Decide between 5 5mx revo revo+

[persal]

Hi everyone I'm new here at the forum althoug i have been looking around for a while. Seems to be many experts on the area. Thats good :)

First of all, I have tried searching for the answer, but the answer came up poor.

I'm trying to decide which to buy:

Psion 5 / 5mx / Revo / Revo Plus

* Series 5 - to old?

* Series 5mx - seems very interesting nice features, the only disadvantages seems to be that it's a bit to big.

* Revo - To little RAM, no light, low quality batteries, althoug only a weight of 200 grams.

* Revo Plus - Some more RAM but not able to put in more.. to bad. Nice size and almost half the weight against 5mx.

So people please give me your oppinions on which is the best/most usefull and why.

/P

[diem]

5mx every time. The 5 and Revo are too old, like you say, so it is really a choice between the 5mx and Revo+

The Revo suffers from "memory-effect" problems with its rechargeable battery, whilst the 5mx takes AA cells. The 5mx also has a backup battery, in case the main battery runs out.

The 5mx has a CF card slot, so you can easily expand the 'RAM'.

The 5mx has a higher resolution screen than the Revo.

The 5mx is also the only one of these four machines that Psion are still making...


If weight is your most important criteria, then obviously the Revo is better, but if you don't mind the extra weight, the 5mx has many more features than the Revo, and is much more 'mobile', since it does not depend on being charged up from mains electricity.

[persal]

Forgot to mention the screen. i have read that Revo has a "sharper" screen than 5/5mx. Is this something to worry about?

[netBookBabe]

Persal

I was just reading through your initial post, and formulating a reply in my head, then I scrolled down and found that diem had already posted EXACTLY what I was thinking! Thanks, diem, you saved me a bit of typing :)

Choice is definitely between RevoPlus and 5mx. As for the screen - yes, the Revo's is slightly crisper, but then the 5mx compensates with the backlight, so not a great deal to choose there.

As an owner of both machines, I can only say that if I have to choose just one to take with me on a trip, it will ALWAYS be the 5mx (or MC218, in my case, until recently).

On that note, if you happen to come across an MC218 at a good price, that would also be an excellent option.

Julie

[persal]

Thanks for your opinions!

I'm still looking around for different models and prices on different salesforum.

What are the different models value on the second hand market (i think it's called)? ($, £, € or perharps in swedish crowns ;) or some other format).

I got an offer on Psion series 5 for $188. Is that a fair price? Althoug that's not the model i want.


<edit>
Seems like it's easier to get an MC218 for a good price than 5MX.
I have been looking around.. and can't really find any differences between them.. Are the hardware exactly the same?
Seems like there is some software differences.. but the ROM can be flushed/changed right?

[netBookBabe]

Originally posted by persal
What are the different models value on the second hand market (i think it's called)?This really is an impossible question to answer, as so many factors come into play. For example, many people will advertise a fully working machine, but with missing cables, stylus, CD, manuals, PSU etc. These items can soon bump up the price a good deal if you have to buy them separately. Others will advertise with everything included, plus extras as well - then you may pay a little more, but actually get very good value if the extras are useful to you.

It's best to just keep researching, as you seem to be doing. A very good way is to check out the auctions at eBay (even if you're not planning to buy that way). DON'T look at items currently being auctioned, but rather at those recently sold - that way you get to know what the realistic going rate is.

To do this (it's not immediately obvious, btw) do a search on, say, "Psion 5mx", then when the current auctions appear, look on the left of your screen for a box headed "Display" and select "Completed Items". You will see items sold over the last few weeks and you can compare the closing prices against what was included, age of machine etc, etc.

Working on this basis, I would say that $188 for an S5 is well and truly on the high side - try it yourself and see.

Sorry if some of that is a bit basic and obvious, but hope it might help a little.

Julie

[netBookBabe]

Persal

I wrote my last post before seeing your extra comments on the MC218. To all intents and purposes this is the same machine, hardware-wise, as the 5mx. The Ericsson actually has a couple of extra apps in ROM that the 5mx does not, so even if it were feasible, there would be absolutely no point in changing/flashing the ROM!

Post again if you need more info.

Julie

[persal]

Actually when surfing around reading on different pages (geek.com among others) I can't see any advantages to the 5mx in front of the mc218.

I have also found a good price i think, about $110 or £70.

Is it possible to update/change/"format" the ROM disk or add programs there? cause I won't be needing any Ericsson mobile specific programs.

[netBookBabe]

Originally posted by persal
Is it possible to update/change/"format" the ROM disk or add programs there? cause I won't be needing any Ericsson mobile specific programs. No, you can't do anything with the ROM - don't worry about it! Those extra apps will not get in your way. You've got 16Mb RAM to play with, and I would highly recommend you invest in a CF disk upon which you can install the majority of third party software that you may wish to have. That way most of the RAM is left for a "working area".

The price of around 70 UKP sounds good to me - I paid around 200 UKP for mine, new, about 16 months ago. I bought it then as a bargain compared to the price of a 5mx.

I've just recently acquired a 5mx as well, really as back up, thinking of the future. I like them both - I don't know which to use as my main machine, and which to put away as my spare.

I hope you can manage to reach a decision!

Julie

[persal]

Have one last question before deciding.

I'm from Sweden and therefore i would like the letters å ä ö to be somewhere on the keyboard. I thought that because Ericsson is a Swedish company there would be a Swedish "version" of the keyboard.. is this the case?

I read somewhere that i can get access to å ä ö by using 2-key compination. Is this standard?

As you can read I'm rather close to buy myself a nice little MC218.

[netBookBabe]

Hi again Persal

Two of those characters are already defined on the MC218 keyboard (not on the 5mx):

å is produced by Fn+P, and ö by Fn+M.

Of course, other special characters can be produced on MC218 or 5mx from the character map, or by their ASCII code - for example ä is produced by Ctrl+228

You could probably make good use of a utility such as Keyboard Layouter:

http://www.pagerealm.com/bodo/KeybLayout.htm

This allows you to define your own layout - individual keys or even the whole keyboard, if you choose. Hope that helps.

Julie

[persal]

Thanks for guiding me trough the jungle!

I have now bought myself an Ericsson mc218. The only thing missing is the stick for touchscreen use. But i guess that i can use almost anything instead? (or maybe buy a new one somewhere?)

I'm also going to purchase a Compact Flash Card, 128 MB i think.
When buying this.. is there something else to considere at the same time?

[netBookBabe]

Hi Persal

Delighted to hear you went ahead and got the MC218 - I'm sure you'll be pleased with your choice. As for a stylus, do be careful what you use - obviously needs to be something very smooth to avoid scratching the screen. The back of a finger nail is a pretty good compromise! However, if you can get hold of a "proper" stylus, I think you would be happier, especially as it fits so neatly into the slot in the machine.

Here are some sources of supply - as far as I know they will all ship to Sweden:

Clove has the "official" Psion one (identical to the original Ericsson one):
http://www.clove-tech.co.uk/products.asp?product=PS5-STYLUS

Proporta has some bright coloured ones, slightly cheaper, not sure just what they are like:
http://www.proporta.com/detail.asp?id=282

Tantronics does a smart aluminum one, in a choice of colours - a bit more expensive, but a very nice item:
https://secure.wsa.u-net.com/www.tantronics.co.uk/shop/index2.html

You'll find other sources too, I'm sure - do a bit of searching.

As for CF cards, there's always a lot of talk on this subject - it seems that care needs to be taken in choice of brand for use with Psion. I'm going to start a new thread specifically on this topic, so perhaps you'll come and join in there. :)

Julie

[persal]

I'll check the links.. and also keep an eye on the new threads..