Nokia 9500: the Psion I've always wanted...

It's no S5mx, but it does the job better than any other new PDA on the market.

I agree with Richard.

I tested PALM for a while and could not (until the latest version) understand why anyone would fight their way through the software/interface, especially with space wasted for a 'writing pad'.
I then tried iPAQ, not bad at all, but 'where's the keyboard'.
My next complaint regarding the iPAQ and to some extend the 9210 was the fact that it locked up requiring resets quite frequently, and in the case of the iPAQ you lost the majority of your data in the case of a battery failure. In my case I went on holiday for 2 weeks came back and all my programs /data had gone!

The series 5 was great, backup battery that lasted for years to hold your data, and NO FAILURES.
I've been calling the 9500 the series 8 to everyone who asks 'what another phone', and it is. In many ways it's much better, the sync/transfer of files used to be really annoying with the series-5, no workbooks in spreadsheet, email tricky to say the least etc. And as for the screen, the series 5 was actually worse IMO than my old series 3(3a). This is much, much better.

Now if only I had the patience to wait for the 9500mx (sorry 9500i).

Steve

@Richarde & steve36

I'm with you on this. I have an original 4mb Psion 5 and the Ericsson MC218. I have tried Palm and recently the SE Pxxx series (inc. the P910i). But the 9500 is the closest to the Psion, even though the keyboard is still not as good as the Psion. Having said that, can you imagine a Revo Plus design (but colour screen) with the keyboard from the 9500 (I think the 9500 keyboard is better than on the Revo's) as the next variation of the Communicator! I think this would sell in larger numbers.

Thanks for your comments, Steve36 & Jah.

Interesting Steve to hear you refer to the Nokia 9500 as the Paion Series 8 - I do the same to my friends too. I completely agree with what you say about the Series 5, and with what you say Jah about the Revo.

My all-time favourite Psion has to be the Series 3 - that screen is amazing even now, 12yrs on, & the keyboard almost as good as the Ericsson MC218. I so loved the MC218 that I bought 5 of them when they were fast vanishing from the shops, but sadly they all got ruined in a flood. I had a Revo too, at one point in 1999, but never really got on with it (lack of a backlight ruined it for me more than anything).

The Nokia 9500 comes v close to being my ultimate PDA - all it needs is a faster processor, a better keyboard, and some other relatively minor tweaks. As you say Steve, the 5mx/MC218 were let down by appalling intracacies when it came to connectivity in general, & of course the most obvious plus point about the 9500 is that it's also a phone!!

I still write my "what I did today" diary, going strong after 12yrs of being written each day on PDAs, but when my last MC218 bit the dust earlier this year I finally transferred it to a Vaio - no current PDA allows me to type out of the box in quite the way of the old Psions. Still, whilst I can't easily write my diary on the 9500, I can do almost everything else I've wanted, so it gets 10/10 from me for sheer connectivity & overall air of "Psion-ness"...

I, mostly, agree to what you're saying. My PDA history starts with a Palm Pilot Personal, to move to the Psion Revo, to an iPaq 3660, to the 9210, to the P800 and now the 9500...

- Palm was like an electronic filofax - always there, ages of battery life, synching was mostly perfect
- Revo was like a mini computer in your pocket, great keyboard (I was able to touch type on it!), decent screen, and generally OK. Let down by dying battery and somewhat dodgy synching.
- The iPaq was technially superior with awesome games, etc, but in real life a completely useless piece of kit (apart from MP3 player); battery life shorter than someone with severe altzheimers disease 😞 Input method as moody as an expecting woman, connectivity not very good, - generally not a very good piece of kit.
- 9210 was good for text messaging, but any severe networking wasn't fun due to GSM network. Connectivity through serial was just as classic as the Revo. Generally an OK device, but with extremely limited memory.
- P800 has been great! It's really been the first device that I've picked up and everything "just works", connectivity, synching, input method, web, email, texts, IMs, etc etc, everything works! A bit more memory would have been great. Due to the lack of keyboard, it's not the device that I'm truly looking for. I bet the P900 and P910i are awesome pieces of kit.

And, now the 9500, which I've now had since Tuesday, and I'm not very pleased with it. There's a lot of small niggly things with it.
- Synching seems to work, but none of the other applications (Phone browser is sloooow, haven't managed to send an SMS, etc). If I try the SMS application some application crashes.
- The phone is generally slow; switching between applications is like watching a screen redraw on an overloaded computer.
- Web (Opera) didn't want to follow links one time.
- Connecting to WiFi seems very moody, sometimes it says it can't find the server, etc.
- The keyboard is truly appalling; I have no comprehension to why Nokia can't build a proper keyboard on them � la MX5/Revo. Surely a thinner, wider device is better to have in your pocket? That type of device (like the Revo) would allow a bigger screen and better keyboard. And if they really need to stick with this keyboard, why have they positioned the keys like they have?! To me some of the positions just don't make sense.

To conclude; Yes, I think that if everything would "just work" as advertised, this device would have me walking around with small-gadget-hearts floating around my head... but right now I have very little confidence in the device and I'm generalyl not very pleased with it. The Psion I've always wanted[1]; if it would work, yes.

[1] Start with a Psion Revo, add back-lit colour screen with WiFi, Bluetooth, CF-card slot, USB connection, and possibly a tiny track-ball (retaining touch screen). Give it a battery life of 2 full working days. And tons of memory. As you can see, the 9500 isn't very far off (in theory)!

A very interesting reply, TheJoker, thanks for your post.

I agree completely with pretty much everything you say. I hadn't mentioned in my ealrier posts my experiences with the P800/900, but like so many other PDAs I tried these too when looking for my MC218 replacement. Yes, the P800/900 are amazing, and work right out of the box. I like the pen input which works well, but still would prefer a keyboard any day - nobody builds them quite like Psion used to, but surely it can't be that difficult. As you mention, some of the key positioning on the 9500 strikes me a bizarre to say the least.

As for your ideal machine, I agree 100% with your thoughts, and as you suggest it isn't v far off the 9500. Battery life to me seems much better on the 9500 than it was on the 9210i - I got 2 working days out of mine last week...

Richard

Based on your enthusiastic message, Richarde, I've just ordered a 9500 to replace my Psion 5mx. Cost �160 from O2 after haggling.

I have owned Psion 3a, 5, and 5mx and still use the 5mx every day, mainly for Agenda and Data (still haven't ported over to Contact). For me it's the keyboard that wins over any Palm type device for speed, particularly if you can touch type.

What I want to know is:
Can I run my old 3rd party ware such as Enroute and Cobuild dictionary on the 9500?
Do I need some kind of EPOC emulator to do so?
Alternatively, can I get good routefinding maps for UK and EU, and english dictionary, etc. for the 9500.

Can't wait for it to arrive!

I'm expecting to pay a visit to 3Lib soon.

Thanks.

''What I want to know is:
Can I run my old 3rd party ware such as Enroute and Cobuild dictionary on the 9500?
Do I need some kind of EPOC emulator to do so?
Alternatively, can I get good routefinding maps for UK and EU, and english dictionary, etc. for the 9500.''

Nope can't run EPOC32 software on 9500 although there are some 9210 applications that are supposed to run on 9500, but this sounds very patchy.

I don't think it will be long though before a route-planner type application becomes available (hopefully from Tom Tom, always loved their software). Dictionary's are one-a-penny and hould also see one soon, although I must admit I did like the Co-Build one on the 5mx.

Just to continue the Psion/9500 chat, I have now ordered my 9500 since some of my initial worries about application speeds have been lifted. I do hope that it has the feel of the Psion's which I have loved. I also started with the 3c which I loved, went on to a series 5 and since then have tried just about every Palm and PPC device but have not come across a machine that was able to have that polished, intuitive and reliable front end that Psion delivered.

I still have a Psion 7 on my desk for my contacts, it's the fastest and cleanest way I can look them up, and that's being surrounded by PC's, Mac's, Palms, laptops etc.

richarde wrote:A very interesting reply, TheJoker, thanks for your post.

.. I think I needed to get it out of the system. And I'm also very glad to hear that there are others out there that still have happy memories of times when we could walk around with a *working* computer in our pockets.... =sigh=

I'm hoping on Nokia to release some software updates in the near future, to deal with some of the glitches we've all found.

That said, I'm getting used to the 9500 more and more, and it's not that bad now.
Mine is on the 3rd days charge now... very nice! the P800 didn't usually last this long! 😃

Am still using my Psion 5mx - am debating if the 9500 is worth the cost in time & cash to get it to run "correctly" - especially as I do like the keyboard on the Psion. Why did they have give up and not just add a phone?
D

Dewcall,
The applications are surprisingly similar to the Psion-5's, but with the advantage that the documents mostly transfer and translate correctly without many problems. Unlike the Psion that seriously struggled IMO.

The one warning I would give is that the keyboard is not a patch on the series-5, and they messed around with the layout a little, possibly to put the 'mouse' in.

Regarding why they gave up, well I often ask the same, especially as I bought Psion shares on the back of the -5 + phone future, then held them hoping for a share in Symbian. 😡 😡 😡
The main problem was that to add a phone function seamlessly would have taken a lot of money at a time when the current economic slowdown started.

Steve. 😊

Thanks to all of you who have continued this thread - we seem in general agreement about the new Psion Series 8 (i.e. Nokia 9500), and I'm thrilled that my enthusiam has converted you Scoob!

Three weeks into 9500 ownership, and I _love_ my new PDA, as mentioned earlier mainly for its overall air of "Psion-ness" which I just haven't found in other PDAs. Granted that the keyboard is a real let-down, but only relative to the Psions - imho the 9500 has the best "out of the box" keyboard available on a current PDA (there's progress - think of the glorious Series 3 keyboard from 1992!), & personally I find typing faster & easier on the 9500 against the 9210i.

I can't stand that horrible press jog joystick thing on the front of the 9500 phone - I agree completely with Steve Litchfied that you're doing well if you get the wanted result 50% of the time.

But those 2 gripes aside, any other criticisms I have of the 9500 are only minor niggles, hopefully all easily resolvable through firmware upgrades.

At the end of the day, the 9500 _communicates_ brilliantly, is a joy to use, & puts a smile on my face not seen since the Psion days.

Richard

Steve,

Thanks for comments - I am getting tempted.... best price I've seen so far is from e2save with phone at �129.99 & 250 mins anytime at �35.99 per month for 12 months. Makes phone & 2400 mins (incl double time for three months) cost �562 as against �525 for SIM free. (Or �37 for 2400 mins?) Have I missed anything?
Cheers,
Dave

Any idea how best to transfer precisely 5MX "Data" and Word and Sheet files to a 9300 - for example?
I naturally have PsiWin but it can only handle one machine at a time. I presume that tjhe Nokia synchromization software for the 9300 is still very close to PsiWin? In which case, one can't have both programmes installed on the same computer even - in my experience.

What can I say, I'm a bit of a brand snob when it comes to tech. From what I'd seen throughout the years Psion had made the best PDAs, wiping the floor with Palm who didn't seem to understand the concept of keyboard and Microsoft who didn't understand the concepts of stable and battery life. So in 2001 when I was at uni thinking I needed a replacement for lugging a laptop around to make notes the idea of a 5mx which I could IR with my phone seemed a great one. Then my friend showed me the 9210, same OS, smaller, nice sized screen, usable keayboard (which reminded me of the S3) and best of all, integrated phone.

So I skipped the Psion generations, but at school i have friends with various devices from the Psion Organiser through the series 3, 3a, 5, and 5mx. Yes the 9210 replaced the laptop in many respects but the 9500 finishes the job. At uni I'd walk there with my laptop in my bag, my phone in one pocket, MD walkman in another pocket, and a load of scraps of note paper scattered around my pockets. The 9210 replaced the paper and the phone, and some of the use of the laptop but the laptop still stayed. The extra functionality of the 9500 means I only carry that and a set of stereo headphones for it.

I see a lot of people moan about speed on the 9500, but I don't see the gripe myself. Yeah applications take a second or 2 to load, but if you leave them in memory it doesn't take long to switch back. Remember that people moaned with the 9210 that the terminate and stay resident nature of some of the apps wasted resources on the phone and they'd rather have the resources than to save a second or 2 of time. So Nokia gave what we wanted, though didn't pay much attention to the fact that it made little difference with the mountain of resources available in a 9500. I don't know how much speed some people need but I'm thinking they are forgetting the fundamental drawbacks with technology that these things just can't be instant from loading, if it's that much of a bother leave it in RAM.

I've had no problems with my 9500, it's been a great device and a wonderous successor to the 9210. Part of me can't wait to witness it's replacement, but I think my wallet can.

As for why I've not tried another PDA while waiting? Well I've the view that a keyboard makes a device for working on, a teeny touchscreen and a fast processor makes it a toy. I'm not gonna sit and code php or html on an ipaq using a stylus, though I may show movies to my mates, but I can code on my 9500, swiftly and enjoy it, and still show movies to my mates, if not of the same quality. I've just always wanted a workhorse, not a toy. 😉

robinw wrote:Any idea how best to transfer precisely 5MX "Data" and Word and Sheet files to a 9300 - for example?
I naturally have PsiWin but it can only handle one machine at a time. I presume that tjhe Nokia synchromization software for the 9300 is still very close to PsiWin? In which case, one can't have both programmes installed on the same computer even - in my experience.

Here are the tips you'll probably need:
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/psion2communicator.htm

Delta737 wrote:Here are the tips you'll probably need:
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/psion2communicator.htm

Many thanks Herbert!

I have had 7 Psions, and four of them could still perhaps be refurbished too costly at www.posltd.com, three of them Psion Revo, because of the typical and widely known battery error (suddenly Psion makes hard reset blasting off everything in spite of the battery being full) prevents to use them.

I asked www.posltd.com if they could tell how to use ordinary batteries because they do not want to sell Psion special batteries, but they declined.

Do some of you know is it possible to use ordinary NiCd/Nimh batteries in Revo? The dirty trick is, that Revo seems not to check the battery at all but has some time counter somewhere, and so I cannot do anything but to observe the Revo battery meter going down until Revo stops altogether. Grrrrrr.

Because my wife's 9300 died completely after 17 days of use, she had to begin to use the old very unreliable Revo again, this question is still important to us in spite of these - unreliable, so it seems - 9300s.

I include the email between me and www.posltd.com

---------------------------------------------------------

> Dear Sirs,
>
> I have heard that you do not supply spare batteries for the Revo. I have
> four (!) Psion Revo machines. All of them have the same typical, known
> fault: nonfunctional battery system (turning themselves off unexpectedly),
>
> I would be grateful and ready to pay for information about how to change
> Revo to function only with ordinary AAA batteries, because the batteries
> with thermo sensor are not any more available. I have tested Revos with
> steady voltage from outer lab power source directly to battery contacts,
> but Revos have some (excuse me: idiotic) time monitoring system instead of
> voltage monitoring system which prevents me to simply replace Psion's own
> batteries with ordinary ones.
>
> ...or possibly any other solutions (because you do not have spare
> batteries?) to this problem?

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 11:22:41 -0000 (GMT)
Subject: Re: Psion Revo battery replacement question
From: [email][email protected][/email]
Thank your for your email,

We cannot assist you with your request, however we can repair all four
machines and offer you a 15% discount.

After the repair of a Revo, it is critical that we run a current control
software to control and set Current drain.
Without this Software battery charge will vary.

www.posltd.com

Regards

Paul

"Any idea how best to transfer precisely 5MX "Data" and Word and Sheet files to a 9300 - for example?"

"Here are the tips you'll probably need:
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/psion2communicator.htm

Concerning Data those tips did not help me because the DataContact utility http://www.freepoc.org/viewapp.php?id=66 mentioned in Steve's tip page, could not handle my Data, and the suggestion to use To-Do lists as replacement is not possible in my case.

I managed to transfer the data by studying the structure of the Psion Data file and the structure of SmallBase http://www.corisoft.net/index.php?page=n9200 data file, and made the necessary replacements in my text file editor, which is UltraEdit.

msiivola,

You appear to be one unlucky guy. There is always someone though. Someone who have problems with every piece of machinery they lay their hands on, no matter what...

I'd be interested in knowing what made your wife's 9300 die? Had it fixed yet? Got a report on what needed fixing? From what I've heard so far, every 9300 owner (including me) is very satisfied, not having any problems whatsoever.

Raven wrote:msiivola,

You appear to be one unlucky guy. There is always someone though. Someone who have problems with every piece of machinery they lay their hands on, no matter what...

My wife says exactly that about me, too! And she usually performs a very funny show, demonstrating lively, how I always through the years have attacked all those poor machines, I have ever owned, with such an enormous intensity that of course they cannot but go belly up. But this time the machine is my wife's..., and she treats them delicately.

Raven wrote:I'd be interested in knowing what made your wife's 9300 die? Had it fixed yet? Got a report on what needed fixing? From what I've heard so far, every 9300 owner (including me) is very satisfied, not having any problems whatsoever.

It died silently in my wife's purse which she had not even touched. She thinks that she possibly heard some faint squeak from the purse but she is not sure if that was the exact moment of the untimely death of the poor 9300. The poor thing was not yet three weeks old!

The repairman said to me today that he has seen some communicators dying inside or outside, but not completely in- and outside like in my wife's case. He had not yet received it today from the vendor, to which I took it yesterday. He said that probably next week I'll get the old one repaired or the new one. If it is a new one, it is interesting to see, what will be the attitude of Corisoft, from which I bought SmallBase, because it is IMEI coded.

Do you know what is the general policy in the IMEI-coded program market - do the vendors/software houses have a habit to easily give another code for their program when asked explaining the justified reason for the request to get another code? - I have not seen any opinions of prevailing policy.

msiivola wrote:Do you know what is the general policy in the IMEI-coded program market - do the vendors/software houses have a habit to easily give another code for their program when asked explaining the justified reason for the request to get another code? - I have not seen any opinions of prevailing policy.

It varies from company to company, but generally I'd say that most are very accommodating. From my experience it's been enough to explain the situation and the developer then issue a new code based on your new IMEI. However, in some cases you may be required to provide the appropriate proof. Some may even be greedy enough to make you purchase a new copy of the software, but I think that's rare.