Psion Teklogix Inc. was the operational business of
Psion.
Psion Teklogix is a global provider of solutions for
mobile computing
Mobile computing is human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage, which allows for the transmission of data, voice, and video. Mobile computing involves mobile communication, mobile hardware ...
and
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
data collection. Psion Teklogix' products and services include rugged mobile hardware, secure
wireless networks, software, professional services and support programs.
Psion Teklogix was formed in September 2000 as a result of the merger between U.K.-based Psion Enterprise division of
Psion PLC, and Canadian-based
Teklogix
Teklogix International Inc., or Teklogix, was a tech company founded in 1967 by engineers working at Ferranti-Packard. The company focused on mini computer applications. It designed and built complete systems based upon DEC's PDP-8 computer, DEC's ...
Inc.
Psion Teklogix is headquartered in
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada with additional corporate offices located in Europe, the United States, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Psion Teklogix is an
ISO 9001:2000 registered company, and holds a certificate of registration from the ''British Standards Institution''.
In 2012
Motorola Solutions purchased Psion Teklogix for $200million.
In October 2014, the Motorola Solutions' enterprise business (including assets acquired in the Psion Teklogix purchase) was sold to
Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies Corporation is an American mobile computing company specializing in technology used to sense, analyze, and act in real time. The company manufactures and sells marking, tracking, and computer printing technologies. Its product ...
for $3.45B.
History
Teklogix
Teklogix International Inc., or Teklogix, was a tech company founded in 1967 by engineers working at Ferranti-Packard. The company focused on mini computer applications. It designed and built complete systems based upon DEC's PDP-8 computer, DEC's ...
was created in 1967 by
Rod Coutts
Rod (J. Roderick) Coutts is a Canadian entrepreneur and a co-founder of Teklogix International. He was born in Cookstown, Ontario. Coutts graduated from University of Waterloo in 1964 with a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Electrical Engine ...
, a 1964 bachelor of applied science in electrical engineering,
[.] together with a small group of young Canadian engineers. The company grew to specialize in empowering mobile workers with wireless data transmission and real-time data management within the logistics industry.
The
Psion Group, founded in 1980 by David Potter, is widely credited with having created the world's first volume produced PDA with the launch of the
Psion Organiser in 1984. Generally recognized as the world's first practical pocket computer, the Organiser helped evolve
Psion into a major technology player.
In 2000
Psion acquired
Teklogix
Teklogix International Inc., or Teklogix, was a tech company founded in 1967 by engineers working at Ferranti-Packard. The company focused on mini computer applications. It designed and built complete systems based upon DEC's PDP-8 computer, DEC's ...
in Canada for £240 million, and merged its business-to-business division, Psion Enterprise, with the newly acquired company.
Teklogix
Teklogix International Inc., or Teklogix, was a tech company founded in 1967 by engineers working at Ferranti-Packard. The company focused on mini computer applications. It designed and built complete systems based upon DEC's PDP-8 computer, DEC's ...
was re-branded Psion Teklogix. This division now forms the core of Psion Plc's business.
In 2002 Psion Teklogix created a new division called Psion Software. This business developed push email solutions for Symbian smartphones, Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes. This business was sold to Visto (USA) in 2003.
In 2004, Psion Teklogix announced its intention to dispose of the company's remaining Symbian shareholding to
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
, as they no longer regarded it as a core part of their strategy.
In 2005, Psion Teklogix acquired Ottawa-based image capture firm Symagery Microsystems.
In 2012, Psion Teklogix was acquired by Motorola for US$200 million.
Psion Teklogix and Linux
Psion PLC had a lengthy, but distant, interest in
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
as an
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
on its electronic devices. In 1998, it supported the Linux7K project that had been initiated by Ed Bailey at
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide.
Red Hat has become ass ...
, which was to port Linux to its Series 5 personal computer.
[
] The project was named after the
Cirrus Logic PS-7110 chip of the Series 5. Although this project was one of the earliest attempts to port Linux to a handheld computer,
[
] it did not come to fruition for Psion. The project soon transitioned to an informal
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
project at Calcaria.net, that kept the name Linux7K. After the project transitioned again to sourceforge.net, the project's name was changed to a more general name "PsiLinux", and more recently to "OpenPsion".
[.] The project has developed Linux kernels and filesystems for the
Revo,
Series 5 and 5MX, and
Series 7 and netBook.
In 2003–4, Psion Teklogix and its founder David Potter expressed interest in Linux as the operating system for its devices as it divested from Symbian. However, the only result of that interest was Linux as the operating system on a limited number of custom NetBook Pros designed for a hospital setting.
Psion Teklogix and the term ''Netbook''
Psion registered the trademark ''NETBOOK'' in various territories, including
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and , which was applied for on 18 December 1996 and registered by
USPTO on 21 November 2000. They used this trademark for the
Psion netBook product (discontinued in November 2003) and more recently the NETBOOK PRO, from October 2003 onwards.
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
began the use of the term ''
netbook
Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...
'' in March 2008 as a generic term to describe "small laptops that are designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet", believing they were "not offering a branded line of computers here" and "see no naming conflict".
In response to the growing use of this term, on 23 December 2008 Psion Teklogix sent cease and desist letters to various parties including enthusiast website(s) demanding they no longer use the term "''netbook''".
In early 2009
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
sued Psion Teklogix (US & Canada) and
Psion (UK) in the Federal Court, seeking a cancellation of the trademark and an order enjoining Psion from asserting any trademark rights in the term "netbook", a declarative judgement regarding their use of the term, attorneys' fees, costs and disbursements and "such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper". The suit was settled out of court, and on June 2, 2009 Psion announced that the company was withdrawing all of its trademark registrations for the term "Netbook" and that Psion agreed to "waive all its rights against third parties in respect of past, current or future use" of the term.
Psion, Intel settle 'Netbook' trademark dispute
/ref>
Similar marks have been recently rejected by the USPTO citing a "likelihood of confusion" under section 2(d), including 'G NETBOOK' ( rejected 31 October 2008), MSI's 'WIND NETBOOK' () and Coby Electronics' 'COBY NETBOOK' ( rejected 13 January 2009)
References
External links
Psion Teklogix website
OpenPsion: A project to port linux to Psion Handhelds!
A detailed history of Psion around the time of the Series 5
Abandoned Psion software collected
Psion shareware library and tips/articles
{{Authority control
Personal digital assistants
Automatic identification and data capture
Multimodal interaction
Companies based in Mississauga
Software companies of Canada
Companies established in 1980
1980 establishments in Ontario
Radio-frequency identification companies