After my Palm m100 packed up, I nicked my husbands abandoned Psion Revo to use as he was given the new Ipaq from work.
At first glance, it’s not very attractive and compact compared to the palm series so I was not used to carrying it around at first but it was better than having to ... Read review
Handheld - 128 MB RAM - Screen: 4 in inch - Display: TFT active matrix - CPU: XScale PXA310 - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi - Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic
Advantages: Lightweight, easy to use Disadvantages: Not very good looking and quite big
...I nicked my husbands abandoned Psion Revo to use as he was given the new Ipaq from work.
At first glance, it’s not very attractive and compact compared to the palm series so I was not used to carrying it around at first but it was better than having to pay £100+ for a new one as this one was still in perfect working condition (after my husband had used it for 4 years). He bought this because it was a special staff deal at work, ... ...they sent it off to Psion for repair and they replaced it with a brand new one within a week even though we had it for well over a year so although we didn't have any direct contact with them, I thought this was extremely reasonable considering we had it for a fair amount of time.
After my Palm m100 packed up, I nicked my husbands abandoned Psion Revo to use as he was given the new Ipaq from work.
At first glance, it’s not very attractive and compact compared to the palm series so I was not used to carrying it around at first but it was better than having to pay £100+ for a new one as this one was still in perfect working condition (after my husband had used it for 4 years). He bought this because it was a special staff deal at work, £100 when it was retailing for £250. I cannot tell you the current price as I can’t seem to find a store that sells it now but if they did, I wouldn’t imagine it will be more than £80 as they do have an upgraded version now.
Let’s get the boring bits out the way first (this is taken from the handbook):
Specification Size: 157 x 79 x 18mm Weight: 200g Screen: 125 x 48mm 480 x 160 pixels, grey scale display with reflective backing 9 touch-sensitive icons for program selection 5 touch-sensitive icons for commands Memory: ROM – 8MB RAM – 8MB Processor: 32 bit ARM 710T core, 36.864MHz Power: Internal rechargeable batteries (2 x AAA) Keyboard: 53 Key, computer style layout
Packaging It came in a white and yellow box stating clearly the make and model of the pda and all the relevant specification as listed above. In the box contained the pda itself with the batteries already built-in. A personal handbook to guide you of all the applications, mains charger and docking station which is used to connect to the pc and also as a desktop charger.
Appearance The revo is long and can be opened up by hand fairly easy. The top of the revo is in a silver colour and with the name and brand printed on it and the rest of the revo is in a dark blue colour so nothing special but not totally ugly to look at. Once opened up, the screen will be situated on the top panel with the keyboard on the bottom, much like a miniture laptop. At the back/ edge of the revo, is the infrared light.
Setting Up The revo must be charged fully before you use it for the first time and you can either do this through the docking station or mains charger. With the mains charger, plug it into a wall socket and then plug the other end into a power socket located at the back of the revo. Once this is done, open up the revo and a red light should be displayed to let you know that it’s charging and the green light means that it is being powered via the plug so you can use it while it’s being charged. The docking station is fairly similar, once connected to the back of your pc, open the revo and sit it onto the docking station with it facing you. Then you should check that both lights are on again. I tend to just use the mains charger as it’s so much simpler and let my husband do all the backing up for me. The initial charge can take up to six hours but from then onwards, an hour and a half is all you need.
Battery Life Once fully charged, you should expect to get approximately 12 hours usage out of it but as we’ve had this for about 4 years, 10 hours is what I get. If the battery is totally run down, the revo can hold your information for 2 weeks without charging but after this and you still haven’t charged it back up, all information will be lost so having a back up on your pc will be vital if you intend to leave it behind to go on holiday etc. What I did though was give my pda a full charge before I went on holiday as the revo can keep information for up to 6 weeks if not switched on.
Basic Info The Esc button can be used to switch the pda on and off but you can also set the pda so it will switch on automatically when you open up the revo and switch off when you close the lid. I have also set a time delay on mine for about 3 minutes which means it will automatically save my information and switch off after 3 minutes so will save battery. This I find is so handy as I am a mum and if something happens to my little boy I tend to just drop everything and go to him so no worries about leaving it on or losing information. A password can also be set up so anyone picking up the revo cannot access your info or you can set it up for specific applications, I use this so when my little boy picks it up, he can’t delete my files by mistake. If you forget your password though, you have to reset the whole revo which means all information will be lost so choose something memorable to you.
Navigation Other than the basic keyboard that lets you type the relevant information in, the revo also comes with a plastic pen designed for usage with a pda. This can be located at the bottom of the pda and you slide it out. The reason is because the screen is touch sensitive and normal objects can damage the screen so always use this pen and click it back into place when you don’t need it.
Welcome When you highlight this application, the revo will display a little welcome note and briefly describe the usage of each program.
Contacts Here you will store what the program title says. In each contact, you can store the name, address, home number, mobile, fax, email add, work add, work number, work fax, job title and company. You do this by selecting the new contact icon and fill in the relevant information and press save once this is done.
Agenda Here you can write in all your appointments and memorable dates. As I have a large family, it can be difficult to remember everybody’s birthdays so this is very handy for me as I can also add an alarm to remind me a couple of weeks before to buy presents etc. This can also be viewed differently such as, day, week, anniversary, to do or busy view.
Email I haven’t really used this application as I am home a lot so I can just switch on my pc but it will be handy for people who are always on the move as you can write an email as you would normally and use the infrared to link the pda with your mobile if it has the capability and send the email.
Phone In this application, you can store your mobile numbers as a back up should you lose your mobile or memory on your phone. I find this handy as I change my mobiles on a regular basis because I get bored and at a touch of a button I can transfer the numbers over to my other phone. All you have to do is, switch on the infrared on your phone, align it up with the light on the revo and tap the connect to phone icon. Once the infrared has picked up the phone, you can select either for it to read from phone or sim memory and it will automatically transfer all your numbers onto the pda.
Time Here you can set the time, display and how to manage the alarms. It will also display a map of the world, if you tap on a country, they will show the relevant time over there and the telephone dialing codes.
Jotter Just like the title, here you can quickly type in information when you are in a meeting, on the phone or in a rush.
Word If you were on the move and want to start writing a proposal, this can be handy as it does the majority of things that you would find on the program Microsoft Word. You can insert things such as graphs and formatting text such as fonts and sizing of the words etc.
There are a few more applications such as calculator which is pretty self explanatory, a data system to store information such as business cards. Sheet which is a spreadsheet program similar to that of the Microsoft Excel and internet access which I have not used but you can set up a dial up and use it in the same way as you would do on a pc. There is also a game that can be played when you’re on the bus and happen to be bored called “Cascade” and I believe that you can download more from their website.
All in all, I have found that the revo has been pretty easy to get to grips with as it is very similar to a computer but I think that in general, as I don’t work, some of the extra programs are not of any use to me so I wouldn’t recommend it to people who needs a normal diary but as a start-up for a business user, this is very handy.
Also as we bought this from the Carphone Warehouse, it wouldn't switch on at one point so we took it back and they sent it off to Psion for repair and they replaced it with a brand new one within a week even though we had it for well over a year so although we didn't have any direct contact with them, I thought this was extremely reasonable considering we had it for a fair amount of time.
Advantages: Links to common PC apps; excellent communications; userfriendly; ergonomic Disadvantages: I genuinely can't fault it.
...touch-screen organiser has. But Psion had to include a touch-screen, didn't they? Returning momentarily to the keyboard, I have to say that the Revo has the best keyboard of its size that I have ever seen; it's probably only bettered at all by that of the Series 5, which is in any case far larger. The keys are about 70% the width of normal PC keys, and one key starts almost where the last ends - Psion have essentially condensed a laptop keyboard ... ...you to transfer data between Psion and PC via serial port. You can also transfer data via infrared, but there is the option to plug the mains charger into the docking station so that you can, in one neat move, charge and back up your Revo. The software for the PC also converts documents to and from the Psion on the fly. The Psion appears not unlike another disk drive in Windows - files can be dragged and dropped to and from it.
So much can be said ...
kurowski 13.04.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 )
Advantages: Very sexy, small, powerful. Disadvantages: Keyboard a bit on the small side.
...at the picture -- this Psion is actually smaller and is, in my opinion, the coolest looking PDA around, bar none. I mean, look at the dark blue casing accented in silver -- a sexier machine you will not find!
This product is being marketed by Psion to go directly against Palm Computing Inc's Palm V. In fact, the Psion is actually only slightly bigger than the Palm V, and fits in your pocket quite easily.
Blue meanie
About the size of a spectacle ... ...another interesting thing about the Psion Revo is that it has an ingenious slide-out keyboard that is even more impressive than the one on the Psion Series 5mx - as you open it, the keyboard slides out and creates an arched base which angles the keyboard perfectly for typing.
Look underneath and you'll discover that as the keyboard slides out, the RS232 connector (for connecting to your PC and to external modems) is on the bottom - which means that ...
ani_muza 12.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 )
Advantages: Small, docking station, Net & Email, 8 or 16 mb, Quick, Sync with mobile & PC Disadvantages: A little flimsy, Smaller screen than s5, No backlight, Mono, No dictate
I bought my Psion Revo just before Christmas, and have found it an extreamly usefull tool in organising my home and work life.
I needed to get my (getting more and more) busy life organised, and I had looked at a lot of PDA's before deciding to go with the Revo.
Without waffling too much, here are /my/ pro's and con's about the Revo:
Pro's -
* It's small - Considering it's got a full (usable) keyboard, this is a mirical! With the clever 'clam' ... ...isn't as big as the Psion Series 5. But then the 5 is bigger overall!
* No backlit display - No playing in the dark (with the Revo, that is!) But then again, who cares - that sucks power big-time!
* No handwriting recognition - Although you can download some off the web for free, so no big deal there.
* Only monochrome - Alright, I'm getting picky, but I thought I should mention!
* Internet is slow using the mobile. Only 9600, so email can be ...
MikeWhalley 26.03.2001 (01.04.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 )
Advantages: Lots of Software, Light, Compact, excellent design Disadvantages: Backlight? and memory prob, besides that its amazing PDA
Psion Revo
I have bought my first Psion Revo on the market, cost me only £80, and that was cheap then. I did not have the Sync Software by Symbian though i have managed to find and download it on the internet instead of paying £39 for it. So, finally, i had a PDA Psion Revo, Docking Station with it, and an Installed Synchronization software.
Specs:
Size: 6.18" x 3.11" x .43" in
Weight: 7.05oz.
Processor: ARM 710 core running @ 36MHz
Memory: ... ...huge community of Epoch 32, Psion lovers out there.
I have installed, reinstalled and uninstalled many programs, and the most amazing thing of all is that Epoch32 OS is very reliable it DID NOT freeze even once while performing many tasks at once. Programs take up a small amount of space, especially it was a great relief when i had 8MB memory on my PDA. Average good application with lots of features takes up around 50-200KB.
All Word Processing ...
Neoxxy 31.01.2003 (09.10.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 )
Advantages: A neat little organiser solution, very flexible Disadvantages: Limited Expandability, no backlight
...white box with the word Psion printed on it and a picture of a sexy streamlined little organiser. It didn’t so much scream out to me as grab me by the throat and strangle me until I gave in to its tempting offer of organisation and functionality. Psion has always been a name I’ve trusted for quality since the days of those first organisers which, to me, always resembled the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy from the TV series. Their ... ...be instantly drawn to their Psion counterparts. The Contact function allows for address and phone number storage and instant retrieval. It also has a nice little name search function. The agenda is wonderful, looking for all the world like a paper based organiser, right down to the ring binder effect! It will show a whole week per page and simply clicking on the corner of the page will turn it over. It also lets you jump straight to a date for easy ...
pbyron 13.05.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 )
Product Information for "Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 )" »
Audio
Audio Output
Speaker(s)
Operating system / software
OS Provided
Symbian EPOC32 5
Software
Agenda, Appointment book, Jotter, Phonebook, Contacts, Web Browser, E-mail, Alarm/World Time, Word, Sheet, Data, Cascade, Calc, PsiWin 2.3
Manufacturer's product description
If you're juggling social connections, business commitments and the totally unexpected, pick up a Psion Revo. Psion Revo is designed to fit right into your pocket - and right into your life. Revo offers agenda, contacts manager, e-mail on the move, jotter, PC sync and lots more to stay ahead of a busy life. It provides powerful features to help you organize your information, your day and your life. Revo is designed to connect to your information, wherever it is. So there's no missing link even when you're on the move. Revo offers a whole suite of useful packages to help you work at home, in the office or on the move. And it's from Psion, the world leader in palmtop computing. Get organized. Get connected. Get Revo.
Related tags for Psion Revo - - EPOC32 5 - ARM710T 36 MHz - RAM: 8 MB - ROM: 8 MB ( 480 x 160 ) »
portable, easy-to-use, backlight, perfect for writing on the go
record function switches itself on randomly, bit big compared to other models, the stylus falls out of its slot a lot, case coating peels off easily (*)
