The Psion Workabout

Reviewed by Richard T. Kilpatrick

Beam me up, Scotty - Psion's answer to the Tri-corder (photographed by RTK using the Leaf Lumina scanning camera on Mac 660AV

Psion's latest addition to their extensive range of portable computers is less of a revolution and more of an evolution in terms of hardware. With a design brief that has echos of the original Organiser (still in production after 11 years), and proven Series 3a technology, the Workabout already has the right ingredients to be another success for this British company.

The Workabout is rather more, and less, than the sum of its parts Ð some of the omissions to the system are not necessary, and some of the features should really have been incorporated into the Series 3a.

The Workabout exists as a low-cost, almost instantly-usable alternative to the bespoke HC range, and with prices starting at &sterling;240, it certainly achieves that goal. Serious users will need a basic PC system to make it easier to program (a PC OPL interpreter/compiler is available at &sterling;29.95 for Windows 3.1), and some form of docking station (&sterling;TBA). Unlike the HC, the system can be used out of the box.

The Workabout presents the user with a choice of three options:

1 - Command processor. Like MS-DOS, but simplified, this makes housekeeping easier, and I would like to have had this option on the Series 3a.
2 - System screen. The basic face of the Workabout, this looks like a Series 3a with half the applications missing (including, inexplicably, the time function).
3 - Restart shell. For custom apps, an Autoexec.bat file can be used in one of the SSD drives to boot straight into a routine.

There is no danger of the Workabout impinging on Series 3a sales, because the 'killer app' which made the S3a so popular - Agenda - has been left off. There is nothing to stop Series 3a programs running on the Workabout (indeed, Purple Software's Paint.app runs perfectly), except the limitations caused by the smaller screen (software could be written to scroll this and allow a larger virtual screen) and the cut-down sound system. The Workabout's strength lies in its... strength! Unlike the Series 3a, there are no moving parts, it is splash-proof, drop-proof, idiot-proof, amazingly easy to hold and use. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but the Work-about is definitely an improvement over previous Organisers.

And finally, this is the first mass-market Psion that can be used in the dark, thanks to an attractive blue backlight - another improvement I'd like to see on the Series 3a, but it does increase power consumption when turned on.

As a photographer's tool, the Workabout has three advantages over the Series 3a - robustness (the 3a hinges don't always inspire confidence), ease of use and ease of expansion. Psion have said there is no reason why the Workabout couldn't be adapted with plug-in modules as both a light meter and enlarger controller, and I suspect that if enough interest is registered, applications and hardware to do just that could be developed. Workabouts are available now, from Psion, in either light grey or yellow and with various memory capacities.

Return to Photon November contents