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27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

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Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#61

Post by regularfry »

dspillett wrote: post #48
tobiasbischoff wrote: post #5

I will never understand why we do not have this kind of device anymore. A small computer, running linux, proper keyboard, integrated LTE - it would be a messaging and writing dream. Back in the days i developed custom software for the Revo, the SDK was a dream to work with as well.

There are very similar things available. https://store.planetcom.co.uk/collections/popular-items/prod... is basically mimicking the Psion 5 in its physical design, and there are a number of other very small laptops around like https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09FQ7QNFB/ or GPD's various models if you want higher specs and have the cash to flash, and so on. But for longer messaging on the move (and occasionally other thin…

I find as I get older and my eyesight isn't quite as good that what I want for that sort of use case is an external keyboard and a monocle, or some other head-mounted display. Any portable device with a stand that's any smaller than a laptop means leaning over and squinting.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#62

Post by londons_explore »

coldtea wrote: post #55
stavros wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that looking at it from a MHz standpoint is a red herring. How many things can you do per watt now, than you could per watt then?

Better ask, how many things you could do per watt now , if software had that era's leanness?

I occasionally fire up Windows 95 in a VM and marvel at how fast it is. Sometimes I use it for actual tasks, although it is hard to find things Windows 95 is useful for nowadays. My copy has office 97 installed, and I use that for some spreadsheety tasks.

I really like being able to click anything and know I won't see a loading spinner.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#63

Post by stuaxo »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #27
tobiasbischoff wrote: post #5

I will never understand why we do not have this kind of device anymore. A small computer, running linux, proper keyboard, integrated LTE - it would be a messaging and writing dream. Back in the days i developed custom software for the Revo, the SDK was a dream to work with as well.

I think you are not wrong. Blackberries used to be enormously popular. Same with various Nokia business phones that had full keyboards. Or their meego phones, which had full keyboards as well. The formfactor did not really fail in the market but it just completely disappeared along with their software platforms. The thing that actually failed in the market was those software platforms. Keyboards were just collateral…

Android apps are just not setup with a keyboard in mind. Chuck an adapter and a usb keyboard onto your phone or android TV, and you will quickly experience how painful it gets.

Little things like weird tab order, or widgets not giving feedback when they are focused add up to a bad experience.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#64

Post by regularfry »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #27
tobiasbischoff wrote: post #5

I will never understand why we do not have this kind of device anymore. A small computer, running linux, proper keyboard, integrated LTE - it would be a messaging and writing dream. Back in the days i developed custom software for the Revo, the SDK was a dream to work with as well.

I think you are not wrong. Blackberries used to be enormously popular. Same with various Nokia business phones that had full keyboards. Or their meego phones, which had full keyboards as well. The formfactor did not really fail in the market but it just completely disappeared along with their software platforms. The thing that actually failed in the market was those software platforms. Keyboards were just collateral…

Don't forget that with the Blackberry there was a massive image factor: if you had one, that implied you were important enough to need messaging on the go. The form factor was almost incidental. As full text messaging became ubiquitous it lost its cachet.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#65

Post by rjsw »

tobiasbischoff wrote: post #5

I will never understand why we do not have this kind of device anymore. A small computer, running linux, proper keyboard, integrated LTE - it would be a messaging and writing dream. Back in the days i developed custom software for the Revo, the SDK was a dream to work with as well.

How about a Pinephone with the keyboard case?

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#67

Post by RobotToaster »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #27
tobiasbischoff wrote: post #5

I will never understand why we do not have this kind of device anymore. A small computer, running linux, proper keyboard, integrated LTE - it would be a messaging and writing dream. Back in the days i developed custom software for the Revo, the SDK was a dream to work with as well.

I think you are not wrong. Blackberries used to be enormously popular. Same with various Nokia business phones that had full keyboards. Or their meego phones, which had full keyboards as well. The formfactor did not really fail in the market but it just completely disappeared along with their software platforms. The thing that actually failed in the market was those software platforms. Keyboards were just collateral…

>Android and hardware keyboards never really were a thing.

The very first android phone (HTC dream) had a great keyboard.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#68

Post by cjdell »

My dad had one of these and he continued to use it until the day he died in 2013. I remember thinking how crazy high resolution the screen was at the time. Amazing device.

I got his old Series 3 (predecessor to the 3a) when I was still a kid and was one of the first devices I learned to code on thanks to the built-in OPL programming language!

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#69

Post by gawrex »

teruakohatu wrote: post #59
gawrex wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should check out uConsole [1] from ClockworkPI. It still has WiFi, but you can probably disable it. [1] https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/uconsole-kit-rpi-cm...

This device seems too good to be true. Have they shipped any?

There is a whole forum thread about that [1] with updates from the devs, but I don't think anybody received theirs yet.

[1]: https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/update-uconsole-shipping-rel...

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#70

Post by llampx »

RobotToaster wrote: post #67
jillesvangurp wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are not wrong. Blackberries used to be enormously popular. Same with various Nokia business phones that had full keyboards. Or their meego phones, which had full keyboards as well. The formfactor did not really fail in the market but it just completely disappeared along with their software platforms. The thing that actually failed in the market was those software platforms. Keyboards were just collateral…

>Android and hardware keyboards never really were a thing. The very first android phone (HTC dream) had a great keyboard.

The first popular (heavily marketed) Android phone in the US (Moto Droid) as well.
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