Replacing a broken 5MX

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Gerald H - 23 Jul 2008 22:52 GMT

I must be about the only one left in Psionland... My 5MX died today. I
was using it and the touch screen stopped responding, so I turned it off
and tried to turn it on, but now there is nothing. I've even tried the
keyboard shortcut backup method to see if it would respond, but the
machine is dead as a dodo. Luckily the data was all on the CF card and I
guess I can carry using my agenda etc.. with the Windows Psion dev
kit/emulator.

No one seems to make a decent replacement for the Psion, I.e. something
small and ideally free of Windows with a half decent keyboard. So I guess
I'm looking for another Psion. I've noticed some refurbished Revo Pluses
available with, new, guaranteed batteries. What would I lose by going
to one of these instead of a 5MX? I've only really been using the 5MX as
an Agenda and database recently because it won't connect to my modern
mobile... any thoughts?

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Damian Walker - 24 Jul 2008 05:54 GMT

Quoting Gerald H's message of Yesterday:

> No one seems to make a decent replacement for the Psion, I.e. something
> small and ideally free of Windows with a half decent keyboard. So I guess
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> an Agenda and database recently because it won't connect to my modern
> mobile... any thoughts?

The Revo Plus should certainly manage all the Agenda and Database work
you've been doing, with a couple of exceptions:

1. The Revo agenda has no Year view.

2. The Revo agenda's Busy view does not allow you to change the visible
time slots like the 5mx does. The feature is there on the menu, but
whatever times you ask for, you get a display of midnight till midnight,
with the working day not apparently starting at any time, and finishing
at 4 p.m. This looks a bit squashed and unclear on the Revo's screen.

If you don't use either of those features then you should be OK with the
Revo's Agenda program. I don't know of any similar issues with Data.
Issues that you might have with the Revo:

1. There's no CF slot.

2. The battery charging system is software controlled and is not always
effective. If you don't charge the Revo at the right time, you don't
get a full day's use out of it, and the only solution seems to be to
organise your battery charging times, and your life, around the Revo's
requirements. For this reason alone, I wouldn't recommend the Revo as a
PDA. Some say this is less of an issue on the Revo Plus than on the
Revo.

The battery itself does wear out too, and isn't user-replaceable unless
you're handy with a soldering iron. I don't hold this against the Revo
though, as it's no worse than the 5mx's screen cable problem, and you
get a lot more warning.

Signature

Damian - http://psion.snigfarp.karoo.net/
For email replies, substitute "psion" for "damian" in my email address.

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Richard van Stappershoef - 24 Jul 2008 06:21 GMT

Hi Gerald,

Stay with the Psion 5MX, Psion Revo (Plus) lacks CF so you can't backup to
it. If batteries go dead you lose all your data! On Ebay or other sources
you can pick up various devices. Psion 5 MX, Psion 5MX Pro, Ericsson MC218,
Psion 7 and Psion netBook. Last 2 are bigger, but also in color.

Regards,

Richard

>I must be about the only one left in Psionland... My 5MX died today. I
> was using it and the touch screen stopped responding, so I turned it off
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> an Agenda and database recently because it won't connect to my modern
> mobile... any thoughts?

Reply to this Message

TorbenGB - 24 Jul 2008 11:30 GMT

> Stay with the Psion 5MX. On Ebay or other sources you can pick up various devices.

I second that. If you're happy with Psion then it's better to stick to
it. You can have your 5mx repaired if you want -- it might be cheaper
than buying a used one where you don't know how long it may last.
http://psion-store.de (hmm, they used to have an English page as
well...)

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Frank Peelo - 24 Jul 2008 18:46 GMT

>>Stay with the Psion 5MX. On Ebay or other sources you can pick up various devices.
>
> I second that. If you're happy with Psion then it's better to stick to
> it. You can have your 5mx repaired if you want -- it might be cheaper
> than buying a used one where you don't know how long it may last.

I suspect "stay with the Psion 5MX" meant get another 5MX rather than
getting this one repaired. OTOH it's better to keep your serial number
if you bought any software that is keyed to it.

> http://psion-store.de (hmm, they used to have an English page as
> well...)

There's also http://www.psionflexi.co.uk/home.htm for the well-known
screen problem. Worth repeating such URLs; I mentioned getting a
replacement 5MX on ebay, here, a while back, and was told that the
screen would go, too. Which, of course, it now has. So that machine is
now off in the post to get fixed.

Frank

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online drifter - 25 Jul 2008 01:16 GMT

>I must be about the only one left in Psionland... My 5MX died today.

> What would I lose by going
>to one of these instead of a 5MX? I've only really been using the 5MX as
>an Agenda and database recently because it won't connect to my modern
>mobile... any thoughts?

I do have a psion 5MX in Canada for sale (have a spare + revo).

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PDA Forum / Psion / July 2008

Replacing a broken 5MX