Psion Must Be Kicking Themselves

As the Eee-PC destroys all innovation in the laptop market, drowning us in a deluge of mee-too imitations, Psion must be wondering what all the fuss is about.

Nearly ten years ago The Psion Series Seven did all that the Eee-PC now promises. It included a stunning set of useful applications, instant on computing and a ingeniously designed case that showed that clever design isn't just Apple-skin deep. Not only that, but it ran for nearly a full day on a set of batteries, rather than the Eee's paltry few hours. Psion had been supplying hand-held computers since the mid eighties, and the Series Seven (and Series Five before it) showed all they had learned to great effect.

Sadly at the time the fad of the day was the Palm. A glorified address book with an innovative but deeply constrictive user interface, the Palm was seen as the future of truly portable computing. Compared to the rich application set supplied with the Psion, which could interoperate with the standard Office toolset and provide document viewing and editing on the move, the Palm was a retrograde step. Unfortunately the Palm became a fashion item before the days of the iPod and iPhone, due in no small part to the ease with which new users could start doing trivial tasks.

The Palm spelt the end of the Psion, which would never see the days when greater digital literacy would lead users to the niche it had defined for itself. Computer literate users now want small cheap computers which provide the standard set of applications usually encountered on their desktops, but without the bulk and expense of a powerful laptop. It's just a pity Psion are no longer in a position to supply their hard won expertise and well designed products.