Psion responds to "netbook" challengers, says it does so still sell the NetBook Pro
By Donald Melanson 
posted Feb 27th 2009 7:36PM
posted Feb 27th 2009 7:36PM
Well, it looks like the dust up between Psion and those using the "netbook" name to describe, um, netbooks, isn't showing any signs of going away anytime soon, with Psion now responding to Intel and Dell's latest charges by saying that, contrary to their claims, it does indeed still sell its NetBook Pro. According to jkOnTheRun, while Psion says it "can understand why people might have assumed that sales ceased a while back," it does in fact still sell the device, with the bulk of its sales being in the "highly specialized supply chain logistics area." As Psion points out, that continuation of sales is key to its argument to keep the trademark from becoming abandoned, and it says it has "all the invoices to prove multi-million dollar sales in the US in 2006 and sales that continue even to this day," adding that, "just because we're not selling tens of thousands through Best Buy doesn't mean we're not entitled to our trademark." That said, we're still a long ways from folks being forced to pay up or stop using the netbook name, although it's at least becoming clear that Psion isn't about to just let this one slide.
Well, it would seem to me that Dell and Intel will either have to pony up or stop using the name. I could be wrong but Psion just disproved the main contention of Dell and Intel.
haha i kinda want them to be crushed and win at the same time, its funny
I'm thinking they're going to lose this, the same way Hormel lost on the use of the term SPAM.
Well...Hormel wasn't exactly going after any other canned meat-producing companies.
"all the invoices to prove multi-million dollar sales in the US in 2006 and sales that continue even to this day..."
OH SNAP.
That's where I knew the name Psion, we used their scanners when I worked in a warehouse a few years ago. They were kind of crappy, had to be rebuilt a lot because moisture kept getting into them.
If they are claiming that "sales continue event to this day" why is the Netbook Pro listed as a discontinued product on their website????
See: http://www.psion.com/products/discontinued-products.htm
According to the pdf you get when you click the spec sheet on the discontinued netbook:
We continued to make sales of ‘Netbook’ ultra-portables in 2007, 2008 and even 2009. We
had to discontinue manufacture prematurely because we were unable to secure supplies of a
specific controller chip, but that doesn’t mean we no longer sell the ‘Netbook’ ultra-portable –
we in fact still sell inventory to this day, although our stocks are depleting. We also continue
to actively supply accessories for our ‘Netbook’ ultra-portables and are also providing
maintenance and support to existing users of ‘Netbook’ ultra-portables. Registered
trademarks aren’t just for protecting multi-billion dollar brands.
So it's just a matter of time, then.
Why did they wait sooooo long?
Still selling ? according to their own web site, its discontinued
What they're saying is pretty fair.
It is their trademark :) Just because the Netbook line of devices from psion aren't popular doesn't mean it should be invalidated. Intel should pony up they are using psions trademark its as simple as that :P
Good for Psion! I knew they wouldn't give up without a fight...
in Psion's case, i dont call that anything to be proud of... i just call this another small lazy-ass company trying to suck money from the actual ones that are getting somewhere. if they really wanted to prove a case, do it over something like the technologies inside or a unique design, cuz this is just pathetic
I want one! I own 4 other Psion handheld computers and they were great.
I had the Series 5, then 5mx, then Revo, then netbook. I agree -EPOC OS on their hardware was unmatched in utility and stability. I am in healthcare, and these qualities are critical and sought after. Windows CE basically killed off the portable clamshell form factor, just like they are killing off the netbook with Windows XP. The netbook by Psion has all the qualities that we should demand in anything calling itself a netbook:
rock solid stability
speed
wireless access through 3G and 802.11n
6-8 hrs battery life
INSTANT ON, INSTANT OFF -no one gets this and how important it is.
Multitasking
usable keyboard
Apple could get it by creating a iPod Touch OS clamshell with opening of multitasking, copy/paste -basically a modern update to the Newton eMate -usable keyboard. Maybe with Jobs transitioning out, we will one day see this.
Write that down, someday you might be able to stop a word from entering into common language!
Like 'Kleenex'? Maybe 'Q-Tip'? They made up the word as the name for their product, they did the paperwork. If I make a compact car and suddenly decide that the thing should be able to be called a Focus, that doesn't mean I'm allowed. This is a clear case of the big dogs in the tech world pushing around the little guy and it makes me want to f'ing puke.
I think Psion should defend their trademark. Besides All those little computers with 7 and 12 inch screens are laptops. Only really small, are portable computers called laptops or notebooks? Looks Dell and Intel better stay away from Psion's mark.
The idea with the netbook name is its a simple little device to do things online. There isn't nearly enough horse power to actually do work on them since most companies use poorly written software for their invoicing and ERP. I am looking at you everest. You suck.
Everest ERP.... The bane of my working life.
The little guy will lose yet again.....
if you look at it, its not so much about the "little guy" losing then Psion just trying to suck as much money from its trademark it possibly can with lawsuits. its just a name, get over it.
@beelaiyke
It's just a name? Yeah, like Coca Cola, Dell, Intel, McDonald's, Engadget, Google, Apple, Microsoft. Those are just names as well. I'd say f'em and everybody start using those trademarks, because, you know, as you say, "they're just names"
Man...its already entered the common vernacular. Everyone calls them netbooks now...its just like the "yo-yo" which was trademarked, but later abandoned cuz it was being used by everyone.
I disagree....So if everyone started making mp3 players and called them Ipods this would mean that Apple would not have rights to their trademark. I don't think so.
YAY FREE PUBLICITY.
for you or for psion, because I doubt the lawyers they are using have done all this pro-bono.
if they sell products and accessories in their netbook line, even if the actual device is out of production and discontinued on the website, they should be entitled to there trademark.
go get em psion, i will never buy one of your thingamajigs, and this fight has no meaningful bearing on my life, but I'm rooting for you now.
aaahahahaha! I was just thinking the same thing and it was actually working.
"Oh I remember their stuff now. It was kinda neat actually..."
hahahhah so true. if i was their CEO, i would be so totally stoked right now since my zombie company would be making a total comeback (or not)
You spelled XFjew wrong
Is it that difficult to switch to term to webbook or something? Sure it doesn't roll off the tongue like netbook. How about...lightbook, litebook, lapbook, notetop, handbook, handtop, palmbook, palmtop. Thousands more.....xxxtops and xxxbooks. Or just buy the trademark from Psion and open it up. They can always rename their device if they choose not to be difficult.
webbook : bbook :: weblog : blog
...I hate the word "blog."
handjob!
oh, wait...
I hope psion makes everyone go back to calling them subnotes. Netbook is confusing and silly.
And "subnotes" is not??? The most simple and self-explanatory name for the segment is MINI-NOTEBOOK. Everyone knows what a notebook is and I'm sure more people know what the prefix "mini" means vs. "sub".
Regardless of who wins the term usage, Psion isn't exactly winning in the "computers formery known as a netbook(tm)" market. They can't claim royalties for every EEE, Wind, Aspire One, etc, sold.
I had one of these and a series 7 - my new dell mini 9 nearly works as well as the series 7.
check out what these puppies go for on ebay - mine made over £250 ($350)
They didn't cost much more new...
oh please they so just added that changed pdf cause they saw an opportunity to get some money and there going for it
So.... Why don't they make a new "Super-Netbook", reuse their legitimate trademark, and stir up a whole bunch of crazyness!?
Since everyone's already using the term, it's pretty much free advertising, right there. "The only REAL Netbook!"
Wow, this looks much better than any netbook on the market. Just look at the squishy keys: I bet they are the most comfortable around. They should just put Android or the likes, upgrade the screen (but please keep it at 4:3) and start selling it again.
If Psion loses this, then every laptop manufacturer should name their cheapest, crappiest laptops "Macbooks".
>:)
lol
What Psion should have done is not drop the baby on the original NetBooks.
While it is their legal right and duty as a trademark owner to defend it, it has been 1+ years since Asus launched the 701 and stirred up the whole pc market with this new category of netbooks, so it can lapse into common usage and undefendable.
Interesting that Intel propose the category/platform, but it is Asus who materialised it. ;)
This could also go the way Apple did for their clash with Apple Corp (Beattles) where Apple Inc is not allowed to venture into the music business. Later when Apple Inc. went into it via iTunes, there were again some hassle. Check out the details online.
One thing though, the Psion netbooks and the present series of netbook products are pretty similar, minus the instanton, long battery life (excluding some of the extended batt models).
Ah well, this is America, the land of salesmen and lawyers. What else can we expect? :D
"OWer123askn"
Hmm... how many points do you get in scrabble for that?
What Psion should have done is not drop the baby on the original NetBooks.
While it is their legal right and duty as a trademark owner to defend it, it has been 1+ years since Asus launched the 701 and stirred up the whole pc market with this new category of netbooks, so it can lapse into common usage and undefendable.
Interesting that Intel propose the category/platform, but it is Asus who materialised it. ;)
This could also go the way Apple did for their clash with Apple Corp (Beattles) where Apple Inc is not allowed to venture into the music business. Later when Apple Inc. went into it via iTunes, there were again some hassle. Check out the details online.
One thing though, the Psion netbooks and the present series of netbook products are pretty similar, minus the instanton, long battery life (excluding some of the extended batt models).
Ah well, this is America, the land of salesmen and lawyers. What else can we expect? :D
It saddens me that so many people are willing to defend Palm against Apple, yet are screaming for Psion to just give it up and die peacefully. For those that don't remember, Psion more or less invented the PDA, and their devices were years ahead of their time. The world wasn't ready, and they eventually crumbled. Much sadder story than anything Palm could come up with, as Psion's OS was considerably better than anything they had at the time.
The OS still lives... Ever wonder where Symbian (Series 60/UIQ- OK, maybe UIQ died, but...) came from?
And people are angry because Psion's being so petty about it. So they're still selling Netbooks. Pull it out of the "discontinued products" page then.
That changes everything. I was with Intel before, but knowing that Psion is still trying to sell these things in some channel, they really do deserve exclusive rights to their trademark.
Imagine being a small player trying to earn some sales of a brand, and then everyone in the industry starts releasing products under the same name. Trying to sell a Psion Netbook after that is going to be hard because everybody's just going to assume it's some Windows XP mini laptop that's hard to type on.
Agreed. The misuse decidedly obscures the fact it's some Windows CE mini laptop that's hard to type on.
...
Okay, okay, it has a touch screen. Happy?
I hope Psion wins this case and sends a message to those bully boys Intel and Dell.
I told you guys we should've gone with the name "cheaptop".
Call them the PsionKiller instead, because I won't buy their crap.
Imagine you owned a small company who produced a subcompact car called the Nanocar on a limited scale, and then you stopped manufacturing them for a year only to wake up one day and realize that somewhere along the line everyone started calling their new ultra subcompacts Nanocars. Wouldn't you be kinda annoyed that from that point on everyone who heard your product's name (a name with a reputation of some kind since you managed to sell them to someone, after all) they wouldn't have a clue if it was your product or the other class of products. There goes a lot of word of mouth advertising, there goes your ability to build upon your product's name in the future should you want to continue making your Nanocar at some point.
Psion's in a similar position. Their product line's identity, for better or worse, is in relatively high jeopardy. If they're still selling, have recently sold, still service, or have any at all recent history with a product called Netbook which is a laptop then the name is theirs until they actually abandon it.
Let's call them microbooks and call it a day.
Were great -- yes. I wrote shareware for them: http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/~mcw/php/shareware.html
Were, great. But they're great no more :-(