Next Psion (S4)
Amir Solan
integrated fax/modem, with IR capability, thinner, lighter, pager-ready
killer PDA?
My S3 (yes, the ol' good S3) is still my invaluable notetaker, organizer,
contact manager and more. And I don't want to upgrade (replace) it to
S3A, if something even better is just around the corner. Am I dreaming?
I wonder, what are "Psion dreams" of other Psion owners ...
David Spooner
you forgot to mention
1) The pen input screen ( as well as, not instead of the
keyboard)
2) the WWW browser
3) the tcp/ip stack
4) the built in mobile phone.
Oh yes I almost forgot
5) the battery shoulder bag
David
Marco Hankel
>David Spooner (dol...@dircon.co.uk) wrote:
>
>: Oh yes I almost forgot
>
>: 5) the battery shoulder bag
>
>What do you need it for? My S3 can live about 2 month on a pair of two
>AA batteries.
I think David forgot the ;-)...
Amir Solan
Peter Tilmanis
aso...@village.ios.com (Amir Solan) wrote:
>I wonder, what are "Psion dreams" of other Psion owners ...
My Psion 3a/1Mb is a great little machine, but I think my dream machine
would be a Psion 3a/2 or 4Mb with:
* internal modem (or very small external modem > 9600bps)
* offline mail & newsreader
* keyboard that isn't so stiff
* the "Fairway" golf game built-in :-)
* a beefier scientific calculator (graphing would be nice)
* internal or SSD-style pager would be nice too.
* a "memo" application - like the Casio's "memo" or the HP's "notetaker"
(I guess I could make a database for that sort of thing...)
* an outliner that is easier to use (like simple promote/demote)
* Flash SSDs that actually _delete_ files
Don't like voice recognition; the noise from other people and train
tracks, etc. would make it virtually useless. Not to mention looking
dumb by talking to a little gray box!
A backlit screen would be nice but not essential.
If anyone knows of software that does any of the above mail me.
I'm also looking for roulette/blackjack/poker games; basically nice
casino games.
Thanks very much in advance if you can help me with any of this.
--
---------------------- _--_|\ --
Peter Tilmanis / \ ----
pet...@netspace.net.au \_.--._/ ------
---------------------- v --------
rikh
>I wonder, what are "Psion dreams" of other Psion owners ...
An IR port with software to store and play signals from all my
remote control handsets would be pretty fantastic.
rikh
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= |\ _,,,---,,_
ri...@pavilion.co.uk ri...@msn.com zzz. /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_.
100407,726 |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-'
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= '---''(_/--' `-'\_)
Robert Collingridge
> I have been toying with an idea along these lines for some time. I think
> I could knock up a simple bi-directional infra-red port to hang of a
> 3-link pod - ie remove the RS232 cable and plug in a small module. One could
> then have almost-wireless comms - if only as a remote control replacement.
>
> However, I have no-idea what sort of protocols infra-red remote controls
> use. Are they simple on off pulses, or are the modulated on some sort of
> carrier? What sort of rates would the software need to sample and switch
> the IR devices?
I've been looking at robot control, etc. with my Psion 3a and the most
usable interface on it is the serial one. Maplin sell a good serial to
8 bit i/o parallel board which allows you to control various things.
It costs about 20 UK pounds. You can use this to drive IR tx/tx chips
such as those used in TV remotes.
The main problem is speed. To drive IR circuitry directly you really need
high frequency control and the serial port is just too slow. If anyone knows of
something which uses the parallel port underneath the 3a I'd be really
interested.
It is possible to control things using the screen, something I used to
do with my BBC micro, but again it's slow and the LCD persistence makes
things even worse.
--
Robert Collingridge - mailto:r...@mround.bt.co.uk
These are my own views and not those of my employer.
Alan Berger
: This is my wish list for the Series 4:-
: A fast serial port (115,000 bps)
: A seperate parallel port.
: A switch to PCMCIA with support for standard fax modems.
: A type 3 PCMCIA socket for a hard disk.
: A fax modem built in.
: If they used a trackpoint nipple they could even add extra GUI
: features. For anyone who hasn't used the latest version of the
: trackpoint, it is as controllable as a mouse.
: Hope this has set the minds at PSION thinking. I understand they read
: these groups.
Just curious but will this unit still fit into your pocket or will it
compete with the Omnigo?
There was a recent article concerning flash ram disks that I found in an
Intel piece of propaganda and PC Card(formerly PCMCIA) will be evolving
into a smaller and faster unit. A PC Card currently takes alot and I mean
alot of go juice from a battery to keep it going. Color is also a drain
on a battery as well as printer ports. If Psion goes with a larger unit,
as in something the size and weight of an Omnibook, it will no longer be
considered a PDA, just another sub-notebook.
Anthony Walker
This is my wish list for the Series 4:-
A fast serial port (115,000 bps)
A seperate parallel port.
A switch to PCMCIA with support for standard fax modems.
A type 3 PCMCIA socket for a hard disk.
A fax modem built in.
If they used a trackpoint nipple they could even add extra GUI
features. For anyone who hasn't used the latest version of the
trackpoint, it is as controllable as a mouse.
Hope this has set the minds at PSION thinking. I understand they read
these groups.
TTFN
Tony Walker,
--
Is that a Psion 3a in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? ;-)
tony....@zetnet.co.uk
Suranga Chandratillake
>However, I have no-idea what sort of protocols infra-red remote controls
>use. Are they simple on off pulses, or are the modulated on some sort of
>carrier? What sort of rates would the software need to sample and switch
>the IR devices?
This is a damn cool idea!! At the moment I am studying my A-levels
and am under a constant load of work, but I was hoping to do this kind
of thing the moment I finished. Well, I don't lose anything by seeing
if your idea works. I have the answers to your questions.
Basically, unlike Radio control (ie with model cars, planes, etc)
there are no real restrictions over IR controls - ie protocols don't
really exist. There were some moves (esp. by Japanese companies I
think) to establish this, but basically it was never completely
implemented by anyone. However, a quick call into your electronics
hobbyist shop or even a letter to the manufacturing company will
usually result in a document on that particular firm's protocols.
Of course, I was really interested in communicating between psions.
In that case you'd make up your own protocol - much easier and
probably more fun!
Anyway, whichever way you go remember to keep telling the group of
your progress.
Suranga :-))))) (ie double chins...)
Dan Comiskey
How about cleaning up some of the current rough edges though? Such as:
Modifier keys (psion and control) on the right side of the keyboard
Real buttons on the application bar
Better database: emphasis of regions of text, some support for data in
tabular format within records *and* fields (which is preserved at
different zoom levels), table view (like JB Data), ideally some layout
capability (like Filemaker Pro), direct import/export of data from/to
common database formats
Communications program with vt100 (or better) and zmodem protocol
Support for columns in Word (simple, does't need to be exotic)
RS232 serial port built-in (no pod kludge!) with greater port speed
IR port (OK this *is* a new feature, but in a palmtop this just seems
appropriate)
External buttons for alarm snooze/silence and voice record
Better snooze function on alarms (leave machine usable)
Built-in macro support (in all appications, esp opl ones)
Increase OS memory beyond 512
Increase individual data space/file size limitations (if possible)
And increase the memory and decrease the price, of course (at least one or
the other, if not both)
Incremental (at least) increase in speed
Just my thoughts
Dan
David Spooner
>In article <48e0s3$2...@news.bu.edu>, comi...@bu.edu says...
>>
>>New features would be nice, and we all could add some good ideas...
>>
>>How about cleaning up some of the current rough edges though? Such as:
>>
>> Modifier keys (psion and control) on the right side of the keyboard
>.
>.
>.
>Psion
>Are you eading any of there suggestions?
>Tim
If you are then please use TARDIS technology to fit all these
suggestions into the Psion s4 because the size is perfect already.