Mobile things have changed...not always for the better though?

Using the Revo Plus, which came out first I think in 2001, it brings it home how things have changed so much certainly in terms of device specs since then. Firstly, there is the screen resolution. The greeny slightly grainy looking effort on the Revo really dates it as does the lack of onboard apps compared to what we are used to expect on newer devices.

You can certainly do a heck of a lot more on your fancy dan new treo's and win mob powerhouse phones but there are certain things perhaps, you can't do as well despite the newer technology. What I mean by that is this....the Revo has a keyboard that will kick the butts off any HTC TyTn or Eten keyboarded device and that makes it a far far better pda for using and working with Microsoft Word documents or any apps that rely predominately on text entry. It can be used two handed when sitting in my car, balanced on my knees and I can type away very easily and quicker than on many devices I've used in the past.

With the PsiWin software it is now easy to transfer files from the Revo to a PC and to open them in doc and excel formats, work on them again and then transfer them back. It's the only pda that I have felt comfortable using in front of clients in meetings at work to make notes. There is an onboard email app too but I've not bothered to even try to get it up and running for two reasons, firstly I'm sure I wouldn't manage to establish the required IR connection with a phone and secondly, I don't need to use email on it anyway so why bother? Too often I find myself trying to get some silly feature up and running on a new device just for the sheer hell of it, knowing full well that I will more than likely never use it.

Yep, I'm pretty darn pleased with the Revo Plus to date, function wise and in comparison to say my treo 680 or Centro it is limited but what it can do, like the iPhone, it can do spectacularly well and that makes it very very useful. So, if I need to do some word or excel stuff I now head for the Revo.

Comments

[Rob]

Interesting to see someone take up a Psion product again and write about it. I owned a Psion 5 and then a 5mx. I really liked them. I remember (back in the day) wrestling with whether or not to continue with the 5mx or jump to the the Palm III. I miss the great keyboard of the 5mx - I could type quite fast on it. It was not handy for quick checks of schedule or data, though, since one had to open the unit every time. Keep up the Psion posts - very fun and interesting.

[Adrian]

Do you want to elaborate on the "the only PDA that I have felt comfortable using in front of clients in meetings" comment? I think you must be referring to the sense of being excessively nerdy when using certain devices...