27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful

Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by opan on Friday June 02, 2023 @09:27AM (#36164767)

I highly recommend against anything from these guys. The software situation was dreadful, they pumped out new nearly-identical hardware too quick without fixing gemini issues. Seems like a cash grab. My Gemini PDA sits in my closet, I consider it near-useless with its electrically buggy keyboard and old android/ubuntu images.

The PinePhone with its keyboard addon should fix most if not all issues the Gemini PDA had, but it looked so similar I still couldn't bring myself to get the keyboard for it. Plus I don't like the layout at all.

MNT Pocket Reform seems very promising (but expensive). Good layout and reprogrammable keyboard. Not stuck on an old Android version.

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by pydry on Friday June 02, 2023 @01:05PM (#36167804)

The pinephone would be perfect were it possible to install, e.g. android banking apps on it.

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by wkat4242 on Saturday June 03, 2023 @09:13AM (#36176421)

Same here. I had a gemini but beside the poor software there was also the wobbliness of the display hinge that was super annoying. It was because they made it of springy metal.

Also, the keyboard looks the exact same as the Psion 5's but the mechanism is much worse.

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by afandian on Saturday June 03, 2023 @02:48PM (#36179404)

I could have written your comment! Though I sold mine.

I followed pocket reform closely but the thickness of it, combined with the price, put me off. It’s not the same class of device as Psion, Gemini, or the UMPCs.

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by lproven on Monday June 05, 2023 @10:04AM (#36196324)

Just for balance:

I have a Gemini. I love it and still use it. The keyboard remains world-class, best of breed in any pocket-sized device. The OS is dated but still works fine and connectivity to Dropbox, gDrive, OneDrive etc. is very handy and mostly missing from desktop Linux.

As a pocketable laptop replacement it is unequalled, for this writer.

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by afandian on Tuesday June 06, 2023 @05:31PM (#36219369)

Don’t get me wrong I’m very glad they built it, happy to share some risk to get a niche product to market, and used it as a daily driver for some time.

Curious though, did the whole unit bounce, with the screen wobbling back and forward, when you typed?

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by lproven on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @06:39AM (#36225133)

Nope, it's pretty firm. The design isn't as good as the Psion 5, but it's OK. I mainly place it on my lap on something like a book, or preferably, on a desk or tabletop. Then I can type on it at about 60 WPM, which is about 3/4 of my speed on a full-sized keyboard such as my preferred IBM Model M.

I occasionally can't remember where a character is, but I tell myself it's where it would be on a Psion and 20th century muscle memory kicks in and I just hit that combo.

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by afandian on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @10:26AM (#36227196)

Interesting. I've heard other reports of the hinge wobbling. I wonder if there was a production issue with the material or geometry or something.

Found this random video on youtube. You can see it wobbling at 15 seconds, though mine was more accentuated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opmb6jbeBY4

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Re:27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful by lproven on Thursday June 08, 2023 @05:39AM (#36239303)

Interesting. No, I haven't noticed that. Maybe if one particular unit's keyboard works well, you don't have to hit the keys so hard, so it doesn't push down on the hinge mechanism.

Psion's own hinge mech was far better, but PlanComp only licensed the keyboard, not the case. I proposed a fatter "pro" model with a bigger battery that was the same size, shape and form factor as the original, so it'd fit in original cases. I still have several.

I was shouted down by Americans whose internal airlines apparently have or had some stupid limit on the size of battery you can carry on board. In Europe any battery over a certain limit has to be carried in the cabin, so if it fails the crew can extinguish it.

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