Psion Series 5mx Pro

I must say that when I decided that I needed a mobile computing device, the idea of using a PDA never crossed my mind. I always thought of them as mere organisers, unable to cope with real documents. The Psion 5mx has proved me wrong. The first thing to note is the speed of the units. Apps load near instantly and there is no boot-time. The OS helps in this respect as well. It is an uncluttered interface that gives you quick access to what you need. You can be typing a document within seconds. The programs included are basic versions of the standard office tools (word-processor, spreadsheet etc). They provide the functionality needed to get most ...  Read the complete review

Ok. The first thing to say is this is not a PDA for everyone. I bought mine on a number of merits; price, internet access, full keyboard, and programmable. If you want a fancy gadget more than a practical device, go blow a fortune on a flashy pointer-only, colour screen device that requires the national grid to do anything lengthy. I am an IT professional, and I decided on some quite reasonable criteria for a PDA if I was to own one. Wanting a proper keyboard (that was actually useable) severely narrowed down my choice of machines, and the price restriction pretty much helped complete my choice for me. The screen on the 5mx is not brilliant, ...  Read the complete review

The 5mx is well established now and there are a number of reviews already here on DooYoo, so I'm going to concentrate on a few personal issues that have occurred during my 14 months' use. First, I should establish that overall I'm very impressed with the product; it clearly reveals the expertise that Psion have acquired over many years of producing PDAs. My 5mx runs my life, and it has been almost entirely reliable at meeting my various needs. The size is ideal; I change the batteries about once a month. The software is very fast and reliable [on average I need to reboot only about once a month - just think on that, Windows users!] and ...  Read the complete review

Many users of PDAs will go on forever telling you how they could never get along without it, and how wonderful it is. That is very understandable. However, these machines are not magic wands that will do everything. Unlike the WindowsCE machines, the Psion does not try to be a mini-PC. Rather, it does those things that you actually need from a pocket sized computer, and it does them very reliably. I have used Psions for almost 4 years now (3a, 5, 5mx), and have never lost any data, the OS never crashed, and programmes never died when I needed them most - quite the opposite to my desktop PC, where crashing programmes are normal experiences. Don't expect ...  Read the complete review

The Psion 5mx is the progidy of the Series 5 - Psion took the Series 5, ironed out the initial problems, improved a few things, and released it with a jumped up spec and some new software. So, the question has to be, is this release worth it, and, now that the Series 7 is out, should you be buying one? The answer is a resounding yes. The Psion 5mx is a major improvement over the Series 5, and is pitched slightly differently to the Series 7. Firstly, the differences between the 5 and 5mx. The first Psion 5 had a rubberised casing, which had a tendency to flake off, and a stylus which had problems with sticking in its housing. These problems have been ...  Read the complete review