Like many of us I started using a Psion II xp and kept on with Psion 3a and Psion 3c and loved them, (the reason I did not move onto a Psion 5 variant was I was waiting for a better screen). The Psions I used had great hardware and great built in software.
For me, the chief disadvantage with Psion was the appalling synchronisation with existing desktop software, i.e Microsoft Office and Lotus SmartSuite. To synchronise safely, required documents to be converted, lots of care and several cables and was never a robust solution. Yes it was quite possible, but it was not simple (enough for me :-)
When Psion went into decline I moved onto Palm V, then Palm Vx and then palm Tungsten T and finally a Tapwave Zodiac II
all of these were great hardware with adequate built in software.
For me, the main advantage of Palm was its 'one button press' synchronisation and backup. It was that easy. My all important data was a) backed up and b) readily available on my desktop no faffing around. Another advantage was that the hardware continued to evolve so Palms did get colour screens, Bluetooth and Wifi, whereas I distinctly remember Psion telling all of us that we did not need a colour screen, on the Series 3 and Series 5,and they were not going to give us one !
I was really sad to move away from Psion and still wish it had been a long term success, but I agree with Ian Chapple "At the end of the day, it is all about giving users what they want. If you don't do that, you will end up going out of business or will have to change your target market; Psion chose the latter option." (and in case you wondering I am currently experimenting with a Nokia 810 (NIT))
Mike Robins
Ian Chapple wrote: It all depends on how you define superior. The fact
is, most Psions were probably too big, too heavy, too expensive and
too complicated for the average user, (...)
I’m not sure that Palm’s rise was because buyers were actually looking
to do much with their Palm at all, but possibly, because it became
>the latest thing<, during a period when bling was all the rage,
Palms were relatively cheap, and they acted as an memory aid, so I
suspect a number of buyers bought it just to be seen as >with it<,
>cool<, etc. So now that mobile phones do the same job, Palm has lost
that image.
I realize that it is possible to write quite a lot on the Palm, or
even use spreadsheets, but I feel both tasks are made much easier with
a landscape shaped screen (allowing far more characters on a single
line), and a reasonable keyboard (not a thumboard). The clamshell
format also protected both screen and keyboard of the P3 , P5, and its
similar contemporaries.
For me, the Psion filled a niche that neither the Palm, nor the
netbooks (Psion’s or new contenders’) filled. If I KNEW I would need a
computer for some activity that I would be doing away from the office/
home, I wouldl take a laptop. However, if I did not know that I would
need a computer, I was unwilling to take a bulky laptop, or even a
netbooks with me on the off chance that it might be used. But I found
a P3 sufficiently portable and versatile to take with me at such
times. Also, if I was flying, I preferred to take a P3 rather than a
laptop, as it saved so much weight and bulk, had a longer battery
life, and could be kept going with a supply of ubiquitous AAs,
avoiding the need to carry a charger.
So for ME, size, versatility, longevity, (and easy file synching with
Macs) are the main arbiters of superiority. The Palms are a bit too
small, the netbooks, a bit too big; the Palms are insufficiently
versatile, and the (newer) netbooks provide more than I need; and
neither Palms nor netbooks have enough battery life.
So I see as retrograde the current trend for the new netbooks to get
bigger (and, incidentally, more expensive).
Cyril Catt