<s>
The	O
Psion	B-Application
MC	O
(	O
Mobile	O
Computer	O
)	O
series	O
is	O
a	O
line	O
of	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
made	O
by	O
Psion	B-Application
PLC	I-Application
and	O
launched	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developed	O
by	O
Psion	B-Application
towards	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
informed	O
by	O
market	O
research	O
about	O
the	O
mobile	O
computing	O
needs	O
of	O
potential	O
customers	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
late	O
1989	O
:	O
an	O
approximately	O
A4-sized	O
laptop	B-Device
or	O
notebook	B-Device
computer	I-Device
featuring	O
a	O
full-size	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
monochrome	O
liquid-crystal	B-Device
display	I-Device
and	O
a	O
multitasking	O
,	O
multi-window	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
providing	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
built-in	O
applications	O
in	O
ROM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
a	O
mouse	O
,	O
the	O
computer	O
provided	O
a	O
touchpad	B-Application
to	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
uncommon	O
in	O
1989	O
:	O
the	O
Gavilan	O
SC	O
was	O
the	O
only	O
widely	O
known	O
model	O
with	O
a	O
touchpad	B-Application
,	O
and	O
they	O
were	O
not	O
used	O
again	O
until	O
years	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
,	O
the	O
lower-specification	O
MC	O
200	O
and	O
MS-DOS-compatible	O
MC	O
600	O
were	O
announced	O
in	O
late	O
1989	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
scheduled	O
for	O
a	O
March	O
or	O
April	O
1990	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MC	O
200	O
had	O
a	O
"	O
half-size	O
screen	O
"	O
with	O
a	O
resolution	O
,	O
thus	O
maintaining	O
the	O
same	O
pixel	O
density	O
as	O
that	O
on	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
,	O
merely	O
reducing	O
its	O
height	O
,	O
and	O
halved	O
the	O
internal	O
RAM	B-Architecture
from	O
256KB	O
to	O
128KB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
the	O
MC	O
600	O
offered	O
768KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
of	O
which	O
only	O
640KB	O
was	O
accessible	O
)	O
and	O
a	O
1MB	O
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
(	O
acting	O
as	O
"	O
drive	O
C	O
"	O
)	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
offer	O
a	O
viable	O
DOS	O
experience	O
and	O
thus	O
raising	O
the	O
price	O
to	O
£	O
1,495	O
plus	O
VAT	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
display	O
on	O
this	O
model	O
providing	O
CGA-compatible	O
graphics	O
support	O
at	O
a	O
resolution	O
,	O
albeit	O
in	O
monochrome	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
other	O
models	O
,	O
the	O
touchpad	B-Application
was	O
dropped	O
from	O
the	O
MC	O
600	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
function	O
key	O
bar	O
introduced	O
in	O
its	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EPROM	B-General_Concept
storage	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
hold	O
the	O
built-in	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
data	O
storage	O
involved	O
"	O
matchbook-size	O
"	O
solid-state	O
modules	O
employing	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
fitting	O
into	O
the	O
four	O
available	O
slots	O
present	O
on	O
the	O
sides	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
modules	O
were	O
initially	O
available	O
in	O
128KB	O
,	O
256KB	O
and	O
512KB	O
capacities	O
,	O
with	O
1MB	O
modules	O
anticipated	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
2MB	O
in	O
1991	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
8MB	O
envisaged	O
by	O
Psion	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
external	O
1.44MB	O
floppy	O
disk	O
drive	O
was	O
also	O
announced	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
fast	O
serial	B-Protocol
link	O
specifically	O
for	O
the	O
MC	O
600	O
-	O
Laplink	O
-	O
that	O
permitted	O
the	O
MC	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
a	O
personal	O
computer	O
and	O
access	O
its	O
storage	O
(	O
and	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
MC	O
's	O
storage	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
fashion	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MC	O
400	O
was	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
generation	O
as	O
the	O
Psion	B-Application
Series	I-Application
3	I-Application
,	O
and	O
could	O
be	O
programmed	O
using	O
OPL	B-Language
much	O
like	O
the	O
Series	O
3	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
also	O
provides	O
PC	O
connectivity	O
if	O
used	O
with	O
the	O
separately	O
available	O
PsiWin	O
software	O
using	O
the	O
lead	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
Series	O
3	O
or	O
3A	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
newly	O
developed	O
EPOC16	O
(	O
SIBO	O
)	O
operating	O
system	O
allowed	O
hot	O
swapping	O
of	O
the	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
cards	I-Device
in	O
the	O
4	O
memory	O
slots	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
two	O
hardware	O
expansion	O
slots	O
,	O
the	O
device	O
seemed	O
ready	O
for	O
all	O
future	O
developments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
one	O
,	O
the	O
prices	O
were	O
quite	O
high	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
MC200	O
at	O
,	O
MC400	O
at	O
,	O
and	O
MC600	O
at	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
memory	B-Device
cards	I-Device
were	O
very	O
costly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
was	O
not	O
yet	O
fully	O
developed	O
for	O
market	O
launch	O
:	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
was	O
disappointing	O
,	O
the	O
Open	B-Language
Programming	I-Language
Language	I-Language
(	O
OPL	B-Language
)	O
was	O
adopted	O
almost	O
unchanged	O
from	O
the	O
Organizer	O
II	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
the	O
graphics	O
abilities	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
,	O
and	O
professional	O
developers	O
had	O
to	O
wait	O
over	O
a	O
year	O
for	O
the	O
software	B-Application
development	I-Application
kit	I-Application
(	O
SDK	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
announced	O
voice	O
compression	O
module	O
was	O
never	O
finished	O
,	O
and	O
apart	O
from	O
a	O
parallel	B-Device
port	I-Device
,	O
there	O
were	O
no	O
hardware	O
enhancements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sales	O
were	O
weak	O
,	O
and	O
SIBO	O
Version	O
2	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
1990	O
as	O
a	O
free	O
update	O
,	O
changed	O
nothing	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
a	O
Microsoft	O
Word-like	O
word	O
processor	O
and	O
a	O
significantly	O
improved	O
OPL	B-Language
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Competitors	O
to	O
the	O
MC	O
were	O
pocket	O
PCs	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
Portfolio	I-Device
and	O
Poqet	B-Application
PC	I-Application
,	O
along	O
with	O
portable	O
PCs	O
,	O
although	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
latter	O
the	O
MC	O
was	O
"	O
a	O
genuine	O
laptop	B-Device
"	O
and	O
"	O
unlike	O
most	O
portable	O
computers	O
...	O
really	O
is	O
light	O
enough	O
to	O
carry	O
around	O
with	O
you	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
screen	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
excellent	O
quality	O
,	O
readable	O
from	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
angles	O
"	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
backlit	O
and	O
,	O
when	O
reviewed	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
Psion	B-Application
's	O
later	O
MC	O
600	O
model	O
,	O
was	O
regarded	O
as	O
uncompetitive	O
with	O
backlit	O
screens	O
in	O
poorly	O
lit	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Psion	B-Application
claimed	O
up	O
to	O
60	O
hours	O
of	O
continuous	O
use	O
on	O
8	O
AA	B-Algorithm
battery	I-Algorithm
cells	O
for	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
and	O
75	O
hours	O
for	O
the	O
MC	O
200	O
,	O
with	O
30	O
hours	O
claimed	O
for	O
the	O
MC	O
600	O
,	O
although	O
20	O
hours	O
were	O
reported	O
using	O
alkaline	O
batteries	O
(	O
and	O
12	O
hours	O
using	O
nickel-cadmium	O
battery	O
cells	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Psion	B-Application
planned	O
a	O
"	O
proper	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
program	O
"	O
for	O
release	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
demand	O
,	O
and	O
Psion	B-Application
subsequently	O
made	O
such	O
software	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
the	O
Psion	B-Application
MC	O
Word	O
product	O
-	O
a	O
package	O
of	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
with	O
a	O
"	O
fully	O
featured	O
word	O
processor	O
that	O
's	O
compatible	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
"	O
-	O
was	O
advertised	O
,	O
priced	O
at	O
£395	O
inclusive	O
of	O
VAT	O
,	O
with	O
separate	O
spreadsheet	O
and	O
spell	O
checker	O
plus	O
thesaurus	O
packages	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
reactions	O
were	O
positive	O
,	O
with	O
one	O
describing	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
very	O
good	O
machine	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
top-end	O
organiser	O
it	O
's	O
a	O
winner	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
reservations	O
were	O
expressed	O
at	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
"	O
more	O
serious	O
software	O
"	O
that	O
would	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
super	O
screen	O
and	O
keyboard	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
commentators	O
welcomed	O
the	O
apparent	O
simplicity	O
of	O
the	O
MC	O
400	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
the	O
laptop	B-Device
market	O
had	O
embraced	O
colour	O
displays	O
,	O
CD-ROM	O
drives	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
attempting	O
to	O
deliver	O
a	O
desktop-like	O
experience	O
had	O
sacrificed	O
battery	O
life	O
and	O
robustness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
praised	O
"	O
the	O
MC-400	O
’	O
s	O
50-hour	O
battery	O
life	O
,	O
its	O
near-perfect	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
its	O
amazing	O
durability	O
"	O
and	O
claimed	O
that	O
in	O
seven	O
years	O
of	O
ownership	O
,	O
only	O
Amstrad	O
's	O
NC100	O
and	O
NC200	O
"	O
has	O
come	O
close	O
to	O
producing	O
anything	O
better	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
fitness	O
for	O
purpose	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
