New Psion 2K

NEW PSION 5MX

Before I put forward all my suggestions I think it would be a good idea to mention type of person I am so that the reasoning behind the suggestions I give are understood.
I am a 46-year-old electronics technician who has started up and run my own business for 18 years. My friends call me the gadget man. I buy and try out all the latest convenient life helping devices and toys. I have seen or tried or bought many mini notebooks / palmtops from almost every company around. I am a typical business person who uses needs all my info on me at all times from costing spread sheets to general correspondence to my contacts data base to my agenda to in fact almost everything. I use my 5MX for all but the presentations, artwork and CAD (these are not really possible on a small screen device).

New Psion (here after NP) should be as follows
1. Overall size
This is one of the 4 reasons the 5MX became so popular so as I see it the present size is ideal. Make NP smaller and you may as well get a Nokia 9500. Make NP bigger then you may as well get a Psion 7 or any of a range of products from many other companies out there.

2. Keyboard
The keyboard is another reasons 5MX became so popular. Even now, 9 years later there is still no keyboard to come close to this. If this gets changed in any way it will not be comfortable. For this reason the size must not be made smaller either.

3. Screen size
Another reason for the 5MX being so popular. If possible though, I suggest take away the icons on the bottom and the left as this would make the visible size bigger. Also make screen 640 x 360 or if possible make 800x 480. (How many truly pocket palmtops have decent viewable screens as big as the original 5MX?)

4. Screen color
Leave as monochrome because color screens will chew batteries. Even if screen was full color little would be gained as not much could be achieved on such a small screen as far as presentations or art work. Only go color if a minimum of 20 hours run time is possible on batteries.

5. Screen back lighting
For screen back lighting use white LED’s as these are now common, cheap and very power efficient. This should allow almost no battery life penalty when using the NP at night on back light.

6. Touch screen and stylus
Keep the touch screen feature as this makes file browsing and general limited drawing etc very easy. I suggest also make the stylus using a Parker pen refill on the one end. This would give the benefit of having a stylus that could also be a pen on the other end. At the office and home desk, I have a stylus made from a plastic hose pipe clip, which I stick on my forefinger. This clip has a small plastic stick sticking out of it. This allows me to type and also quickly use the touch screen with out having to pickup the stylus when I need it.

7. Battery life
Should be minimum 20 hours. Some flights are long. It is not always possible to get recharging done at the airport. That is why I suggest mono screen (see above).
Note: - Put an option in software that will allow charging from a PC USB or mains supply if fitted with NiMh batteries (see 5 below). Batteries must of a standard version such as AA or other common easily purchasable batteries so that if need be they can be bought over the counter anywhere (if luck has it that the power has died at a most inconvenient time). Also use 5 volts not 6 volts for the external supply / charging as this is far more common these days. As an idea also bring out a small solar panel the same size as NP so that back packers / campers / fishermen etc can just open up the solar panel (2 panels same size as NP but with fold so can be opened up to get a large panel). Again this panel should also be able to charge up internal batteries.

8. Memory
Change Compact flash to SSD. This is now available in 8 gig which is plenty more than ever needed. Bigger SD’s will be available in years to come. I would not recommend using a HD. It draws too much current and is not very solid. My Psion gets bashed around a lot and I don't see a HD surviving this. SD is also far smaller than Compact flash. If Compact flash is needed to be read, it can be read via a reader connected to the USB port.

9. USB Connectivity
Add 2 USB ports so that it can be backed up to or read any USB memory device. Also use USB connection to printers as serial is getting out dated. Note it should also be usable with a PC for backup and data transfer. While connected to a PC it recharges the Psion as mentioned in no 6 above. Also as the NP has USB ports and lots of memory it can be used to connect to a memory stick / portable HD. Note this does mean that it must a full size connector as mem sticks use USB1 connectors.
Space USB ports away from each other so that a USB multi card reader and memory stick can both be put in together at the same time.

10. IR and RS232/parrallel Connectivity
IR is great, as it is small & easy to include. Cost is minimal compared to RF. Keep it but push speed to 512Kb or more. I still see lots of equipment with IR from printers to cell phones and modems etc. Keep RS232 /parallel as it is for compatibility with older equipment. As a technical person I also know it will not cost much to include these.

11. Operating system
Despite Epoc being good and reliable and safe it has not got the following or growth that Linux has. I suggest going to Linux as my preference. With the greater following it will also open up a market by Linux fans. MickySoft CE(sorry I mean Microsoft :-) is not a safe & reliable operating system. Remember, if it is going to be used by people like me who are always on the move, we cannot tolerate a loss of data in any way. We need reliability. If using Linux as the op sys for NP then divers for printers and cameras will be available from the manufacturers as Linux is getting popular.

12. Casing
The original 5MX casing was well thought out. It stands firm when using the stylus. The minor internal changes done in the MC218 version for Ericsson helped the problem of screen cables breaking. Change this in any way and the touch screen will not feel solid anymore. This really is the top of the list of reasons for the 5MX being so unique. Another casing format is the type used in the Vadem Clio PC. This should also work well with a stylus.

13. Sound recorder
The sound recorder has been great for note taking in a meeting. But make it a stereo with headphones as well and a mic input as in most PC’s. Airplane entertainment sucks. Use MP3/ ORG Vobis compatibility (just software). Put in features such as crop a small section in the middle of a file instead of just the end only, i.e. allow a proper editing of sound. Also put in a Voice operated on/off (VOX) feature to the recorder option. Keep a set of buttons on the outside for quick operation.

14. LED keyboard lighting and torch
If LED’s were places at the end of the lid (just above the screen) then when the back light is on these LED’s would be able to light up the keyboard and maybe some surrounding table space. This would allow it to be very usable in darkness or power failure situations.
Include an LED on the one end for a torch. I have on times been dropped into total darkness during a power outage and only my key ring torch gave me light. If there could be a switch on one end of the casing for this and also a software feature to activate this when the case is opened to light up the room.

15. Camera
If it was to include a camera then it would need the color screen for any sort of viewing. It then may as well be used for watching films from memory, which would need a HD for the bigger files, bigger batteries and all the rest bla bla, a complete different machine!! If a camera was to be fitted use a Sony or Panasonic chip (i.e. do the job properly) as nothing is more disappointing than a lousy picture. Also allow the use of a proper external camera via USB port and also allow for down loading from the camera to the NP for back up (via USB or video input sockets). Allow for a simple viewer in mono if mono screen is used.

16. Price
With all the above features a max price of around USD700 for end user price with a mono screen and basically with only updates on all the electronics this should be a reachable target. If using color then USD900, as more cost would be incurred. These prices are for end user prices.

In general
If it is made bigger then you may as well get a Psion 7 or net book or NEC 900. There are plenty of products from well know companies out there with products in that range. Make it smaller and it competes with smart phones (e.g. Nokia 9500). The Psion 5MX was a true pocket sized palmtop computer/assistant with plenty creature comforts.
The long battery life, big touch screen, great keyboard, sound recorder and general software features just made it what it was. Once a person started using it, there was nothing to compare even now. With the new Psion, just update it with the latest connectivity, newer memory format, bigger & wider screen by using the whole of the lid, better sound and several other features and you have a winner. Just remember to market and distribute it properly this time as I feel this was one of the let downs when Psion made the 5MX. If Linux was to be used a big following would also result and therefore a good supply of software will be guaranteed.