After looking at the Psion 5mx of the late 1990s, we begin designing a modern version of the highly ergonomic and most iconic back-pocket sized clamshell computer ever. We haven't answered every design question and hope you can help us get everything right.

 
 
Was a Psion fan during my Uni days.
At that time i switched from Apple Newton, then moved onto Psion.
I still think Psion could have done so much more.
I belive there is still a market for people who needs simple machines for business. WinCE sucks crap.
 
Several thing definately need to note when designing the next Psion.
1. Psion's 5 series Keyboard rocks. <<-- Don't even think about changing any desing, mechanism or material cost factored into this. It made the user experience non the less 'extremely unique'.
 
2. Gotta be thin and 'slanted' down.
 
3. Solid State disk gotta be used. No hard drive please. I think 30G is enough for XP as a default selection. Maybe 60G for the deep pockets.
 
4. SD Slot is enough. No need CF, even laptops don't have it. It's just going to take up space. Why put such thing in a cramped environment such as this???
 
5. USB port needed~!!!
 
6. Need Ear/Mic phone jacks for music.
 
7. Would be nice to add a Video Camera - Maybe next model generation you can add it in.
 
8. Use the best batter available to make it thin.
Make the battery last long as possible. Don't try to make money on 'Extended Battery' crap. For these kind of products people will tend to buy an immediate second if the price is good. Each batter making the device last 3~4 hours is very very adaquete.
 
9. Yes no need Wired LAN but Wireless must be built-in. What age do u guys live in man? a/b/g gotta be standard~!!! at least to b profile~~~
Would be nice if it's EVDO or 3G+ rather.
 
10. Don't lose the grey blackiness of the Psion 5mx concept.
The First User Market will be the loyal ones, like me, to buy the darn thing.And if you make it toooooo different, it's not gonna be attractive.
 
 
I think if price point is USD 1399. I'd buy it if the above it done as it says.
That SSD is gonna be tricky in your cost design but tell you what if you really manage to design this even with a 20 GB SSD, at USD 1500, I'd buy it without second thoughts.
 
Sillycon Out~~~~

I'd go the opposite way to sillycon.
 
I think that the true successor to a Psion 5mx would be a PocketPC 2005 device, with a Samsung 400MHz or XScale 624MHz processor, maybe half a gig of RAM, 128Mb program ROM.
 
It should have the Psion's keyboard - maybe remade with modern materials.
 
I'd be interested in a twist-clamshell design - so you could flip the screen round and use it as a normal PocketPC PDA, much like some of the hybrid Tablet PCs which were around.
 
Doesn't really need a hard disk, doesn't need ridiculous amounts of solid state, although something like a built-in CF microdrive might be useful - maybe a 4gb one.
 
Definitely needs a SD and a CF slot.
 
Should have a graphics accelerator (maybe the Intel 2700G), and a half VGA screen (like the 5mx - 640x240) - or possibly a half SVGA (800x300 or  1024x384) - 64k colours, of course...  
 
Wireless would be required - b/g and Bluetooth. Maybe a if the price is ok.
 
Headphone and microphone sockets would also be good.
 
Don't know about having a phone built-in. I think with the Bluetooth it might be worth not bothering - it just adds cost and reduces battery life.
 
Price point? About £450 - £500 - the 5mx was launched at £430, but that was a few years ago!

For the hardware side, this should do:
 
1. An AMD Turion Processor with very low consumption. Preferably underclock it to 1GHz or lower
2. A nVidia nForce 430 chipset. The on-board GeForce 6150 should be enough to process the common video codecs, eg: Xvid, H.264, DVD without loading the processor too much, and should be good enough for light gameplays.  
3. DDR2 512MB BGA worth of system RAM soldered on the PCB, and a memory slot for upgrade if possible. For this case, you would not really need too much RAM to do stuffs like office application. 1GB is too much for this case.  
4. 800 by 480 touchscreen OLCD (Organic LCD) screen. Saves on battery life, thinner than LCD and better on clarity. Dont bother going for more than 800 by 480, as you will strain your eyes for nothing.  
5. Keyboard with trackpoint. I am a user of trackpoint mouse, cos i own a IBM laptop, and personally i like it.  
6. A stylus. Needless to say
7. A LiPo (Lithium Polymer) battery on top of the OLCD screen. The space saved after switching from LCD to OLCD can be used to install a LiPo battery. That should be enough to store about 2 to 3 amp worth of power.  
8. A 8GB or 16GB flash as a storage medium on-board, Although i will go for 16GB. They are quite cheap compared to SSD, and are physically smaller than those 2.5' or 1.8' SSDs.  
 
 
These should make for a really nice combination. The PCB size will be about 2/3 to 3/4 of the psion, and the remaining space can be used for battery, to extend the battery life. As for the price, it will be about the same or cheaper than an UMPC, while giving a peformance edge on video processing due to its GeForce 6150. How nice will it be when you show someone a Psion that peforms better than a conventional UMPC, yet smaller than it?

 
We should water cool it too. Add some underside neons. Bitchin'.

how about just specing it with via cpu or even a cell processer like the psp (i think) running xp with at least gsm and a micro progecter

Wow, how interesting (from one hardware developer who actually seriously started to think about doing my own upgrade of my Series 5 this summer)!  
 
I guess, my take on this is actually using a much lower spec'd CPU than most of you, since I really liked the fact that I didn't have to charge the unit once every night.  
 
Therefore; os: UcLinux. CPU; Coldfire 5329, CF + WLan + USB. 640 or prefferably 800 by 300 or some such. (This is the showstopper for my own project, since this has to be by special design) TFT LED backlit/transflective.
 
The existing housing is, to my mind already perfect. Leave as is.
 
P.S. As soon as I can find a nice display, I'll buy every used Series 5 out there!  

I still have my old 5mx tucked away in a box. I could never bring myself to get rid of it because it was such a marvellous piece of technology. The problem for me is that it wasn't just the hardware that made it so good. The software was equally as important. I don't care what components you can squeeze into the design if it ends up running Windows Mobile then you can keep it. The old Psion software was simple, incredibly easy to use and reliable. Like most WM5 users I have to reset my device on a regular basis, I only every remember resetting my Psion once.
 
I'm not trying to get lost in some nostalgia trip here as the Psion OS has more than been left behind but if you want to truly resurrect and modernise the 5mx then more effort should be spent on the software than the hardware.
 
Am I alone in thinking that just about every fancy gadget you buy these days is let down by shoddy, last minute, under budgeted software? The bean counters at most large companies still don't know how to price up good software. They know that a widget cost X and can be sold for Y but when it comes to software they are clueless and generally don't budget for it at all.

It seems to me that some form of linux would be a better fit than a windows variant, having seen how many apps are available for free on the nokia770.
 
If this thing had a 1024x600 or more it would be amazingly unbeatable.
 
Wifi must be built in at this stage in the game for something like this to be useful, since it would more than likely be used as a mobile communication device for email, messaging and scheduling (among other things).
 
The more you can pack in the better, since you could in theory always offer a version with less HD/flash memory space and memory at a reduced price.
 
As to the HD/flash argument, I think that HD's are just plain less expensive than flash, however flash takes up much less space and is more suited to a mobile device like this and can be easily upgraded, and is therefore perhaps better since the price for 32gigs of flash memory will come time over time.

I suggest taking a poll ad listing all the variable of what people would want in the Psion. List everything.  
 
Psion has the best Form factor. I have a Stowaway Blue tooth Keyboard that is nice but not as nice as the psion's.  
 
I would like ot know why the compnay stopped making or improving there product.
 
What I would like.
1.  touchscreen, stylus, keyboard
2. a little higher res than 800 by 600
3. 2 USB (not one)
4. SD card (not CF)
5. 16 gb solid state (no harddrive)
6. magnesium case (not Plastic)
7. WIFI is a must g (not B) maybe N is feasible
8. AMD Turion Chip
9. maybe a mini DVD disk in back like the PSP 2's new UMD design
10 Win XP  
11. Strong battery  
 
Sony gives a lot in its psp for 200 dollars so this can be done and sell millions of them.  
 
 
Cheers, No where is this dream machine

I recently had a Sharp Zaurus C860, which was pretty good, but not as nice as the Psion 5 I remember so dearly!  I've often though about designing a modern version of the 5MX, if I had a spare few million, I'd probably give it a go.
 
I'd personally rather the revised 5MX be a top end PDA, not a mini X86 laptop, as there's already the OQO or Sony UX50 & others in that space (Although those in the 5MX form factor would be cool too).
 
Due mainly to cost & battery life, I've put down a spec that is like an updated Zaurus (As that's the current top end Psion 5 esque device), but would be in the Psion 5 form factor.
 
<B>Form factor:</B>  Possibly exactly the same as the 5MX, but it might be cool to be able to fit it in your pocket.  The 5MX style and design is great, but maybe scaled down to be more like Zaurus, or even HX4700 + keyboard size.
 
<B>Screen:</B>    800x480 (as in the Nokia 770)  Higher res if feasible (LCD, not OLED, due to price & performance in sunlight), just for fun, what about dual 2.6" VGA screens (Total 1280 * 480)?
 
<B>Keyboard:</B> As Psion 5mx, but opdated so it doesent stick when you hit the side of a key... used to really annoy me!  Zaurus keyboard did not feel as nice, but was more accurate than 5MX.
 
<B>OS:</B> Linux based option (Something better than Q-topia, may have to develop the OS + optimise some essential programs for use on the hardware).  Maybe just Windows mobile if this is not feasible.
 
<B>Software:</B> If possible, run Open Office (Not sure if it's possible to optimise it to run fast on an Xscale or whatever?).  PIM software must synchronise seamlessly with PC/Mac/Linux PIM software.  If linux, Firefox & Thunderbird will be easy.
 
<B>Processor:</B> Latest Xscale processor, or maybe a TI one, whichever performs best & is most energy efficient with a good price.  Dunno what AMD Alchemy's are like for PDA's, or if they still exist?
 
<B>Storage:</B> CF & SDIO slot (Or Dual CF?), plus possibly an internal CF slot so that people can choose what internal storage to have, don't pay for it if you don't want it & upgrade it when a bigger CF card comes out.
 
<B>Battery:</B> Loved being able to pop into a shop & get some AA's when the battery was on the way out, so keep this functionality, but also have Li-ion/pol battery pack that can fit in the same space as 2 AA's.
 
<B>Comms:</B> Wi-fi, Bluetooth, maybe IRDA.
 
<B>Sound:</B> Mic, Speaker, Headphone socket + external Mic input.
 
<B>GFX acceleration:</B>Maybe Intel 2700G, or why not NVDIA G80 + rucksack with water cooling setup, big fat radiator & 2 car batteries?
 
Well, those are some of my Ideas, I don't know exactly what's feasible, but I think it would be great if a device similar to this became available at some point.

As far as I am concerned, the Nokia 770 is roughly what I need. I'd like a better CPU (and probably more RAM), but that's not fondamental. What is truly most important to me is that you can get rid of Win CE or whatever the OS is and install either Linux or any BSD.
 
Only request: fully supported under either *BSD or Linux.

 
 
In a previous job around 2002-ish I purchased a few dozen Intermec 6651 WindowsCE devices:
 
http://www.pocketpcfaq.com/reviews/intermec6651.htm
 
They were as perfect a WinCE device as they could make, given the crappiness of WinCE.  But they had a stunning TFT 800x480 touch screen that was crisper, brighter, and just gorgeous compared to any laptop screen out there at the time.  The keyboard was even sorta ok.  It folded back around to make a tablet-style unit.  It also had a CF and a PCMCIA slots, I used a wireless card with it to do term services to administer my servers.
 
If you could find one on eBay or elsewhere there would be a perfect display to frankenstein into your unit.

 
Yeah, the 770 is pretty cool, but it's performance is bad, it's not got a keyboard, and as you say, it's not simple to change the OS - a choice between windows mobile, Q-topia & other Linux operating systems on the one device would be cool.

more than enough PDA's to go around. Dell has just ended RnD on there PDA's. So this market will be dead soon enough. The beauty of the Psion is that it was the closest to a ultra mobile computer when laptop was not even around.

While in Culver City I was using that tiny little Gateway notebook.  It was small enough for most stuff, I think that shrinking it just a bit farther could get something close to what you're looking for.
 
1.) 8x4x1 would allow a fairly high pixel width without making you squint too hard, you really need at least 800 pixels wide to see windows menues
 
2.) 800x400 on an 8x4 inch lid sounds like a plan!
 
3.) Sliding keyboard is a great idea
 
4.) Perhaps an AMD Geode processor?  Anything more powerfull than a PIII 700 would be great, I like the ULV core solo.
 
5.) I suggest two scrolling wheels, the second one used to scroll large desktop menues up and down.  This could be done with software of course.
 
6.) These guys know displays!  That's good!  I had an LED backlit LCD in mind, but hey, if they've got a better idea, I'm all for it.
 
7.) 10 hours of battery life?  8 would probably do...
 
I'm not a mobility freak, I just want something small that can handle basic functions.  A keyboard that I can use would be a top idea.
 
Also, I'd like to have a network port because some of the secure networks I've used are very problematic over wireless.

All of this is good and done, but how about an S-Video out or just a RCA Video Out.  Imagine pulling out a power point presentation or something equally as cool..  I'm not saying 'RUN A DVD'.. more like I can show everyone my desktop if need be.