REVO~lutionize the way you op! (Psion Revo)

Member Name: idodoyou

Product:	Psion Revo
Date:	04/06/02 (700 review reads)
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My walk into a world of PDA's, Handhelds and Palms came via an urge to op on the go.
I was fed up with, when spending time away from home, and invariably my desk and beloved PC, writing out ideas, or ops in long hand, and then having the arduous task when returning to the comforting hum and the warm glow from the monitor to type the buggers out. Talk about get on my nerves!!

However, the urge became too strong to resist last year around October time. And .... I bought one. I just had to y'see.

Now, I don't have a punishing schedule to uphold. There are no daily rounds of meetings upon meetings. I don't have a data base of hundreds of contacts to keep. And, although as much I would love to be online and in constant touch with the world via the web every minute of my working day .... I don't need to be.

And so, with a price limit set to £150.00 [could have been more, but lets face it, all I really wanted it was for the 'opping on the go' urge. And as much as I don't think it will happen, the steel like grip that Dooyoo has around my neck could in fact be loosened at any minute!] and the need for a QWERTY keyboard I went forward and into an endless round of web surfing, shop visiting, and Dooyoo op calling.

For what seemed like days, weeks even, but in actual fact only turned out to be hours [well, a day really, but when I want something .... I want it yesterday!!] I stumbled across an op amid these hallowed pages and instantly all my prayers were answered. [See MichelleScott's op in All Other Handhelds]

It was cheap. It was incredibly cheerful. And I went out to the late night opening Comet down the road and it was mine.

Alas, my relationship with the Oregon Scientific Osaris, however sweet was cut short. Twice. And mid November saw with an even stronger urge [I'd had a taste y'see] and still no Handheld.

To cut a long story short [Oi .... I h
eard those mumblings of 'I wish you would'] when you see an offer on Amazon being, well offered, like a gift from the gods, you take it. You do not wait to pass go. You create smoke from entering your details so quickly. You press submit. And then you wait. Forty ... Eight ... Long ... Hours!!
£99.99 + P & P [reduced from £169.00] and 3 weeks later [Nah, not really, but I told you, when I want something ... I want it yesterday!] it arrived. An 8MB Psion Revo. A brand that I'd only ever glanced upon knowing of its reputation and the prices that the reputation commanded. A brand I'd never thought as my own unless a lottery win came my way and I could justify spending £200 on something that was only bought for laziness.

Weighing in at about 200 grams, it's light. Well, light for a PDA anyway. Some of those things are bricks!! And it's small. 175x79x17mm if you want the figures. Its opening system is quite unique. It draws back into its own hinge!
And although it looks small from the outside, once this beaut of a machine opens its case, the screen and keyboard are big. Most certainly bigger than you would have imagined the small outer casing, covering anyway. Which, by the way, is a dark blue. The cover that is. Navy with the hinge in silver. And a badge with the make and name in the centre.

The screen is touch sensitive. It's bright, clear and can be made lighter or darker to your requirements with the touch of a button. You can calibrate your screen settings in order to get a more accurate 'touch' if the factory settings are slightly off for you.

The keyboard is a joy to use. Ok, admittedly, a lot smaller than what I'm used to but after a couple of minutes, literally, of frantic typing, it was as if I'd been using this size of board all of my typing days. Instead of the sticky rubbery keys that these small pocket organisers tend to have, the Revo uses hard plastic [the same as the keys
that you probably have your fingers poised against right now?]. There's no need to jab at the keys either. They are sensitive to the touch of your finger and there is rarely a missed letter through the Revo's lack of 'not catching' the key stroke. I'm small boned [unless size 3 feet are considered big??] and so my hands are not the largest, I'm not saying that a 6ft 20 stone monster of a man wouldn't experience any problems with his 'pinkies' using the keyboard.

Most, if not all commands can be issued by either the touch screen [via a stylus situated in a slot on the back of the machine, neatly out of view and safe]. So the actual touching of keys could be kept to a bare minimum once all of your various data has been entered.

Described and sold as 'the switched-on organiser' the Revo comes with a whole range of applications that you will need, or want for a busy business or social life.

Agenda ~ Commonly more known as a diary! This can be synced with most PC schedulers and organisers. I use Outlook Express and it works a treat. There are different views [day, week, busy, to-do list and anniversary] and different settings to be customised. It's easy to use, and I defy anybody not to get on with this program.

Contacts ~ Why don't they just call it an Address Book? This is pretty much self explanatory don't you think? Again, as with the Agenda function, you can change the viewing of your contacts book, sort them into alphabetical order and all manner of other weird and wonderful things that the user might want.

Email ~ I'll admit this function is one that I have only been using for a short time. No WAP phone until a month ago y'see. And still no Psion 56k infra red travel modem. Not that I'll need the modem when I've got the phone.
However, with clear and precise instruction from my ISP's help files [Freeserve] the setting up, and the receivin
g of mail was a doddle. I mean, there were no tantrums, or throwing of things because I did something wrong. There were no phone calls to call operators with me begging and pleading cos I'd 'ballsed the whole thing up'. It was easy peasy.
The in-box is pretty much standard and anybody used to using e-mail will have no problem with getting used to this smaller but equally as good program.
Again, this application can be set up to your requirements. It can be synced with your PC mail program. And you do not have to stick with just the one Internet connection. Or the one e-mail account.
I use a SamsungA300 and so far [touch wood] all connections have been made, and take about 90 seconds to download a couple of mails.

Jotter ~ Notepad. Scribble pad. Bit of old paper used to 'jot' down notes. Call it what you will. It's useful. Customised to the users requirements it can be a handy little program that will live up to its expectations as a 'notebook'. I keep lists of books in mine and frequently find the information I want in the middle of Ottakars with no trouble at all. Might look a 'muppet' in the middle of Saturday lunchtime readers but if it saves me buying a book I've got, or getting home and having bought the wrong one. I don't care.

Phone ~ To be honest, I can't see the point of this. I mean, you probably have all the telephone numbers in your contacts list anyway. And if you want to sync the Revo to dial the phone for you, the chances are you have to pick up the phone in order to activate the infra red anyway. As I said .... Where's the point? But only because I don't use it, doesn't mean that it's not worth using does it? Maybe I haven't discovered it's full potential yet? Although, I guess if you do have a contacts base that is continually changing, or growing, the syncing will make it a lot quicker.

Web ~ With this application, you can install
an optional web browser from the CD [that came with the Revo] and surf the web on the move.
I've tried to set this is up. I can't. Either it's easy to do and I'm stoopid. Or it's hard and I'm not as stoopid as I thought?
Unfortunately for me, the extensive help files remain unhelpful with this situation. I guess that in order for me to go online on the go, I'll have to go online and seek out some advice from the many various message boards that helps out with Revo related problems!

Word ~ Now, this is what I bought it for! A fully featured word processor. Ok, so there aren't as many functions and buttons that comes with a standard word processor as on your PC, but it pretty much takes care of all of your basic needs. It didn't come with a spell check but after a quick glance round many of the sites offering free software for the Revo, downloading one is not a problem. Or it can be found on the CD ROM that comes with the Revo. There is also a spreadsheet facility that can used with desktop applications such as Lotus or Excel.
There isn't a day go by that I do not use this application. If the Revo now went wrong and all I was left with was this program. I'd still be happy!

Apart from the aforementioned programs that can be found on your main screen, the Revo also comes with another couple of useful little programs. The inevitable calculator. The world time telling clock. That will also tell you how far the place is and what time the sun is due to rise and set. And a highly addictive little game called Cascade. Pretty much along the same lines of Bust A Move this game has the ability to make you lose hours of the day. Pesky little blighter!

As aforementioned, there are several sites offering free software to download onto your Revo. If you haven't already, I'd make use of these sites. [Addy's to follow at the end]

The Revo doesn't come with a Sketch program.
Not a problem. Download one. The Revo doesn't come with a Spell Check. Not a problem. Download one. Both free. Both easy to download.

Right, so that's the fun stuff over. Let's talk specs. Batteries. Synchronisation. All other information that without knowing, the Revo is a plastic box with keys once the power has died on you!.

The batteries are built in. And depending on usage will depend on when and how long you put the Revo on recharge. You have two options. A fast recharge that will charge to a level of about 85% and take about an hour. The battery light will be red.
The other option is the trickle charge. As the name suggests it takes a longer time to pep up the power. However, it will take a longer time for the battery to run down too. And the battery light will be green.

When the battery is fully charged, depending on what programs you use, and how you have your Revo set up, you can expect about 12 hours of use before you have to charge it again. About an hour or so if you have used fast charge. According to the on-line manual it's best to give the Revo short and frequent battery tops up in order to preserve your battery life. This I try to do. Anything to prolong the battery right!
You don't have to wait for the battery to be pretty empty before recharging again.

The Revo comes with a docking station that also serves as the charger. Once it's in its cradle [which can only be accessed if the Revo is open] you can recharge at the same time as synchronising your Revo with your PC.

The synchronising is done via a program called PsiWin. With this, if your Revo is connected and linked you can access all your files via your PC making back up and converting so easy. All relevant software that you will need to have handy regarding your Revo and its applications comes on a CD in the box. There are all so several help files that can be accessed via Adobe Acrobat.
There is another
'help' option on the Revo, and can pretty much answer all of your questions. Unless they are the same as mine!! It does come with a small manual. Although, to be fair, and as stated on the front, it's more of a 'quick start guide'. It doesn't really help in any in depth way.

The Revo can be bought in two options. An 8MB machine, or the Revo Plus which has 16MB. Neither having upgradable memories.
As I said, I have the 8MB and still with a downloaded Spell Check, a Sketch application, and a Mah-jong program, as well as several files and a 10k Agenda file I still have 5.4Mb free. I've used 1655k which is apparently 22%. I'm not good at maths. The Revo tells you this if you ask. I've used 31% of memory. 2576k with 5616k free.
At any time I can also see how my battery is holding up. Either via the small battery icon on the right hand corner of the screen or via the information tab that will inform me of all the information that I have just informed you with!

Most of Psion's machines run on the EPOC operating system. Whether or not this is one of the best I don't know? I've never used any other. However, I'm pleased with this. It could be mistaken for Windows. It's easy to use and pretty much uses all the key combinations that I'm used to already.

The processor is an ARM 710T running at a speed of 36.864MHz. With a ROM size of 8M. And a RAM size of 8M. The screen is 115x38mm with a resolution of 480x160. It has 16 grey levels and a pointer resolution of 527x208. The keyboard type is LAP 53S and the power supply is MLM 650. [Don't ask me what all those numbers mean? I'll admit. I don't know!]

My Revo goes every where with me. I bought it is own little hard case [PalmTec ~ Dixons [high street] £17.99 rather than online at PalmTec for £24.99 + P & P!!] that takes all it's bumps and bangs. The knocks and scrapes that would otherwise be doing untold d
amage to the extension of my right hand!.

Since my bargain I have spotted the Revo 8MB several other places retailing at just under a hundred squids. I even saw one being advertised in a BTCellnet shop window for £70 a couple of weeks back! It seems that Amazon led the way for the prices to fall on this machine!

I have had this machine around 7 months now. And I'm happy. I have only one gripe. And that's the lack of a back light. I got used to this with the Osaris. However, as much as I miss the back light I guess you could say that this machine actually works and the fact that the Osaris rarely did more than makes up for the lack of a light!

As I said, I'm happy. I have my QWERTY keyboard. And I even had it for under my price limit. I can now op on the go. My urge has been fulfilled.

Check these sites out for a range of free and nifty little program needs for your Revo

www.psionplace.com
www.symbcity.com
www.revoworld.com

XnView ... A program that can change every day common files to the ones needed to work on the Revo. Using this you can design your own wallpaper. I have a pic of my nephew on my Revo which was made possible through this program.

idodoyou totally recommends this machine if you too wanna op on the go too.

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