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Psion (company)

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Psion PLC
Company typePublic
PON
IndustryComputers
Founded1980;44 years ago(1980)
FateAcquired by Motorola Solutions in 15 June 2012
SuccessorMotorola Solutions
Headquarters
London
,
England
Number of locations
Over 14
Key people
John Hawkins, (Chairman)
John Conoley (CEO)
David Potter
ProductsWorkabout Pro 3, NEO, Ikôn, Omnii XT10,[1][2][3]EP10,[4][5]8500 Series vehicle mount devices
Revenue£170 million (2009)
Number of employees
900 (2010)
Websitepsion(defunct)

Psion PLCwas a designer and manufacturer of mobile handheld computers for commercial and industrial uses. The company was headquartered inLondon,England, with major operations inMississauga,Ontario, Canada, and other company offices in Europe, the United States, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. It was a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:PON) and was once a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index.

Psion's operational business was formed in September 2000 from a merger of Psion and Canadian-based Teklogix Inc., and was a global provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection. The Group's products and services included ruggedmobile hardware,securesoftwareandwireless networks,professional services, and support programs. Psion worked with its clients in the area of burgeoning technologies, includingimaging,voice recognition,andradio-frequency identification(RFID). They had operations worldwide in 14 countries, and customers in more than 80 countries.

Formed in 1980, Psion first achieved success as a consumer hardware company that developed thePsion Organiserand a wide range of more sophisticatedclamshellpersonal digital assistants(PDAs). Psion either closed or disposed of all its prior operations and then focused on rugged mobile computing systems. It withdrew from the consumer device market in 2001.[6]Motorola Solutionsannounced in June 2012 that it had agreed to acquire Psion for $200 million.[7]

History

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Beginnings (1980–1984)

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Psion was established in 1980 as a software house with a close relationship withSinclair Research.The company developed games and other software for theZX81andZX Spectrumhome computers,released under the Sinclair/Psion brand. Psion's games for the ZX Spectrum includedChess,Chequered Flag,Flight Simulationand theHoraceseries.Psion Chess was later ported to other platforms, including the early Macintosh in 1984.[8]

Early software releases for the ZX Spectrum included titles such as VU-Calc, VU-File andVU-3D,along with dozens of other titles.[9]

The company name is an acronym standing for "Potter Scientific Instruments", after the company's founder,David Potter.The acronymPSIwas already in use elsewhere in the world so "ON" was added to make the name unique. Potter remained managing director until 1999 and was chairman of the company until late 2009.

In early 1983, Sinclair approached Psion regarding the development of a suite of office applications for the forthcomingSinclair QLpersonal computer.Psion were already working on a project in this area, and when the QL was launched in 1984 it was bundled withQuill,Archive,AbacusandEasel;respectively aword processor,database,spreadsheet,and business graphics application. These were later ported toDOSand made available for the IBM PC and ACT'sSiriusandApricotcomputers, collectively calledPC-Four,orXchange[10]in an enhanced version.[8]Xchangewas also available for ICL'sOne Per Deskcomputer, which was based on the QL.[11]

Psion Organiser (1984)

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Main article:Psion Organiser
Psion Organiser II

In 1984, Psion first entered the hardware market with thePsion Organiser,an early handheld computer, in appearance resembling a pocket calculator with an Alpha numericcomputer keyboard.In 1986, the vastly improved Psion Organiser II was released, and was assembled by Speedboard Assembly Services.[12]Its success led the company into a decade long period ofPsionComputer and operating system development. It included the simple-to-useOpen Programming Language(OPL) for database programming, which sparked a large independent software market.

EPOC (1987)

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Main article:EPOC (operating system)
Psion Series 3

In 1987, Psion began developing itsSIxteen Bit Organiser(SIBO) family of devices and its own new multitasking operating system namedEPOC,to run its third generation product, Laptops (MC), industrial handhelds (HC and Workabout) and PDA (Series 3) products.[8]

It is often rumoured that EPOC stands for "Electronic Piece Of Cheese" however Colly Myers, who was Symbian's CEO from founding until 2002,[13]said in an interview that it stood for 'epoch' and nothing more. This development effort produced the clamshell QWERTY-basedPsion Series 3palmtops (1993–98), which sold in the hundreds of thousands, and the Psion MC-series laptops, which sold poorly compared to the DOS-based laptops of the era.

Psion 5mx Pro

A second effort, dubbed Project Protea, produced the PsionSeries 5for sale in 1997, a completely new product from the 32-bit hardware upwards through the OS, UI, and applications.[8]It is still remembered for its high quality keyboard which, despite its size, allowed for touch-typing. However, the new feel of the product, and the removal of certain familiar quirks, alienated loyal Series 3 users, who tended to stick with their PDAs rather than upgrade.

In 1999, Psion released thePsion Series 7,which was much like a larger version of the Series 5, but with a double-size VGA-resolution screen that featured 256 colours (the Series 5 had a half-VGA screen with 16 grey shades). It was followed by the very similarPsion netBook.

Psion was being challenged by the arrival of cheaper PDAs such as thePalm Pilot,and PocketPCs running Microsoft'sWindows CE,and in 2003, Psion released a Netbook Pro running Windows CE.NET 4.2 instead of EPOC.

Symbian and telephony (1998)

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The 32-bit EPOC developed by Project Protea resulted in the eventual formation ofSymbian Ltd.in June 1998 in conjunction withNokia,EricssonandMotorola.[8]The OS was renamed theSymbian Operating Systemand was envisioned as the base for a new range ofsmartphones.Psion transferred 130 key staff to the new company and retained a 31% shareholding in the spun-out business. By 2007, the Symbian operating system powered around 125 million mobile phones, including many Nokia models and theSony Ericsson P900series.

Psion had previously sought to expand into mobile telephony itself, having engaged in talks to acquireAmstrad– mainly for its Dancall subsidiary – in 1996. Although Amstrad's owner and founder, Alan Sugar, had reportedly been seeking to sell the entire business, no agreement could apparently be made on a price or on "a plan for the disposal of the other parts of the Amstrad Group". This setback left Psion promising "to introduce GSM-based products during 1997". Meanwhile, Psion did license EPOC toDigital Equipment Corporationso that the system could be ported to Digital'sStrongARMprocessor.[14]

The development of new and updated products by Psion slowed after the Symbian spin-off. Other products failed or had limited success; these included Psion Siemens' GSM device, a Series 5 basedset-top box,theWavefinderDAB radio,and an attempt to add Dragon's speech recognition software to a PDA. Ericsson cancelled a Series 5MX derived smartphone project in 2001.

Psion had sold its sole manufacturing plant in 1999 and started to withdraw from its PDA markets in late 2001,[15]shedding 250 of 1,200 staff and writing-off £40 million. The PDA, which was once a niche market, had become a global horizontal marketplace where it was difficult for Psion to compete. The final blow for Psion's Organiser and PDA business came in January 2001 when Motorola pulled out of a joint project with Psion, Samsung, and Parthus, to create "Odin", an ARM-based PDA-phone.[8]

In 2000, Psion acquiredTeklogixof Canada for £240 million, and merged its business-to-business division, Psion Enterprise, with the newly acquired company. Teklogix was rebrandedPsion Teklogix,and this division formed the core of Psion Plc's business.[16]

In 2002, Psion launched the Psion Software division. This business developedpush emailsolutions for Symbian smartphones,Microsoft ExchangeandLotus Notes.This business was sold to Visto of the United States in 2003.

In 2004, Psion disposed of the company's remaining Symbian shareholding to Nokia, as they no longer regarded it as a core part of their strategy.[8]

Last years (2010–2012)

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In its last years, Psion made tailored and customized modular variants of its products through its online community, Ingenuity Working. Launched in March 2010, Ingenuity Working had more than 35,000 visitors per month within its first six months.[17][third-party source needed]

In January 2011, the launched a new logo, simultaneously removing Teklogix from its operating company name.[18]

Motorola Solutionsannounced in June 2012 that it had agreed to acquire Psion for $200 million.[7]

Netbooktrademark litigation

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Psion registered the trademarkNetbookin various territories, including theEuropean Union[19]andU.S. Trademark 75,215,401,which was applied for on 18 December 1996 and registered byUSPTOon 21 November 2000. They used this trademark[20]for thePsion netBookproduct, discontinued in November 2003,[21]and from October 2003, the NETBOOK PRO, later also discontinued.[22]

Intelstarted using the termnetbookin March 2008 as a generic term to describe "small laptops that are designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet", believing they were "not offering a branded line of computers here" and "see no naming conflict".[23]

In response to the growing use of the term, on 23 December 2008 Psion Teklogix sent cease and desist letters[24]to various parties including enthusiast website(s) demanding they no longer use the term "netbook".[25][26]

In early 2009,IntelsuedPsion Teklogix(US & Canada) and Psion (UK) in the Federal Court, seeking a cancellation of the trademark and an order enjoining Psion from asserting any trademark rights in the term "netbook", a declarative judgement regarding their use of the term, attorneys' fees, costs and disbursements and "such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper".[27][28]The suit was settled out of court, and on June 2, 2009, Psion announced that the company was withdrawing all of its trademark registrations for the term "Netbook" and that Psion agreed to "waive all its rights against third parties in respect of past, current or future use" of the term.[29]

Similar marks were rejected by theUSPTOciting a "likelihood of confusion" under section 2(d), including 'G NETBOOK' (U.S. Trademark 77,527,311rejected 31 October 2008),Micro-Star International's (MSI) 'WIND NETBOOK' (U.S. Trademark 77,580,272) andCoby Electronics' 'COBY NETBOOK' (U.S. Trademark 77,590,174rejected 13 January 2009)

Integration with Linux

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Psion had a lengthy, but distant, interest inLinuxas anoperating systemon its electronic devices. In 1998, it supported the Linux7K project that had been initiated by Ed Bailey atRed Hat,which was to port Linux to its Series 5 personal computer.[30][31][32]The project was named after the Cirrus Logic PS-7110 chip of the Series 5. Although this project was one of the earliest attempts to port Linux to a handheld computer,[33]it did not come to fruition for Psion. The project soon transitioned to an informalopen-source softwareproject at Calcaria.net that kept the name Linux7K. After the project transitioned again to sourceforge.net, the project's name was changed to a more general namePsiLinux,and later toOpenPsion.The project has developed Linuxkernelsandfile systemsfor theRevo,Series 5 and 5MX,andSeries 7 and netBook.

In 2003–4, Psion Teklogix and its founder David Potter expressed interest in Linux as the operating system for its devices as it divested from Symbian.[34][35][36]However, the only result of that interest was Linux as the operating system on a limited number of custom NetBook Pros designed for a hospital setting.[37]

TheEmbeddable Linux Kernel Subsetproject has produced a small subset of Linux that runs onPsion Series 3PDAs.[38]

PDAs

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All these PDAs except the Psion netpad have a smallkeyboard,which excepting the Organiser, HC and Workabout was of the standardQWERTYlayout, or a regional variation thereof.

Laptops

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Blickenstorfer, Conrad."Psion Teklogix Omnii XT10".ruggedpcreview.Rugged PC review.Retrieved30 October2020.
  2. ^"Omnii XT10 Support".zebra.Zebra.Retrieved29 October2020.
  3. ^"Motorola Omnii XT15 Mobile Handheld Computer".barcodesinc.Barcodes, Inc.
  4. ^"Psion EP10 Specifications Sheet [English]"(PDF).Pulster.de.Psion.Archived(PDF)from the original on 1 July 2015.Retrieved30 October2020.
  5. ^Blickenstorfer, Conrad."Psion Teklogix Omnii EP10".ruggedpcreview.Rugged PC review.Retrieved29 October2020.
  6. ^"Psion slides as it exits consumer market".IrishTimes.11 July 2001.Retrieved24 March2023.
  7. ^abFigas, Jon (15 June 2012)."Motorola Solutions buys Psion for $200 million".Engadget.Retrieved15 June2012.
  8. ^abcdefgLitchfield, Steve (2005) [1998]."The History of Psion".Palmtop Magazine.UK Online.Retrieved27 December2008.
  9. ^"World of Spectrum - Psion Software Ltd".
  10. ^Bright, Peter (October 1984)."Straight Xchange".Personal Computer World.pp. 180–182.Retrieved4 November2020.
  11. ^Tebbutt, David (December 1984)."ICL OPD".Personal Computer World.pp. 120–124.Retrieved3 July2024.Via Internet Archive.
  12. ^"Note UK".Speedboard Assembly Services.
  13. ^Frankal, Elliot (4 September 2005)."Ask and it shall be texted to you".The Observer.Retrieved27 December2008.
  14. ^"Psion, StrongARM, GSM and the Amstrad factor".Acorn User.October 1996. p. 9.Retrieved1 July2022.
  15. ^ Needham, Mark (19 February 2004)."We Remembered Psion and Wept"(PDF).PC Pro.Retrieved22 February2012.
  16. ^"Psion buys Teklogix".BBC News.12 July 2000.Retrieved27 December2008.
  17. ^"Psion Launches IngenuityLive! as IngenuityWorking Marks Six Month Anniversary with Huge Industry Participation Rates".19 October 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2013.Retrieved19 October2011.
  18. ^"Psion Removes" Teklogix "Name and Refreshes Corporate Identity".31 January 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2013.Retrieved31 January2011.
  19. ^EUTM 000428250
  20. ^Psion netbook news releaseArchived2011-06-08 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^Psion Discontinued ProductsArchived2007-05-17 at theWayback Machine
  22. ^NETBOOK PRO discontinuedArchived2011-01-04 at theWayback Machine
  23. ^"Paul Bergevin - VP and GM of Intel's Global Communication Group".
  24. ^Psion Cease and Desist LetterArchived2009-03-26 at theWayback Machine
  25. ^"jkOnTheRun".
  26. ^"Psion threatens netbook sites over trademarks".TheGuardian.24 December 2008.
  27. ^"Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Judgment & Cancellation of Federal Trademark"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 4 March 2009.
  28. ^"Intel Wants 'Netbook' Trademark Canceled".
  29. ^"Psion, Intel settle 'Netbook' trademark dispute".Archived fromthe originalon 8 April 2012.Retrieved3 March2010.
  30. ^ Jones, Marc Ambasna (11 May 1999)."Opinion: Mobile Linux for Bluetooth – spanner for Microsoft?".News.UK: ZDNet.Retrieved17 June2007.
  31. ^ Jones, Marc Ambasna (23 April 1999)."Mobile Linux for Psion pressures Win CE".News.UK: ZDNet.Retrieved17 June2007.
  32. ^ Almesberger, Werner (1999)."Linux in the pocket - The Linux-7k project".Ottawa, ON, CA: Linux Symposium. Archived fromthe originalon 4 July 2007.Retrieved17 June2007.
  33. ^Maddox, Paul (4 May 2000)."Linux for handhelds: fact or fiction?".LinuxToday.eWeek.Retrieved17 June2007.
  34. ^ Kewney, Guy (9 February 2004)."Psion looks past Windows to Linux as Nokia buys Symbian".News Wireless.newswireless.net.Retrieved17 June2007.
  35. ^ Partridge, Chris (8 July 2003)."Psion prepares the way for the one true OS".Computing.VU Net. Archived fromthe originalon 30 September 2007.Retrieved17 June2007.
  36. ^ Kewney, Guy (February 2004)."What Will Become the Next Scion of Psion?".eWeek.Ziff Davis Media. Archived fromthe originalon 20 September 2004.Retrieved17 June2007.
  37. ^ Glover, Tony (23 May 2004)."NHS deal with Psion heralds move away from Windows".The Business Online. Archived fromthe originalon 6 June 2004.Retrieved17 June2007.
  38. ^ "ELKS: Embeddable Linux Kernel System".elks.sourceforge.net.Retrieved5 November2020.
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