that makes handheld computers/organizers. I won't go into detail about the company since you can just go to www.psion.com and look at the 'about'...you can also look at the various machines there. Also of intest is a partner of PSION, Symbian. Symbian devlops and supports the EPOC operating system used in newer PSIONs. EPOC is also used in smart cell phones, other brands of organizers, and will be used in future Palm Pilots. Symbian is partners with PSION, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Matsushita (Panasonic). Symbian has also joined in a wireless deal with IBM. and many other companies license the Symbian operating system including Sony, Sanyo,Kenwood, and others. [ Top of page ] What is a PSION? A PSION is a handheld organizer/computer, capable of running extensive programs. The basic unit unfolds along its length exposing a screen that runs along the length of the unit on the upper half, and a keyboard on the lower half. The next thing you notice after you open it is a 'touch-bar' with icons of various applications...these allow quick access to the built-in applications. On newer PSIONs the entire screen is touch sensitive, so you can access the system's features such as menus and highlighting via the built-in stylus, or through the keyboard. The stylus can also be used to draw on the screen, and with an additional program you can even do handwriting recognition.\par The screen on the majority of PSIONs is greyscale. This is done to save battery life. Battery life varies from machine to machine depending on memory and processor speed. For instance, with my oldest PSION (Siena) I get 30 hours of use spread over 2 months, and newest PSION (Revo) I get 12 hours over about a month. The difference in battery life between the two machines being in processor speed and the amount of memory the batteries have to keep refreshed. [ Top of page ] What operating system does PSION use? As I mentioned above the PSIONs uses the Symbian EPOC operating system. Why EPOC? It is a very efficient, multitasking operating system. It's so efficient that my current PSION only requires a 36MHz processor and it operates very quickly with that (vs. 133MHz for a Windows CE machine that operates at a crawl and has a shorter battery life because of it). [ Top of page ] What applications does PSION come with? The common applications on PSIONs include Data/Contacts (general database and address book/contact manager), Agenda (datebook w/alarms), Word (word processor), Time (alarms), World (a database of world times, area codes, and sunrise/sunset times), Calculator (basic and scientific calculator), and Sheet (spreadsheet with graphing). Newer PSIONs also have a phone application to communicate with cellphones via infrared (not many phones in North America have IR capability, they have an IR lens but it's not enabled). [ Top of page ] Can you write your own programs for the PSION? PSIONs have their own programming language similar to BASIC. Newer PSIONs can also run programs written in Java. [ Top of page ] How did I end up using PSIONs? My experience with heldheld devices started with the Radio Shack TRS80 PC-3 pocket computer with a whoping 4K of memory. It was good for programming but not for organizing. I later got a Sharp 8K organizer. It worked for me for a while, but the unit didn't have any time function (you could enter a reminder for an appointment, but you couldn't have it alert you because the unit didn't have a built-in clock and therefore no alarm). I then got a Casio Data Bank watch. It let me know of alarms and phone numbers, but you cold only enter limited details and you couldn't program it. That's when I started looking for a laptop. I looked around at the selection. To get a laptop that ran at a reasonable speed, you'd have to spend $1000. I looked at the used market...cheaper, but the machines were bigger and bulkier. Not to mention that laptops fail my primary need...to be an organizer that I can take anywhere without lugging a lot of weight, and alert me even if the unit is off. One day I was in Adventure Electronics (during the bankruptcy sale). I was looking around the computer department when at the counter I saw a display of handheld devices. One of the devices was a PSION. Now I had some knowledge of the PSION brand...someone I knew 15 years earlier had a PSION OrganiserII, but that's all I knew about it as Psion doesn't do any advertising here so I didn't know what they do now or if they were still in business. I spent almost half an hour going over the features, flipping through the manual, and playing with the unit itself. I fell in love with it after the first few minutes, but I wanted to make sure it was the right unit for me. I especially liked the fact that I could fit all that capablity in my shirt pocket...actually, I now wear it in a pouch that I clip to my belt and carry it everywhere without lifting a finger. I bought the Siena on the spot, and a year later I bought another one, the Revo. [ Top of page ] Why didn't I choose a Windows CE device? I thought about getting a Windows CE device thinking (like many people do until they research it) hey, it's Windows...it will run my Windows programs. Of course that's not the case. Windows CE is a stripped down version of Windows with the bloat left in that doesn't run standard Window's programs. It's a slow operating system that needs a fast processor to run at a reasonable speed, and that means less battery life. Newer CE machines can do fancier things like play MP3 files in stereo through headphones, but I wasn't buying a machine to be an "entertainment device"...that's what my walkman and portable CD player was for. And although newer CE machines do have color, I had no need for it and again it would reduce battery life. [ Top of page ] Why didn't I choose a Palm Pilot? Actually, I did borrow one for a while...one of my requirements is to be able to write in a moving vehicle. I'll be the first to admit that I have lousy handwriting and a shaky hand...using a Palm Pilot on a moving vehicle didn't improve things, and I'm a good typist. So in other words I needed a keyboard device. There are keyboard adapters for the Pilot, but they're bulky and you could hardly use that type of keyboard when you're walking along or standing up while riding the subway. Plus it would be one more thing to carry. [ Top of page ] Why am I so concerned about battery life? Well, my primary use for a handheld device is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)...to let me know of appointments and other events that I need to know when I need to know it. It's useless if the alarm won't sound because the batteries are dead from playing MP3s. [ Top of page ] My new PSION (Revo)? My first PSION (a Siena) had processing limited power...7MHz, 1meg of memory (for programs and storage), and a half-sized 240x160 pixel screen. Like every other area in computing improvements are made, machines are faster and have more features. PSION already had superior handhelds, but they were a little too big for my liking...I wanted something similar in size to what I was currently using which was 15cm x 7cm x 1.8cm and weighed 180 grams. The unit I found (which just came on the market a few months before I bought it) had 8 times the memory, 5 times faster processor speed, double the resolution widthwise, and was only slightly larger lengthwise and widthwise (by 1cm) and only 20grams heavier. It still fit into my pouch I wear on my belt. Plus all the other features the new PSION has a touchscreen and a nicer keyboard. [ Top of page ] Are there colour PSIONs? PSION has two new mchines (Series 7 and Netbook) that have colour displays. They're sub-notebook size. PSION also has a third colour machine that's a large tablet design (no keyoard) called the Netpad. Information about these machines can be found at the PSION website. [ Top of page ] Are there industrial PSIONs? PSION has a line of machines called "Workabout" that can be configured depending on the job you need doing. Besides the various keyboard configurations there are from units with just a number pad and 'YES' 'NO' and 'ENTER' keys, to a full alpha-numeric keyboard (in ABCDEF format), you can also get options like the RF (Radio Frequency) unit that enables fast data capture from devices that emit RF, or a laser wand/scanner unit that can read barcodes. Actually, the company that puts up the ads in TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) stations and transit vehicles uses the PSION Workabout to read barcodes on the poster frames and the PSION tells them if the poster has to be changed, and which ad to put up. [ Top of page ] What is the PSION user group I advertise? The PSION Enthusiasts Association of Toronto (PEAT) was founded January 1996. I only joined the group February 98, a couple of months after I bought my first PSION. Years ago I had been the vice-president for a Commodore Amiga user group, so I knew the benefit of being in a user group, especially one where the computer and software for it isn't widely sold or at all supported in your local computer store. PSION, bring a British company, doesn't have much of a support network in North America. In Canada if you want a unit fixed you have to ship it to Palmtop Support Services in Toronto, and if you want software for it you either have to get it via mail-order, or online. In a situation like this it's very valuable to be a member of a user group to get tips, learn about new programs, and get help with any problems you may be having. I'm currently acting as secretary for the group, taking minutes, writing the monthly newsletter, maintaining the website, etc. [ Top of page ] Where can pictures and other additional information be found? Images and further info can be found at PSION, as well as many of the sites listed in the links section of our site. There's also some sites that show the insides of various PSIONs. [ Top of page ]