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Beneath the screen there are two slide buttons at the top of the keyboard. The left switches on and off, and the right ejects the stylus pen. As the stylus is not spring-loaded like the Series 5/5mx's, it shouldn't get stuck like those machines' styli sometimes did. The stylus feels quite good in the hand - not flimsy like the Revo's. For some reason, mine looked like someone had been chewing on it!

Whilst off, the screen is totally black, but turning it on launches into a 159x122mm 640x480 pixel LCD screen displaying 256 colours. Unlike greyscale LCD devices, black-on-white text really is black-on-white, like a PC screen. The Revo's screen, which is very good for a greyscale LCD, looks dingy by comparison.

It's permanently backlit and the brightness and contrast can be adjusted in Control Panel. It's incredibly bright, enough to be able to see the keyboard by in the dark, although not the icons on either side of the screen. It's so intense it hurts the eyes to look at it, even at the lowest brightness level, when it's dark around you. Both brightness and contrast can be adjusted via the keyboard (it's Fn+Space to adjust brightness - thanks to Frevo reader Gunnar for pointing this out). Looking closely, the screen can be very slightly grainy, or occasionally visibly keep redrawing some colours, though it's mostly a non-issue. Like most colour LCD screens, it's difficult to see clearly in direct sunlight. The computer lets out an extremely quiet hum when turned on, but it's not audible even in silence unless your ear is quite close to the machine. Picking the Series 7 up by its screen occasionally causes a minor liquid crystal 'smudge' effect.

The near-black QWERTY keyboard is pretty much like a normal laptop keyboard - it's almost the same size, and has a very similar clicking action. It feels shallower than a standard PC keyboard, though it's not a problem. What is a little annoying for a user of another Psion is the different keyboard layout - the Menu and Fn keys have been inexplicably reversed, and unlike the Revo, the dash and equals sign have their own buttons. I'm beginning to get used to it, but expect to be using the wrong keys for the first few days if you normally use a different Psion computer.

The available programs, all stored in the 12MB of read-only memory, are the same ones you would get with the Series 5mx, with added colour. These are System, the file and folder manager, Word, the word processor, Sheet, the spreadsheet, Data, the basic database, Contacts, the telephone/address book, Agenda, the organiser and to-do program, Time, the world city information and alarms manager, Calc, the desk roll and scientific calculator, Jotter, the quick note taker, Record, the sound recorder and player, Sketch, the drawing program, Email, the Internet emailer, Web, the Web browser, Spell, the spell checker and thesaurus, Program, the OPL BASIC-like programming environment, Comms, the dialup terminal program and finally Bombs, the Minesweeper game. Java is supplied on CD as a plugin to the Web browser.

Most of these programs are of a high standard, and both Word and Sheet have the majority of the features of a desktop program. However, you can't use all 256 colours when choosing fill, line and text colours - you only get a choice of 16. When printing, everything appears in greyscale, even if the printer supports colour! This is an annoying omission. Colour in the built-in programs is generally in pastel shades, which I personally like. Buttons have a lilac background, folders are light orange and title bars are dark blue. Unlike Windows, you can't change this colour scheme without purchasing third-party software. It would have been nice if a 'themes' feature had been built into EPOC, but it's no big problem. The toolbar on the right has acquired a battery indicator, but this doesn't gradually become more empty - it will only change when the battery becomes low. A graded battery indicator is available in a dialogue box within System, so it's a pity that that wasn't translated into the toolbar's battery icon.

If you've had a standard laptop on your lap for any length of time, you'll probably have noticed that they run so hot that it seems like you might be able to use one to keep food warm! The Series 7 heats up a little, but that's all. So, why would you get a Series 7 rather than a Windows laptop? The Psion's advantages are superior portability, as it's lighter and smaller than most traditional laptops, a built-in office suite, a touch screen (although a few laptops may have touch screens, the majority do not), not needing to save files as it's done automatically when you close programs, more efficient use of processor power and memory, a long, 8.5 hour battery life, not burning your legs and, most of all, the instant-on facility. A Windows laptop might take up to five minutes chugging into life, but the Series 7 is on the moment you open the case.

Windows laptops do have their advantages, of course. There's a much wider variety of software (you may not find programs for some specialist applications under EPOC), their files are instantly compatible with most other computers (with a Psion, you have to use the PsiWin desktop connectivity program or third-party software like Neuon's nConvert to convert files back and forth from their PC equivalents) and there's a wider variety of connectivity options, as there are no USB/Parallel/FireWire/VGA out ports on the Series 7 (although a separate VGA out PC card can be purchased) and drivers aren't available for many hardware components.

There was only one fault as supplied - the user dictionary file (C:\System\Data\User.dic) was set as read-only, and couldn't be written to. This results in the slightly cryptic message 'User dictionary is not available'. From what I've heard, this file is read-only on most Series 7 computers.

What do I think of the Psion Series 7? I find the machine more useful than a standard laptop because it is compatible with my Revo, it turns on instantly and EPOC is a generally slicker operating system than Windows for smallish devices. You might find similar benefits to using a Series 7, but consider a laptop instead if you need to use specialist programs or spend a lot of your time sharing documents with PC users. If, however, you want a mobile computer for general work, and particularly if you use another Psion, the Series 7 might be a good option for you.

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Series 7 screenshots