Review

Psion's Series 7 handheld computer

By Simon Walker, Cyberwalker Media Syndicate

Why buy a laptop when a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) can do it all?

With Psion's Series 7 device, the British PDA maker has come out with an organizer that crosses the boundary between notebook computer and hand-held organizer.

It combines a PDA's long battery life, the instant ready-for-use capability, the interactive touch screen and the ability to synchronize files and contacts with a laptop's large screen, familiar software and network readiness.

The Series 7 looks and feels like a small laptop. When opened, the clam-shell design angles the screen into a comfortable viewing position, producing a larger screen than one would expect.

At 7.7 inches corner-to-corner, the screen is a colour, backlit, touch Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) with 640 x 480 pixels resolution. This is not the best screen in terms of resolution available on the PDA market but it is the largest. And whereas a laptop may have a clearer screen, the Series 7's screen has the touch interactivity that makes a mouse or touch pad redundant.

The Series 7 comes with a cleverly concealed stylus but a full Qwerty keyboard is the main interface. Writing documents or entering data into a spreadsheet is a breeze.

When you first open the Psion Series 7, you are greeted with a Windows like desktop with icons for individual aplications. The operating system (OS) is the Symbian EPOC, currently available for PDAs and soon to become available for digital phones on wireless networks. The strength of the Symbian EPOC OS is its Windows-like interface and ability to synchronize with other devices and desktop computers.

If you are working on a document on your desktop computer and want to continue working on it away from the office, you would drag your file into the "My Psion" folder on your desktop, attach your Series 7 serial cable and synchronize. Once finished working on the file in your Series 7, plug the serial cable into your desktop computer and Series 7 synchronizes automatically.

That's the theory. In reality, there were many problems trying to get this synchronizing feature to work. After the initial synchronization, we couldn't synchronize again. We tried reinstalling the software, testing COM ports and speaking for long periods to tech support, but it didn't work more than once.

Microsoft Office 2000 is not currently supported. A software patch is scheduled for release early next year.

Another feature of the Series 7 is its ability to use PC cards for faxing and networking on Local Area Networks (LAN). Just like a notebook computer, you can send and receive e-mails using the network at the office. The Series 7 comes pre-loaded with drivers and settings for three different PC Cards and one generic setting.

But: Using a popular PC card manufacturer's modem card, we couldn't get this feature to
work. The process to initialize the PC card was too long and complicated, requiring constant reference to the manual.

The Series 7 is light and compact. At only 41 ounces, it fits easily into a briefcase or purse. It is clearly bigger than the usual PDA and more conspicuous. But, compared to a notebook computer, it is far more portable with a much longer battery life. The Psion Series 7 can work for nine hours on a single charge and holds a charge for weeks.

There is no boot up time, you can turn it on and off as often as you like in order to conserve battery life.

The Series 7 uses the StrongARM SA1100 microprocessor running at 133 megahertz. This is a similar speed to the Jornada 548's processor, meaning it has plenty of power to run the bundled software. The Series 7 comes with 16 MB of RAM and is expandable to 32 MB. Another option for storage is a CompactFlash or PC card types I and II.

As Psion is a fairly new player in North America, there are some concern about the availability of third party software. A quick browse over the Internet, however, reveals a large number of freeware and shareware programs available. Psion's U.S. Web site has a number of links to choose from.

A really neat feature is that you can find a contact's telephone number, tap dial and have the internal speaker dial the number automatically. Unfortunately, the speaker is located on the bottom of the unit, which makes hands-free dialing a bit of a juggling act. Still, a nice idea.

Reviewer's rating: 2.5 / 5

Comments: Psion's Series 7 is a PDA/laptop that has a full keyboard and yet can synchronize files without the use of floppy disks. The long battery life and touch screen make it a certain success in the market for busy professionals looking for document writing and editing power to take on the road. But the technical snafus made the Psion Series 7 difficult to use. Although technical support has recently extended its hours to 60 hours per week Monday to Friday, they are still at the low end of telephone support availability among PDA makers. Also, you should be aware that no 1-800 number is available for Psion's tech support despite the $20 charge per call after an initial 45 days grace period.

Specifications:
Dimensions: 9.2" x 7.1" x 1.5"
Weight: 41 oz. including battery pack
Screen: Full VGA 640 x 480 pixels:
7.7" STN color back lit LCD touch screen display
Sound: Loudspeaker and microphone for audio support. Digital sound recording (no 5mx style voice recorder buttons)
Memory: RAM: 16MB expandable to 32MB
Processor: 133MHz StrongARM SA1100
Keyboard: High quality notebook style keyboard.
Operating system: Symbian EPOC Release 5
Disk drives: FLASH: CompactFlash slot
PC card: Single type I/II
Communications: RS232 & Mobile Phone connection (115Kbits/s)
Other:
Docking station interface (15 pins)
IrDA compatible transceiver.
Connectivity: PC connectivity via serial port, available with PsiWin.
Mobile phone connectivity via IrDA or PC Card.
PSTN connectivity via PC Card.
Series 7 pack includes: Series 7 rechargeable battery
Lithium Backup battery