Psion netBook Pro
 | |
| Psion Teklogix's official product photograph of the 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 transmissive TFT with CCFL 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
[edit | edit source]| 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. Psion's specification sheet is more specific: an SVGA TFT transmissive display with a CCFL backlight[4] |
| 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 including the 2200 mAh pack. The manual's "2.95 lb" is wrong — 1100 g is 2.43 lb, and the specification sheet gives 2.4 lb[4] |
| 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 (the specification sheet says 5–93 %), and a temperature shock rating of ±10 °C over 5 minutes[4] |
| 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]
A correction worth recording. It is often said that the netBook Pro is the less rugged machine, on the basis that it is rated for 0.7 m onto carpet where the netBook was rated for 1 m onto wood. Psion's own netBook datasheet says otherwise: the netBook is rated for "0.7m/2.3' drop onto carpeted surface" — the same as the Pro.[5] The "1 m onto wood" figure comes from a community specification list, not from Psion. On drop rating the two machines are specified identically.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Psion Teklogix's user manual, quick start guide, specification sheet and BooSt supervisor-mode note are all hosted on this wiki. No service manual, spare parts list or exploded diagram survives for the netBook Pro.
Two hardware revisions
[edit | edit source]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:[6]
- "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
[edit | edit source]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".[6] 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.[6]
ROM updates
[edit | edit source]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.[6]
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.[7]
Build quality
[edit | edit source]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.[6]
- 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".[6]
The CompactFlash and PC Card slots sit close to the base, which makes changing cards awkward without lifting the machine.[6]
The hinge mechanism itself was praised — "nothing wobbles" — and contains a switch that can suspend the machine on closing and wake it on opening.[6] Against that, machines do turn up with a hinge missing; see the Psion netBook Pro Troubleshooting Guide.
General maintenance
[edit | edit source]Troubleshooting
[edit | edit source]Battery service
[edit | edit source]See also
[edit | edit source]- Psion netBook — the EPOC predecessor
- Psion netBook Pro Documentation — Psion Teklogix's own manuals and datasheets
- Psion Series 7 · Battery Refurbishment · Recommended Tools
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "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 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Psion Teklogix, "NETBOOK PRO Hand-Held Computer" specification sheet, document code NBPRO 05/05, hosted at Psion netBook Pro Documentation. Identifies the display as an SVGA TFT transmissive panel with a CCFL backlight, gives the weight as 2.4 lb, humidity as 5-93 % RH at 40 °C and a temperature shock rating of +/-10 °C over 5 minutes.
- ↑ Psion Teklogix, "netBook" product datasheet, document code NBOOK-01/01-5K-A4-UK, February 2001, hosted at Psion netBook Documentation. Psion's own specification: 58-key keyboard, 15 V 1.5 A adapter, up to 8.5 hours battery life with a 2.5 hour recharge, CR2032 backup cell with a 55-hour lifespan, PC Card slot rated for 3.3 V and 5 V, 0.7 m drop onto carpet, IP30.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 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.