Handtops, UMPC - Do we need a new Psion?

Do we need a new Psion? This is a question that keeps popping up in various Blogs and threads, often sidetracking the main thrust of the articles.

I know that writing anything on this subject is contentious, but at least if there is a separate Blog for the topic, it might keep the argument out of other threads.

I must warn that, if tackled on this subject, I will not only plead complete ignorance regarding the entire matter, but will deny ever writing about it at all!

The Psion type unit has some ardent (fanatical?) supporters who maintain that the current crop of Handtops are all, without exception, missing the point. They maintain that the current crop of Handtops should have been made larger (and presumably thinner) and equipped with touch type (Psion) keyboards. The Flipstart has been the most severely criticised, but the OQO Model 2 and the Sony UX have also received their fare share of flack.

On the opposite side of the divide, we have another group who maintain that the current crop of Handtops, including the Flipstart, are better off being equipped with thumb keyboards. They do not want the form factor of the current units changed, unless it is to make them smaller, not larger. They opinion that the small form factor of these units makes a Psion type touch type keyboard impractical, and that, in the case of the Flipstart at least, it is in any case marginally possible to touch type on the thumb keyboard. They also make the point that it is not possible to thumb type on a Psion sized and style keyboard, therefore making it difficult to hold the unit and type. They are ardent thumb type enthusiasts who do not want a Psion type keyboard.

Then we have a third, separate group who maintain that all the current Handtops will fail and pass from this plane of existence, and that the only hope is to revive the old Psion with new specs and consign the rest to the garbage heap of history.

And finally, you have a group who believe that this whole discussion is academic, that a unit like the old Psion does not exist in modern form, and that in light of the small size of the Handtop market at present, and the consequentially small number of offerings in this arena as a result, we should adapt to what is available at present, and wait to see what arrives in the future.

(Edit - According to tnkgrl, and with a great deal of good sense I might add, there is a fifth group. They are the people who have embraced the real heir to the Psion device, the Nokia Communicator Phones, and presumably for the most part could not care less about Handtops, one way or the other)

I am not taking sides in this one, except to say that nothing decided here or anywhere else is likely to have much of an influence on the current Handtop manufacturers, but it might influence some future product still under the radar. That said, lets have a look the various facts, opinions and standpoints.

It would seem that the majority of current Handtop buyers are, at worst, resigned to the inclusion of a thumb typing type keyboard on a Handtop unit, and are prepared to use a Thumb Keyboard rather that have to carry a larger unit.

It is easy to understand the disappointment, often verging on despair and anger, of the people who have been waiting for so long for a replacement unit to take over from where their beloved Psion's left off. If you like a particular form factor, and find that it best suits your needs, and it is dropped for whatever the reasons, and you find that the original is no longer usable as technology moves on, it must be a distressing and heart breaking situation.

So why was the Psion design dropped in the first place, if so many people (?) were such ardent fans of the design? I don't know. If the Psion fans are to be believed, it was simply the dumbest decision in the history of technology. If you look at it objectively however, based on what I have been able to read up on and comments made over a period of time, The Psion unit was the type of device that was perfect for its time, but as requirements and expectations changed, it was not possible to move the basic design forward and keep it competitive, and consequentially economically viable. The mass move to colour screens, faster CPU's, larger HDD's and GUI OS's killed the Psion. The technology that existed at the time would not have permitted a competitive new model of the unit.

And of course that brings us to the core reason why any manufacturer produces any product, and stops producing that product as well. Profit!

While we would all like there to be other motives, like producing the best unit, or the perfect design etc., that is all so much bunkum. Commercial manufacturers produce items to sell, and make a profit. That's it.

So it is reasonable to say that the Psion, when it was dropped, had become uneconomical to manufacture and sell, for whatever reason, and that the manufacturer did not see a potential profit in designing and releasing a new, upgraded model.

Fast forward to the present.

The cell phone revolution has changed a great number of things. We are expected to be contactable at least a great percentage of the time. We have developed a new sub set of the English language to communicate using SMS's. We have learned to thumb type, and we expect our technology to always be with us, to name but a few.

Another factor that the cell phone revolution has introduced is the fact that the cell phone has taken over from the PC has the most owned high tech piece of equipment. A great many more people own cell phones than do PC's, which in turn still outnumber Laptops, which in turn vastly outnumber Handtops. Consequently, the younger generation, that has grown up with cell phones, see the cell phone thumb keyboard, not the Laptop or Desktop computer touch type keyboard, as the primary input device. This is to be expected as the majority of people who own cell phones have never owned or even worked on a computer.

Handtops, by definition, are computers running a desktop OS that can be held in ones hands (or hand) and worked on. This is a fuzzy definition, as it permits the possibility of devices such as tablet PC's, so I will add to the definition that they should include a keyboard of sorts. This immediately begs the question “Is a Psion type device a Handtop at all?”. I respectfully maintain that, strictly speaking, even though one could hold it in one hand and hunt and peck with the other, the answer is no, as the keyboard is a “touch type” type keyboard, so the method just described would not be the correct way to use such a unit.

Almost by definition, a Handtop would need a thumb keyboard, or at least a keyboard that permitted thumb typing of sorts.

It would seem that the current Handtop manufacturers are all in agreement with the above statement. This should come as no shock at all. If you factor in the influence that cell phones have had in the time since the last Psion was produced and the advent of the OQO, it is clear that any hand held unit that contains a keyboard would probably have a thumb keyboard as a first choice.

So where would a modern day Psion type device fit in? Would it be a UMPC? In my opinion, although there may well be many who disagree, this would not seem to be the category that would best suit a Psion type device. Again, although the specifications and requirements for a UMPC type device are different to those of a Handtop, the one overriding factor again is “hand held”.

This leaves us with the sub-notebook category of devices. This category of devices seems to be the natural home for a Psion type device.

So one can reasonably conclude that, if the Psion type device is not a Handtop, that is is not really a logical expectation that Handtop manufacturers try to produce a bastardised Handtop with a Psion type keyboard. The same can be said of UMPC's.

That leaves us asking the question: Will there be a Psion type sub-notebook?

What is the likelihood that a manufacturer is going to produce a sub-notebook that could be seen as a replacement for the Psion?

I really don't know the answer to that one. The latest attempt that came close to the Psion form factor was the Toshiba Libretto U100. It was not the greatest commercial success, and was dropped fairly fast. Previous Libretto's had done quite well in limited markets, but the Sony UX and the OQO (and now the Flipstart) seem to have diminished the market for such devices. The only really small sub-notebook that seems to have prospered is the Fujitsu P1510/1610, but I have a feeling that that is almost a unique case.

In the final analyses, as things stand at present, it would seem that, for all the desire of the hard core group of Psion fans to see a new model of this device, or a like device, the Psion is at present a dead concept. (Edit - Unless you are talking about a Nokia Communicator type phone.)

In order to see a new Psion type device on the market, one thing has to happen. A manufacturer has to be convinced that the group of people prepared to buy such a device is sufficiently large that it will be economically feasible to design and produce and then sell the unit. That may happen, or not, only time will tell, but as things stand at present, the answer is not. There is also the possibility that we may see a Psion type unit as a variant of some other design, or not. One or two UMPC designs seem to have already moved in that direction, but they are quite large.

So to answer the question, “Is a Psion type device needed?”, I would have to venture that, as things stand, the majority of manufacturers and Handtop buyers believe the answer is “No”. (Edit - Unless you are talking about a Nokia Communicator type phone.) (Edit - Or you want a sub-notebook, not a Handtop)