Psion netBook Pro
 | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Psion Teklogix |
| Manufacturer | Psion Teklogix |
| Type | Clamshell sub-notebook |
| Released | October 2003 |
| CPU | Intel XScale PXA255 at 400 MHz |
| Memory | 128 MB SDRAM, 32 MB Flash |
| Storage | CompactFlash Type I/II, SD/MMC, PC Card Type I/II |
| Display | 800 × 600 SVGA 16-bit colour with backlight, touchscreen |
| Sound | AC97 codec, speaker, headphone jack |
| Dimensions | 235 mm × 184 mm × 35 mm |
| Weight | 1100 g including the 2200 mAh battery pack |
| OS / Firmware | Microsoft Windows CE .NET 4.2 |
| Predecessor | Psion netBook |
The Psion netBook Pro of October 2003 is the last machine in the netBook line and the one that breaks with everything before it. Psion Teklogix kept the clamshell shape and the sliding lid, then replaced the StrongARM with a 400 MHz XScale, the STN panel with an SVGA TFT, and EPOC with Windows CE .NET 4.2.[1][2]
For a collector this is the awkward member of the family: a Psion in name, badge and shape, running Microsoft's operating system. For a repairer it means almost none of the EPOC-era knowledge transfers — but the mechanical design, and the battery, largely do.
Hardware
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel PXA 255 XScale at 400 MHz |
| RAM | 128 MB SDRAM |
| Flash | 32 MB internal, described by Psion Teklogix as "Internal ROM" |
| Display | "High-quality SVGA size. 800 × 600 pixels 16-bit colour display with backlight", touch-sensitive |
| Keyboard | 58 full-size keys, compact layout |
| Storage | MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, CompactFlash and PC Card |
| I/O | IrDA 1.1 (115 kbit/s); one RS-232 serial port (115 kbit/s); one USB mini type-A port for peripherals |
| Sound | Integrated headphone jack and speaker |
| Main power | 2200 mAh, 12.6 V Li-ion pack, 8 to 11 hours |
| Backup power | 2 × AAA alkaline cells, user-replaceable |
| Size | 235 × 184 × 35 mm (9.25 × 7.24 × 1.38 in) |
| Weight | 1100 g (2.95 lb) including the 2200 mAh pack |
| Shock | Withstands a 0.7 m drop onto carpet |
| Environmental | IP30; operating 0 to +50 °C; storage −10 to +60 °C; 0–93 % RH non-condensing at 40 °C |
| Approvals | FCC Part 15 Class B; EN55022 Class B, EN 55024; EN60950 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows CE .NET 4.2 |
The manual prints the operating low-temperature limit as "-0°C (32°F)", evidently a typographical slip for 0 °C.[3]
Note the drop rating: the netBook Pro is specified for 0.7 m onto carpet, where the netBook was specified for 1 m onto wood.[3][4]
Two hardware revisions
There are two revisions, and you can tell them apart without opening anything. The moulding on the rubber cap over the proprietary Honda-connector port reads:[5]
- "RS232" — the earlier revision. Serial only over that connector; ships with a serial sync cable; no built-in modem.
- "RS232 - USB" — the later revision. Adds USB over the same connector, adds a built-in landline modem, and ships with a USB sync cable.
Memory that survives a hard reset
Of the 128 MB, roughly 84 MB is usable volatile memory and about 10 MB is non-volatile Flash whose contents "survive a hard reset or the complete depletion of both the main and backup batteries".[5] Psion Teklogix's manual calls this the flash folder and recommends it explicitly as protection against total power loss.[3]
A backup utility, Total Recall, was added in a later ROM and can restore automatically after a hard reset. Its limitation is that individual files cannot be extracted from a backup set.[5]
ROM updates
Four public ROM images were released after launch, with interim builds available through customer support. Updating is strongly advised: the launch firmware shipped with IrDA configuration broken to the point of making the port nearly unusable, sluggish redraw, and German localisation strings truncated in dialogue boxes. Early ROMs also nagged about the battery at 50 % remaining.[5]
The last released Windows CE 4.20 ROM image and the BooSt supervisor-mode document are both still hosted by Paul Vigay's Psion archive.[6]
Build quality
Two criticisms recur in contemporary reviews, and both matter to anyone buying one today:
- The rubberised lid covering. Psion replaced the Series 7's leather with a cheaper rubberised covering, and on a good many machines it was "quite sloppily glued", not seated flush in the lid recess and standing proud along one edge.[5]
- The port caps. The rubber caps over the USB, serial and audio sockets stand proud at their corners, are easily pulled out of their sockets, and "sooner or later tear off".[5]
The CompactFlash and PC Card slots sit close to the base, which makes changing cards awkward without lifting the machine.[5]
The hinge mechanism itself was praised — "nothing wobbles" — and contains a switch that can suspend the machine on closing and wake it on opening.[5] Against that, machines do turn up with a hinge missing; see the Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide.
General maintenance
Troubleshooting
Battery service
See also
- Psion netBook — the EPOC predecessor
- Psion Series 7 · Battery Refurbishment · Recommended Tools
References
- ↑ "Psion netBook", Wikipedia. Source for the announcement date, the processor, memory and display changes, the move to Windows CE and the discontinuation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mauricio Freitas, "Psion Netbook Pro review", Geekzone, 31 August 2004. Source for the sliding-lid behaviour, the keyboard, the expansion and connectivity list and the shipped software.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Psion Teklogix, NETBOOK PRO Win CE 4.2 User Manual, P/N 8100012 Rev C, 27 May 2004, chapter 9 (Specifications) and chapter 2 (Getting Started). Source for the processor, memory, display, physical, environmental and power specifications, the battery and backup-battery arrangements, the calibration behaviour, the power schemes and the reset procedures. Mirrored at vigay.com and on ManualsLib.
- ↑ OpenPsion, "Linux on the Psion netBook HOWTO — section 3.4, The netBook Specifications". Source for the netBook's own drop, IP and temperature ratings used here for comparison, and the netBook battery specification.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Jürgen Rothberger, "Psion netBook Pro" (in German), July 2007, with the original March 2004 version at psion_netbook_pro_v1.shtml. Source for the two hardware revisions and how to identify them, the built-in modem in the later revision, the rubberised covering fitting problem, the port caps, the card slot height, the flash memory behaviour, the Total Recall utility and the ROM update history.
- ↑ "Psion, NetBook, NetBook Pro and EPOC Support", vigay.com. Hosts the last released netBook Pro Windows CE 4.20 ROM image, the BooSt supervisor-mode document, the user manual and the technical brochure.