Mobility Site - View Single Post - Please help me convert from Psion Series 5MX to XP3i!

antony.steele · 12-02-03, 04:57 PM

Hi!

I am a former Psion Series 5MX user, and the Psions recent impact with a stone floor has made me look at the new X3i.

I am mighty impressed with the X3i - and want to love it, but the PocketPC 2003 operating system is so very limited when compared to the standard apps that the Psion Series 5MX has. The Psion won't do multi-media, 802.11, Bluetooth, nor does it have a colour display... but the built in apps (although 8 years old) are massively more impressive than Outlook/PocketWord/PocketExcel.

For example:
What use is a "week-view" in Calender if it doesn't show you what you are doing without you having to selectively click on each event!

How can I get PocketExcel to draw graphs of my data?
Or how about resizing the screen to fit a few more rows and columns in?

On my Psion I would have three (but could have unlimited) Contact address books. (1) home use, (2) business use, (3) the company database. The latter has 22,000 records in it - a 4MB file in a Psion. How can I replicate the same on a PocketPC? There is no way that I want to merge all three together!

The company database is provided in CSV format each week or two, and the Psion would readily import the data into a new database whenever I downloaded it.

I can not see how to import any data into the X3 to form a new address book.

I presume that there are some 3rd party apps out there that I can use instead - but it is a great shame that my first impressions show that modern applications running on a 400Mhz PocketPC do not even get close to 8 year old apps running on a fully multi-tasking operatign system 34Mhz Psion!

Surely the X3i is more capeable of running the full blown Microsoft Excel than some users PC's are!! Doesn't seem fair that the X3i only gets to run a version of Excel that someone put together using what could only be a very few lines of code!

I am so fond of the X3i hardware - I'd love it to be a replacement for the Psion Series 5MX -- but I so disappointed with the built-in apps. Maybe I'll have to buy a 2nd hand Psion on Ebay and re-visit PocketPC in a year or twos time?

Also, what can anyone tell me about Bluetooth? I read somewhere on a forum that there will be a new model in Jan 2004 with incorporate Bluetooth - but can not verify that anywhere. Dell say buy the D-Link CF Bluetooth module -- but the X3 doesn't have a CF slot!

I'm really looking forward to hearing some suggestions!

Thanks very much.

Regards,

Antony Steele
Canberra, Australia

PS. Psion Series 5 has a great keyboard, and 2x AA batteries provide 6 weeks of power! The b&w screen saves lots of batteries, but I'd gladly change the batteries daily if I could have a Psion with a screen as good as the X3 has.

PSS. The Psion operating system NEVER needs rebooting, and I really mean never. It's rock solid. The impact with the floor left me with a shattered screen, which is still visiable - but no longer touch sensitive - so I can now only use the keyboard.

12-02-03, 04:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
antony.steele Aximsite Prospect Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Canberra, Australia (formerly Basingstoke, Hampshire UK) Posts: 8 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Please help me convert from Psion Series 5MX to XP3i! Hi! I am a former Psion Series 5MX user, and the Psions recent impact with a stone floor has made me look at the new X3i. I am mighty impressed with the X3i - and want to love it, but the PocketPC 2003 operating system is so very limited when compared to the standard apps that the Psion Series 5MX has. The Psion won't do multi-media, 802.11, Bluetooth, nor does it have a colour display... but the built in apps (although 8 years old) are massively more impressive than Outlook/PocketWord/PocketExcel. For example: What use is a "week-view" in Calender if it doesn't show you what you are doing without you having to selectively click on each event! How can I get PocketExcel to draw graphs of my data? Or how about resizing the screen to fit a few more rows and columns in? On my Psion I would have three (but could have unlimited) Contact address books. (1) home use, (2) business use, (3) the company database. The latter has 22,000 records in it - a 4MB file in a Psion. How can I replicate the same on a PocketPC? There is no way that I want to merge all three together! The company database is provided in CSV format each week or two, and the Psion would readily import the data into a new database whenever I downloaded it. I can not see how to import any data into the X3 to form a new address book. I presume that there are some 3rd party apps out there that I can use instead - but it is a great shame that my first impressions show that modern applications running on a 400Mhz PocketPC do not even get close to 8 year old apps running on a fully multi-tasking operatign system 34Mhz Psion! Surely the X3i is more capeable of running the full blown Microsoft Excel than some users PC's are!! Doesn't seem fair that the X3i only gets to run a version of Excel that someone put together using what could only be a very few lines of code! I am so fond of the X3i hardware - I'd love it to be a replacement for the Psion Series 5MX -- but I so disappointed with the built-in apps. Maybe I'll have to buy a 2nd hand Psion on Ebay and re-visit PocketPC in a year or twos time? Also, what can anyone tell me about Bluetooth? I read somewhere on a forum that there will be a new model in Jan 2004 with incorporate Bluetooth - but can not verify that anywhere. Dell say buy the D-Link CF Bluetooth module -- but the X3 doesn't have a CF slot! I'm really looking forward to hearing some suggestions! Thanks very much. Regards, Antony Steele Canberra, Australia PS. Psion Series 5 has a great keyboard, and 2x AA batteries provide 6 weeks of power! The b&w screen saves lots of batteries, but I'd gladly change the batteries daily if I could have a Psion with a screen as good as the X3 has. PSS. The Psion operating system NEVER needs rebooting, and I really mean never. It's rock solid. The impact with the floor left me with a shattered screen, which is still visiable - but no longer touch sensitive - so I can now only use the keyboard.