Historical future
Written: Jan 08 '02 (Updated Jan 07 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Hard built, fast, large memory, reliable, backlight, battery, apps.
Cons: No mobile phone connectivity, no mp3, no video, no support.
The Bottom Line: A bit retro, but great value for money.
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| imreasztar's Full Review: Psion Series 3MX Palmtop |
I have bought this little device at eBay, to replace my Psion Revo because it does not have backlight.
In fact, the Psion Series 3mx is a hardware enchanced Psion Series 3c with a faster CPU giving instantenous processing speeds, 2 MB memory what is extremely large for a Series 3 machine, faster serial port, IrDA and backlight. The built in 16 bit SIBO operating system remained the same.
Battery life
I have used 4 NiMH accus (2 in machine, 2 being charged). Battery life is excellent. Usally, the machine worked for 25-30 hours with one charge, with extensive backlight usage. Powering the machine by alkalines would not be expensive either.
Applications
I think Psion machines run before the competition. This machine was originally constructed back in the mid '90s, but has powerful word processing, spreadsheet, jotter, agenda, database applications, and you can get everything in 3rd party apps.
The built in Agenda is so excellent, that the newest Epoc devices still use the same in fact. It includes all possible settings for day/to-do/anniversary entries, with repeating, symboles, attaching notes. This has one of the most featured agenda/calendar applications on the market today.
Data is very customisable. It is comfortable to keep your contacts, cd collection, time table always with you. I had a contacts database of 700 records with 23 fields each (about 100kbyte). Searching times are short thanks to the very fast CPU - even in the worst case it took no more than 3 seconds to find the matching entry using full text search.
Because the machine is discontinued, many shareware authors will give you free registrations if you ask. So, if you find a useful software, just ask the author. There are thousands of apps written for the S3a/3c/3mx range - a usual app is only 20-30kbyte zipped, and the latest collection of Palmtop Magazine (UK) is about 45 MBytes.
However, MP3 or video playback is of course out of question - the operating system originates form 1994, and machine from 1998!
Connectivity
The machine uses the standard honda connector, the same like Psion Series 5, 5mx, S7, netBook and 3c and Siena. However, its connector is not compatible with the Psion 3a and 3.
The R232 speed is at technology maximum, at 115kbit/s, meaning that a full backup of the machine usually takes only 10-15 seconds.
The connectivity package, PsiWin 1.1 is reduced somewhat in features, but allows printing via the PC printer. PsiWin 2.3.3. is downloadable from Psion website, and offers enchanced file conversion and synchronising capabilities (MS Outlook, Lotus Notes, MS Word, MS Excel, etc. long list). However, for some reason you cannot print via PC with PsiWin 2.3.3. from the 3mx.
The built in infrared port is only capable to talk to other Psion Series 3 machines (3c, 3mx, Siena) to transfer files. If you install the infrared printer drivers, you can also print to IrDA printers. This is very convenient, but somewhat slow because of the serial port speed (115 kbit/s). You cannot use the infrared port to connect to your mobile phone, because this is an earlier IrDA specification.
You are able to send sms via specific software (have to buy second hand) and your mobile's serial cable, but this is not very convenient. Sending e-mail is only possible via serial modems, but any external modem would do in this case. You just nead a nullmodem adapter.
Because it has an excellent terminal emulator, Comms, you can virutally connect to any device having a serial port: Linux, Windows, PDAs, and other 3mx, HP48 calculator, routers, printers, etc. I even know a system administrator at the university who have used his Psion Series 3c to configure network routers.
USB does not exist for this machine but you can use an USB-to-serial adpater.
Keyboard
The keyboard is better than that of the Psion Siena, but does not offer touch typing like the Series 5/5mx/7/netBook. I usually type with two thumbs, fast enough the enter data on the move. You can even write a short letter easily. Entering several pages would be very hard on this keyboard, but it is excellent for its goal. International characters can be accessed via special shortcuts, like Ctrl+4,e gives "é", etc. The icon keys dedicated for the built in apps offer fast access to these applications. In fact, I think they have a better place here, than on the later model Series 5, where they are part of the touch screen.
Screen
The resolution and size of the screen is equal to that of the Psion Revo, 480 x 160. Everything is easy to read in all lighting conditions, bright sunlight and shade is no problem. The backlight is silent (no buzz) and works good, and does not consume much power.
The keyboard has a special key to change views on the screen. For example, in Agenda, you can change among Today / Week / Month / Busy / Year view, or between Normal and Outline view in Word.
Zooming is very intelligent, just press Ctrl+M to zoom in, or Ctrl+Shift+M to zoom out to see more on screen.
Memory
The machine has 2 MB of memory, what is hard to fill with your own databases. However, installing a dictionary, or PsiMail requires each about 500k, and you will shortly go for a memory upgrade. Psion 3mx uses proprietary storage, called SSD. There exist two versions: Flash SSDs work like a CD-RW, you have to reformat to free up space, and offers space form 128k to 8 MB at maximum; RAM SSDs are more expensive, are powered by a small lithium battery, but they are fully writeable. You can get them usually in 0.5 or 1 MB version. I had on my 1 MB RAM SSD the followin: Hungarian-English dictionary, Berlitz Phares Book, Psion Money, and some games.
Size
Today, you can get much smaller devices. But this Psion is really portable with is reliable construction, rounded edges and medium weight. I usually stored in my bag, it was too heavy to fit it on my belt or pocket.
What I miss
Though, the 3mx is fully operable with the keys, a touch screen would be nice. The proprietary flash (SSD) is hard to find today, and mobile phone connectivity via IrDA is also a standard in today's PDAs.
Specifications
Release Date 1998 (original price Price £270)
Hardware
Processor 16 bit NEC V30MX, 80C86 compatible, 27.684 Mhz
Rom 2Mb, user Ram 2Mb
Power 2 x AA size, AC adaptor 9v 250mA
Backup battey Standard Lithium CR 2025 battery
Communication RS232 Fast Serial Port
Keyboard 58 key QWERTY computer style, 9 touch-sensitive keys for task selection
Expansion 2 drives
Backlit Yes
Size 165mm x 85mm x 22mm
Weight 275g including 2xAA batteries
Screen 480 x 160 LCD
Sound Microphone loudspeaker and CODEC provide digital sound recording and playback with a sample rate of 8k per second, 8 bits wide (12 bits compressed to 8). DTMF auto-dialling
Built-in applications
Agenda For appointments & things to do, as well as birthdays and anniversaries
Data for names & addresses (or any other database use)
Time for alarms
Calc for simple & scientific calculations
World Shows a map, world times & dialling codes
Word for writing letters & other documents
Sheet for tables, spreadsheets & graphs
Program Editor for writing your own programs
Files for Norton Commander like file management.
Sound for recordin and playing sound
Solitare card game
Comms terminal emulator
In summary, though the 3mx was constructed some year ago, it is a very powerful and realiable machine, that never crashes, has all the possible features needed on a handheld computer. If you do not need mobile connectivity for your PDA, and the latest multimedia features, this is an excellent solution.
The Psion Series 3mx is only available second hand, and is a great value for money. Recommended to everyone!
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Update (Jan 07 '05):
Read my other Psion reviews:
Psion Series 3mx
Psion Series 5
Psion Revo 8MB
Psion Series 7
Psion EnRoute for PC
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 145
Recommended for: Business Executives - Powerful and Professional
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Epinions.com ID:
imreasztar
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Member: Imre Oliver KOZAK
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
Bio/chemical engineer who loves mobile tech
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