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Psion: now for the good news!

"It's true, our statement today wasn't full of optimism, and really, we're wearing a hair shirt. The results are bad, and we aren't hiding it," confessed Psion's chief spokesman, Peter Bancroft. "But people should try to look behind the gloom," he insisted.

There is quite a lot of debate, right now, about whether Microsoft will beat Symbian, or Java beat Microsoft, or Symbian beat Java in the mobile phone world. As a result, there's quite a lot of disregard of what else is going on in the Psion Empire, as it might be called. The Newswireless Net has been gently cautioned for its earlier dismissive piece about today's announcements, with the following feedback ...

For example (Bancroft hinted) if people wanted to know what was really going on they might look at a relatively tiny operation, with almost no finance guaranteed, which is quietly starting to write application software for Symbian platforms - mostly phones.

"Phones are sexy, handhelds are sexier; but 20% of Psion Teklogix revenues come from services. Look for Signa Services, which is a hardware-neutral consultancy, or "professional services" group, as they'd call it in North America, working alongside big systems integrators, wireless network consultants; it is specifying what sort of kit they should install in different environments. It might, if it wanted to, specify Symbol terminals with Cisco background gear and Aeronet radios. That involves working on installations, helping real estate people design buildings which can save space and work by building in wireless instead of other cabling, and so on."

Equally unnoticed by outsiders, said Bancroft, is ISG, or Integration Services Group - mentioned in the Chairman's statement, but not of interest to the City.

"It's integration of SAP software into wireless. It is a specialist WLAN 802.11 solution, tied into SAP R3 warehouse logistics, and nobody really has dug into this and its potential is not particularly recognised."

Bancroft can point to a Volkswagen project where over 800 wireless terminals, hand-held and car-mounted, are set up in the logistics centre, enabling HQ to see - in real time - what the state of production and stock control might be. It's all handled by SAP, with the mobile terminals tied into that software by Psion Teklogix ...

And of course, there is also the Symbian Developer Expo to be held in London, at the Excel Centre from 23-24 April, sponsored by Nokia and Texas Instruments.

The Newswireless Net will be there ...