What I Use My Psion For

I currently use a Psion Series 5mx (with 80 Mb CF card) which I use for all kinds of things. I couldn't possible list them all but here's a taste.

Financial

Like many other people, I organise my finances with Psion. It has the advantage of always being there when I spend money so I can enter the transactions immediately. I always know how much money I have (or don't have) in my accounts and what kind of nasty credit card bills to expect.

My bank accounts and credit cards are taken care of by Money from Palmtop Software. After trying out a large number of banking programs I finally settled on this one. The interface is very clear, all the functionality I need is there and it is very fast.

Portfolio Manager (also from Palmtop Software) looks after my investment portfolio. The windows agent is very handy as it downloads quotes from the internet automatically and syncs with my Psion when it's docked on my desk at work.

I find the built in Sheet application very useful for many other financial management tasks and to work out my taxes :-(

Mobile Data

Using an Ericsson SH888 mobile phone I can send and receive SMS messages and Faxes from my Psion. I can also dial into the remote access server at my company for sending and receiving email and also internet access. All this without wires using infrared. I haven't tried any of the news readers yet because I don't really have a need for news access on the move and on the occasions when I do I would probably want to seach archives using Deja.

Although the SH888 is not the most ultra modern phone available at the moment, it is selling at a good price these days and makes mobile data with the Psion a breeze. I would highy recommended this phone as a plug-and-play solution.

GPS Navigation

I use the Palmtop Software GPS unit which is designed specifically for car use with Psion machines. The unit is compact, pre-wired for Psion use and takes just seconds to set up. The navigation software I use is Route Planner Millenium, also from Palmtop.

I put the combination through it's paces with a long drive from Finland to Britain for our 2000 summer holiday in my new Jaguar. For those wondering why I didn't simply buy the integrated Jaguar GPS system, there was no CD available for Finland (where I used to live) so it would have been of little use to me.

Because I didn't want unsightly brackets bolted to the car or air vents, I engineered my own mounting system for the Psion which worked very well. My car has a pop out cassette storage compartment that grips cassettes tightly. I cut a piece of wood to the size of a cassette box and bolted a bracket and a POD car Psion holder to that. In this way the bracket can be fitted and removed with no tell tale signs and the whole system takes about one minute to set up. If you have a similar storage compartment, you may like to consider making a bracket like this.

The dashboard, showing the cassette storage tray	The Palmtop GPS stows away in the storage tray
Fitting my makeshift bracket	The bracket once fitted
The fitted bracket from another angle	The ball joint allows adjustment for view angle.

Cigars

I use the built in Data application to store a log of cigars I've tried, cigars available and their ratings, price lists and a list of international tobacconists (an essential travel companion).

The contents of my humidors are stored in a Sheet file which enables me to quickly determine what I have, how many and most importantly the age of each cigar. I check the date of manufacture of my Havannas with a little date code cracking macro I wrote for the superb Macro 5.

Music

No, I don't use my Psion for making music but I do use it for some related things.

I am a musician (of sorts) and play in a local progressive rock band. I have found my Psion ideal for jotting down musical ideas and lyrics (when I have them) and always have these with me at rehearsals. I can even record some riffs and ideas on my Psion so they're not forgotten in the event that nobody has a tape handy.