Psion 5
Encyclopedia
The Psion Series 5 was a PDA
from Psion. It came in two main variants, the Series 5 (launched in 1997) and the Series 5mx (1999), the latter having a faster processor, clearer screen, and updated software. There was also a rare Series 5mx Pro, which differed only in having the operating system
loaded into RAM and hence upgradeable. Ericsson
marketed a rebadged version of the Series 5mx called the MC218.
The Psion Series 5 was a major upgrade from the Psion Series 3. A Psion Series 4 does not exist, due to Psion's concern of tetraphobia
in their Asian markets. The external appearance of the Psion Series 5 and the Psion Series 5mx are broadly similar, but their mainboards and other internal components were different and not interchangeable. The screens are not interchangeable because of different screen cables.
The Series 5 was the first to feature a unique sliding-clamshell design, whereby the keyboard slides forward as the device opens to counterbalance the display, and brace it such that touchscreen actuation does not topple the device, a feature mentioned in the granted European patent EP 0766166B1. This novel design approach was the work of Martin Riddiford, an industrial designer for Therefore Design. A simplified version of this design was also used in the Psion Revo
.
The moving parts and hinges can wear out or break. The most serious common problem arose because of a design fault in the screen cable where tooling holes caused unnecessary stressing due to additional bending of the cable at this point each time the Psion Series 5 was opened or closed and eventually leading to failure of the cable, which caused a serious display malfunction and the appearance of vertical lines on the screen. The screen cable to the Psion Series 5 was more durable than the screen cable of the Psion Series 5mx. There was an after-market cable available for the 5mx which aimed to eliminate this problem (see Psionflexi in the 'External Links' below).
At its heart was a 32-bit
RISC-based ARM710T
processor
with MMU
running at 18 MHz (Series 5) or 36 MHz (5mx), with 4, 8 or 16MB of RAM. It was powered by two AA batteries
, typically giving 10–20 hours of use. The display is a touch-sensitive, backlit half-VGA ( pixel
) LCD with 16 greyscales. The keyboard, which has a key-pitch of 12.5 mm, is generally considered to be amongst the best for its size, with large-travel keys and touch-type capability. Both RS-232
and IrDA
(infra-red) serial connections were provided, along with a speaker and microphone, giving dictation as well as music playing ability. External storage was on CompactFlash.
The EPOC operating system
, now known as Symbian OS, was built-in, along with applications for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, email, contact and diary management, and software development used Psion's own OPL
language. A Java Virtual Machine
, the mobile browser STNC HitchHiker and synchronization software for Windows
was bundled with the 5mx as optional installations and, later on, the 'Executive Edition' of the 5mx was bundled with various hardware and software extras including version 3.62 of the Opera
web browser and a mains adapter. A wealth of third-party software was also available, from games and utilities to navigation, reference, communications, and productivity applications, and standard programming tools like Perl
and Python
.
An open source project OpenPsion, formerly PsiLinux, aims to port Linux
to the Psion 5mx and other Psion PDAs.
Psion's experience designing for this form factor and attention to detail made these machines a favourite with power users, many of whom stuck with them, despite their age and the appearance of Symbian OS-powered mobile phone
s and other PDAs with more impressive specifications. There have been intermittent rumours of Psion's return to the consumer market, but the Series 5mx would seem to be their swan song
.
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
from Psion. It came in two main variants, the Series 5 (launched in 1997) and the Series 5mx (1999), the latter having a faster processor, clearer screen, and updated software. There was also a rare Series 5mx Pro, which differed only in having the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
loaded into RAM and hence upgradeable. Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
marketed a rebadged version of the Series 5mx called the MC218.
The Psion Series 5 was a major upgrade from the Psion Series 3. A Psion Series 4 does not exist, due to Psion's concern of tetraphobia
Tetraphobia
Tetraphobia is an aversion to or fear of the number . It is a superstition most common in East Asian regions such as Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Vietnam....
in their Asian markets. The external appearance of the Psion Series 5 and the Psion Series 5mx are broadly similar, but their mainboards and other internal components were different and not interchangeable. The screens are not interchangeable because of different screen cables.
The Series 5 was the first to feature a unique sliding-clamshell design, whereby the keyboard slides forward as the device opens to counterbalance the display, and brace it such that touchscreen actuation does not topple the device, a feature mentioned in the granted European patent EP 0766166B1. This novel design approach was the work of Martin Riddiford, an industrial designer for Therefore Design. A simplified version of this design was also used in the Psion Revo
Psion Revo
The Psion Revo, launched in 1997, is a PDA from Psion. It is the successor to the Psion Series 3 and a light version of Psion 5mx. It is software-compatible with the 5mx and has the same processor but is more lightweight , and substantially smaller...
.
The moving parts and hinges can wear out or break. The most serious common problem arose because of a design fault in the screen cable where tooling holes caused unnecessary stressing due to additional bending of the cable at this point each time the Psion Series 5 was opened or closed and eventually leading to failure of the cable, which caused a serious display malfunction and the appearance of vertical lines on the screen. The screen cable to the Psion Series 5 was more durable than the screen cable of the Psion Series 5mx. There was an after-market cable available for the 5mx which aimed to eliminate this problem (see Psionflexi in the 'External Links' below).
At its heart was a 32-bit
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
RISC-based ARM710T
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
processor
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
with MMU
Memory management unit
A memory management unit , sometimes called paged memory management unit , is a computer hardware component responsible for handling accesses to memory requested by the CPU...
running at 18 MHz (Series 5) or 36 MHz (5mx), with 4, 8 or 16MB of RAM. It was powered by two AA batteries
AA battery
An AA battery is a standard size of battery. Batteries of this size are the most commonly used type of in portable electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell...
, typically giving 10–20 hours of use. The display is a touch-sensitive, backlit half-VGA ( pixel
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
) LCD with 16 greyscales. The keyboard, which has a key-pitch of 12.5 mm, is generally considered to be amongst the best for its size, with large-travel keys and touch-type capability. Both RS-232
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...
and IrDA
IRDA
IRDA may refer to:* Infrared Data Association, in information and communications technology , a standard for communication between devices over short distances using infrared signals...
(infra-red) serial connections were provided, along with a speaker and microphone, giving dictation as well as music playing ability. External storage was on CompactFlash.
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, now known as Symbian OS, was built-in, along with applications for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, email, contact and diary management, and software development used Psion's own OPL
Open programming language
The Open Programming Language is an embedded programming language for portable devices that run the Symbian Operating System, which can be found on e.g. the Nokia 9200, 9300 and 9500 Communicator series mobile telephone/personal digital assistant and the Sony Ericsson P800, P900, P910 series...
language. A Java Virtual Machine
Java Virtual Machine
A Java virtual machine is a virtual machine capable of executing Java bytecode. It is the code execution component of the Java software platform. Sun Microsystems stated that there are over 4.5 billion JVM-enabled devices.-Overview:...
, the mobile browser STNC HitchHiker and synchronization software for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
was bundled with the 5mx as optional installations and, later on, the 'Executive Edition' of the 5mx was bundled with various hardware and software extras including version 3.62 of the Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
web browser and a mains adapter. A wealth of third-party software was also available, from games and utilities to navigation, reference, communications, and productivity applications, and standard programming tools like Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
and Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
.
An open source project OpenPsion, formerly PsiLinux, aims to port Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
to the Psion 5mx and other Psion PDAs.
Psion's experience designing for this form factor and attention to detail made these machines a favourite with power users, many of whom stuck with them, despite their age and the appearance of Symbian OS-powered mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and other PDAs with more impressive specifications. There have been intermittent rumours of Psion's return to the consumer market, but the Series 5mx would seem to be their swan song
Swan song
"Swan song" is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan is completely silent during its lifetime until the moment just before death, when it sings one beautiful song...
.
External links
- Psionflexi offer improved flexi's and other repairs for your Psion machines - international service available.
- The Tucows - EPOC software index.
- 3-Lib, the Psion freeware and shareware library.
- POS Ltd are the main repair and service centre for Psion computers in the UK.
- www.openpsion.org - LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
for Psion Handhelds - Some more Series 5 pictures
- Psion:the last computer A detailed history of Psion around the time of the Series 5
- A site about the Psion Revo/Series 5
- A site for Series 5 software
- Unofficial Psion F.A.Q
- Detailed Technical Specifications of Psion Series 5mx