Psion Series 5 MX Palmtop

We've used the Psion Series 5 on cycling trips before - from Sydney to London - and have been impressed by its compact design and robustness. With a 16MB internal memory and the option of adding extra 10MB flash cards, there's enough capacity for thousands of diaries, articles and more... We chose the Psion for it's simplicity and reliability. With a black and white screen, 20 hours of battery life can be drawn from just 2 Duracells, perfect for remote on-the-road writing. In hotels, an adapter allows the Psion to be run off the mains and the power-hungry backlight can be used.

The keyboard is just large enough for speedy writing - with a little practise. With Windows compatible programs such as PsiWord, the 5 MX is easily synchronised with PCs using the PsiWin CD, quickly installed without the need for a shutdown, and a common PC serial port, via a RS 232 cable. This allows PsiWord files to be transferred and converted into Word. Without a CD, info can also be transferred using the Hyperterminal program, pre- installed on Windows 95, 98 etc... Either way, files can then be cut and pasted into conventional Yahoo Emails

For the ultimate in self sufficiency, the Series 5 also offers an infra red port for data transfers via a mobile phone and a serial port and travel modem via land lines Aware of the technological set up of the countries we were visiting, as well as trying to keep our costs as low as possible, we've preferred to simply transfer the data to a PC in an Internet cafe, and send it from there.

We use the sturdy leather case for transport - once tucked away, the Psion looks more like a FiloFax, avoiding prying eyes of customs officials. A dust and waterproof case is available from the multimedia company Widget, who also produce a solar powered adapter which we have yet to try. One feature that would be great to see would be an external 3.5 inch floppy disk drive, avoiding the need to instal the PsiWin CD, making visits to Internet cafes even simpler.

The Psion has survived countless rugged, rock strewn descents, searing temperatures in panniers on desert crossings, freezing temperatures over 5000 metre passes, as well as the day to day dust and grime of travel - in short, much more than we're sure the machine is designed for. By making backups regularly onto the flash disk, even in cold conditions that have depleted battery life in a few days, our data has always been safe. For it's word processing capabilities, its calculator, agenda and address book, the Psion has been invaluable. The 'Other Brain', as we call it, has been the perfect cycling companion!