SCORE
PRICE £50 from ebay.co.uk (deals may differ)
Over the years I’ve used many word processors, from Protext on the Amstrad CPC and Pages on the Mac to iA Writer on the iPad and Word on a PC. I’ve inputted many paragraphs into Google Docs and enjoyed writing books using Scrivener. Yet I invariably return to LibreOffice on my Mac, primarily because I like the comfort of a desktop computer and I have a penchant for open-source software.
At the same, however, I’ve long looked for a way of writing on the go that doesn’t involve lugging a large laptop around with me and gives me a proper, physical keyboard. Regular readers may recall that this hunt led me to try the Amstrad NC100 Notepad – a portable Z80-based computer that impressed me (see issue 333, p123). But it was not without its foibles and, today, I’m sad to report that it’s been fired and currently sits in a drawer, its tiny screen ultimately proving to be uncomfortable.
Although I could simply pair an iPad with a keyboard (and I have, admittedly, done just that), I’ve also recently become acquainted with the British-made Psion Series 5. Making its debut in 1997, it’s akin to a miniature laptop – one not much larger than a spectacles case – and my time spent with it has been like the first flush of love. It soon became abundantly clear why this appealing little device is judged to be iconic.
For those with a yearning for history,
