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Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

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Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#191

Post by b112 »

b112 wrote: post #177
studog wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ex-Blackberry here. BB didn't bail; not enough people were buying the phones for hardware manufacturing to be self-sustainable.

Yes, but, you cannot build a new brand in a couple of years. If you look at the Wikipedia article, you'll see the Priv, the first all android Blackberry, was released in 2015, and they bailed in late 2016. You cannot re-invent a brand in a bit more than a year. They should have expected years to see significant adoption. Worse, the people who trusted Blackberry, often didn't want a Chinese company making their hardwa…

What really got me, was how much people I showed the Priv to, and the slide out keyboard loved it.

An example, I was on a plane. Guy next to me, a Canadian, had never heard of or seen the Priv, and had a Samsung.

When he saw me scrolling a webpage up and down with the touchpad/hardware keyboard, use it for gestures, then type with swipe completion via the hardware keyboard, and keep a full screen, he immediately wanted one.

I had to tell him the last security update was 2 months ago, and it looked like the end of line.

How many people didn't even know? I wonder that, to this day.

Further to that, phone purchase cycles are often 3 or 4 years. They gave it no chance IMO.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#193

Post by jancsika »

flatiron wrote: post #16
antattack wrote: post #8

The promo for Pro1X makes privacy claims but doesn't Ubuntu collect telemetry data from their OSes? As to the phone, at first I thought the mechanical keyboard is useless, however I can think of situations where on-screen keyboard would cover too much of screen real-estate. External keyboard lets you see more, unobstructed.

Ubuntu collects: Ubuntu version OEM/Manufacturer Device model number BIOS info CPU details GPU details Installed RAM Partition Info Display(s) details Auto-login status Live Patching status Desktop environment Display server Timezone

Can't you turn that off, though?

I think I turned it off on my laptop.

How do you turn it off?

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#194

Post by bserge »

wazoox wrote: post #124
seanhunter wrote: post #110

There's no free lunch, and it's easy to overlook the compromises involved in the devices that used to have physical keyboards. By modern standards, blackberrys had a woefully small screen and phones with slideout keyboards were very fat. This device doesn't look fat which suggests to me that the compromise might be either battery life or low processor power. That said, although this is definitely not for me, it's gen…

It is really fat: about 14mm, nearly twice as thick as most current phones.

That's the thickness of the original Motorola Droid, which was comfortable imo, I loved that phone.

Although the display is bigger on this Pro1X, I don't think it would be that uncomfortable to use, as the times of being able to grip the phone by both sides with one hand are long past. The way I hold them now is by having 4 fingers behind and praying it doesn't slip, I guess.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#195

Post by nfriedly »

darau1 wrote: post #30

I really wish they would just make some keyboard-case-love-child for some of the more popular mainstream devices. I really want a physical keyboard, but I don't want to give up my daily driver for a $900 unknown variable.

I agree! I'd really love a case that added a keyboard, battery, MicroSD slot, and a headphones jack!

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#196

Post by bserge »

degenerate wrote: post #140
wazoox wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is really fat: about 14mm, nearly twice as thick as most current phones.

And that's without a case! I can't even imagine what a case would start to look like for this thing. It would be its own feat of engineering... Then again, if you're always holding it with two hands, who needs a case, right? :þ

A completely removable sleeve is more useful for such a phone imo

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#197

Post by fragile_frogs »

andreygrehov wrote: post #139

I see positive comments about the keyboard, but is it really a good UX to type on such a small keyboard? I mean, when you use your laptop, pretty much all of your fingers are involved in the process of typing, whereas if the same keyboard is part of a mobile phone, you only use your thumbs, which is the opposite of how qwerty keyboards supposed to be used. It feels like the idea of a full-blown keyboard on a mobile p…

I don't know how this keyboard will perform but I use the BlackBerry Key2 as my daily driver and typing on the keyboard is such a satisfying feeling for me, I don't really think I am more accurate or faster though.

Added benefit of having a physical keyboard is having shortcuts.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#198

Post by bogwog »

seanhunter wrote: post #110

There's no free lunch, and it's easy to overlook the compromises involved in the devices that used to have physical keyboards. By modern standards, blackberrys had a woefully small screen and phones with slideout keyboards were very fat. This device doesn't look fat which suggests to me that the compromise might be either battery life or low processor power. That said, although this is definitely not for me, it's gen…

This is such a pointlessly negative comment. Not all phones are designed for you personally, and what you perceive as a "compromise" can be a selling point for someone else.

My favorite keyboard phone was the Blackberry Passport. It had a 1:1 4.5in screen, and a physical keyboard with capacitive sensors on it so that you could scroll by swiping your thumb on the keyboard rather than the screen (among many other useful gestures).

IMO that's the best form-factor for a phone ever. Peak productivity and excellent build quality, a great screen, and a perfect size. The only problem was that it came from a doomed company.

Maybe you think the 4.5in screen is a "compromise", or the 1:1 aspect ratio, or the shape of the device (exact dimensions of an actual passport). All of those were things were why I loved the phone so much.

It's just a shame it came from a doomed company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_Passport

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#199

Post by macksd »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #55
Swenrekcah wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, there are other languages than English. Some of them are programming languages. Also a touchscreen can not be operated with sweaty fingers or slightly unusual conditions. No they really can not be reliably used, recent years’ improvements notwithstanding. If I ever need to use my phone in an emergency outside in the cold with wet, sweaty perhaps bloody hands, I’d appreciate a 100% physical keyboard cont…

> If I ever need to use my phone in an emergency outside in the cold with wet, sweaty perhaps bloody hands Man, we have very different lifestyles. Are you a serial killer? :) > Some of them are programming languages You’re the first person I’ve known who programs on phone hardware rather than using a larger computer with emulators. It must be quite painful for you!

> Man, we have very different lifestyles. Are you a serial killer? :)

It wasn't an emergency, but I've certainly wanted to use my phone recently while outside shoveling after a blizzard, with hands that are simultaneously cold, wet and sweaty. Heck, I can hardly use my phone when I'm done at the gym. And one doesn't have to be a serial killer to get blood on their hands in say, a fall while hiking, a crash while biking, or when dialing 911 while rendering aid to someone else whose blood is now on your hands.

There are 2 types of people in this world: people who would like a phone to work at such times, and people who feel like they have to do things like panic-buy toilet paper during a pandemic.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#200

Post by imhoguy »

tifadg1 wrote: post #23

For english language, swipe typing coupled with autocorrect works astonishingly well. So much so that I use it regularly because of lazyness. What segment does the physical keyboard appeal to? Youngins were born and raised touching the screen, so it's archaic to them. Old timers are jaded at this point to either wait for their dream phone or buy any cheap crap. So who's the target for this 900 usd device?

Think thin-client. I do on-call duty often, having entire smartphone screen available for terminal/remote desktop plus hw keyboard is priceless. No need to carry a laptop everywhere I go, esp. outdoor and during trips.

My current emergency set: stock Android phone (with OTG), Termux, VPN client, RDP client, cheap lap phone stand with USB keyboard which I keep in my car. I also keep my own jumpbox servers with software required by employer/customer, which is not easily installable on phone without quirks.

My todo: check some Dex dongle with HDMI to use hotel TV as external screen; figure out if I can cast phone screen onto car's screen with Mirrorlink.

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