Iam writing this on a Psion Series 5MX. Why? Mainly because I’m a bit of a contrary bastard, but also because I am on a quest. Aquest to find a portable, distraction-free writing device.
Sometimes called a ‘writerdeck’, there’s a whole Reddit community dedicated to finding, using and making these types of devices.So what are the parameters here? Well, in no particular order, the ideal device would be portable – no bigger than a laptop – battery powered, have a decent keyboard, and enable me to get plain text or RTF files off it easily.
What it doesn’t need is the internet, subscriptions, apps, or any of that modern shit.
So, how does the 5MX shape up? It’s definitely portable, and has a nice leather case. Batteries are 2 AA sized cells, and the backup 2032 is easily accessible. Seem to last for ages. Keyboard is OK- a bit stiff but nice travel and full set of characters. It takes a Compact Flash card, which with a Russian Doll like combination of adaptors I’ve used a microSD in. This allows me to get files on and off easily enough, but I’ve also ordered a serial cable and adaptor so hopefully Ican connect to my Mac and use a bit of software called Reconnect to do the same thing, plus backups and so on.
It’s a cool thing. The OSis nice and it’s instant on. Ilike it quite a lot. But is it ‘The One’? Our adventure continues…