I've been a Psion user for years, starting with a 512K S3a, then a 2M version, and finally a 2M S3c. The S3c added exactly the features I was missing: backlighting, an IR interface, and enhancements to the data application that let me use it instead of a third party application.
Any Psion user will naturally understand my being upset when my trusty S3c failed to power up. I decided that now would be a good time to buy a backup, and use it while the S3c was being repaired. The above information will make it clear why I was unhappy to then discover that the local retail outlet no longer carried the S3 in any form, having dropped it in favor of the S5.
Trying to get my 3c repaired was an experience in itself. Prior to this time dealing with Psion tech support had been, if not pleasant, at least not painful. You would call them up, wait on hold until you talked to a human being, verify that you really needed to send the thing in for repairs, get a RAN, ship it to them, get a call in a day or two as to how much, tell them "Ok", and get the box back in a few more days.
This is no longer the procedure. Now, you have to ask for a RAN by email, or FAX - you're no longer allowed to talk to them. So I sent off the email, asking for a RAN. Several days later, I got back instructions on how to ask for a RAN. I then did as directed, and - once again several days later - got back the RAN. If you're counting, I've spent more time just getting a RAN than I had previously spent getting the unit repaired. This is not a good sign.
The S5 is missing features I value. The UI changed from the icon per application the S3 had to the desktop standard of an icon per file. Instead of two expansion slots, there was only one. The keyboard shortcuts had changed to be compatible with a desktop OS I didn't use. Worse yet, the machine couldn't exchange information with the S3, except through that same desktop OS. Basically, there was no reason to consider the S5 to be the automatic upgrade to the S3c, as opposed to, for instance, the Windows CE (WinCE) machines that were starting to appear.
Since the S5 was only slightly more compatible with the S3c than some other manufacturer's machines, I decided to check out some of the competition. At the same time, I reevaluated my mobile network connectivity in light of the newly available GSM and PCS technologies.
A WinCE box with the hardware capabilities I wanted - a memory expansion slot and a peripheral slot - was readily found at a local electronics dealer, at only slightly more than the cost of a mail order S3c. Since the dealer has a 30 day return policy, I went ahead and took one home. Based on a weeks worth of use, it seems that WinCE machines are still very much tied to the mode of the palmtop being an extension of the desk-top machine. In particular, the accounting programs were all little more than checkbook registers to be loaded into a desktop accounting programs later.
While doing this, I also verified that at least one EPOC-32 box - the GeoFox 1 - was available with a hardware configuration I liked.
The third thread in this tale was the re-evaluation of the mobile connection options. I had been using a Ricochet wireless modem. It was originally attractive because there were no per-minute fees for use. However, the number of minutes used per month wasn't enough to justify the monthly fees. So I started looking into alternatives that used my exiting cell phone, which used the Sprint PCS services. I could save money, and have one fewer boxes to lug around at the same time.
The prospects here were abysmal. The phone makers built interfaces for Windows 95 and the Mac. Nothing for any pocket computer of any flavor. Ditto for the PC card makers. The system makers did their own cards - but not for PCS services. The end result is that the only connection solution for palmtops was the Ricochet and a serial port.
The exception to that is found in the cell phones. The first of the integrated PCS phones and pocket computers had been out long enough to be used as a prop in The Saint - The Nokia 9000 series.
Closed, it's a large cell phone. It opens in the middle like a palmtop, and becomes a GEOS palmtop. As a palmtop, it's not as slick as the S3c. Then again, neither is the current generation of Psions. However, with a built-in web browser, mail reader, telnet and terminal emulator, it's much slicker as an internet client than the S3c ever was. And it replaces the S3c, the ricochet, and the cell phone. Not to mention saving me money. It's sufficiently useful that this document was written on it.