Live data from Hacker News

Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

fxtec.com

291–300 of 358 posts

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#291

I type so incredibly fast on an iPhone keyboard that I have a hard time understanding the appeal of a (physical) tiny little keyboard like this.

I mostly just speak to my Android. The speech recognition is so good now I rarely have to "type" anything.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#292
post #124

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.

The HTC Dream was 17.1mm thick. That was a nice size because you could thumb it open with one hand. It also had a decent keyboard with tactile feedback. I'm not sure anyone wants a clicky-clicky mechanical keyboard on a phone but I doubt they want a sea of dead chiclets either. So some thickness given over to key travel and click is IMHO perfectly fine.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#293
post #150
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half-height, allowing the screen to slide out? Probably with a separate one with 4-corner shock bumpers on the screen.

Or a zip-lock bag. Which would also make it waterproof! It's thin, light, when inflated it provides excellent protection, why doesn't everyone carry their phones in a sandwich bag?

Some of us still use wired headphones!

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#294
post #283
post #280

I placed an order for their previous model, they assured me that I should get it 4 - 8 weeks. After I didn't get anything for 6 months I messaged them that I want to withdraw my order (the phone had already old hardware during release, and it was a year old when I ordered it, but at the same time it cost as much as a high end phone). I got no response from them. I then contacted my credit card company and they charge…

Guess there’s always the Gemini - bonus is that it effectively has a Psion 5 keyboard https://store.planetcom.co.uk/products/gemini-pda-1

Or even their next product which looks very promising: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transforme...

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#296
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Some of them are programming languages. Are you doing programming on your smartphone? I agree with the rest - sweaty fingers or wet fingers in general, or god forbid you want to wear gloves where it's cold. But programming on a smartphone?

I don't know about programming but I have definitely used a remote shell session from my phone while on the subway. Can't now because my device doesn't have sufficient access, but I used to have VPN on it.

> I have definitely used a remote shell session from my phone while on the subway.

Out of necessity or just for fun/curiosity?

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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!

Preparing for those situations isn't stupid, similarly using seatbelts and creating backups is usually a good idea. Sure, you can go without and you'll be fine...until you're not. And then you'll be glad for every little measure you took beforehand. You don't need to write code on your phone? Me neither. But if some server suddenly starts acting weird while I'm on a roadtrip and everything I have is a smartphone, I s…

> But if some server suddenly starts acting weird while I'm on a roadtrip.

This sort of example always strikes me as odd because it seems far better to have a an oncall rotation for this sort of thing.

Granted that nobody has this for their personal servers, but that by definition is not an emergency.

However, if it's for a service you are providing to a paying client, I'd hope they aren't relying on a server being reset by a single individual who might be on a road trip.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#298
Had been waiting for something like this few years back and with Ubuntu. But with M1 chip's success, I think we are much closer and it could be worth waiting for an iPhone (or a bulky iPhone) with something like MacOS that docks into a desktop or lapdock.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#299
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?

Everyone who remembers how much better phones with slide-out keyboards were. Commenters here seem to be focusing on the available OSes, but most flagship phones from a few years ago without a locked bootloader will run Lineage or Uubuntu Touch. FXtec's offering here is just that the bootloader won't be uncooperative. The real killer feature is the keyboard. Those questioning the utility of a slide-out keyboard on a p…

I have long yearned for the sliding keyboards of yore; better touch typing, adds some articulation and yes, size, to phones that are too small and smooth for many hands, all while preserving screen real estate from onscreen keyboards AND visual obstruction from our moving fingers. To this last point, I have given up on physical keyboards returning to phones, but why can't we have a physical scroll wheel on the side? Handles so many use screentime use cases (infinite scroll...), unobstrusive, precise, piggybacks on accessibility UIs, etc. Early ipods were all scroll wheel, and there is great versatility in the clicking and smooth-vs-stepped modes of modern mouse scroll wheels. If we haven't gotten a decent keyboard in any device for years, at least give us a wheel!! Touch screens are like wearing cheap cellophane gloves, this is why nobody looks cool while using their smartphone, because there is no possibility of virtuosity in the dead, time lagged UI.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#300
post #249
post #170

I still consider my old Nokia E70[0] my favorite phone of all time, so I am definitely in the target demographic for this, as I'm 100% sold on the usefulness of a physical keyboard on a phone... However the CPU just doesn't match the "pro" branding, or the price range. I'd personally rather throw an extra $200-300 on top to get a flagship CPU and then it would be close to a perfect phone for me! As it currently is, t…

Seems like we're looking for similar things. I am currently waiting for delivery of my Astro Slide [0] [0]: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transforme... which has android / linux dual boot. Not sure if performance are what you are looking for.

I had a Cosmo Communicator and sold it in short order when I realized that: - Pinephone has better Linux support and always will. Planet Computers' phones all have mediatek chips, which will be stuck on ancient kernels with dogshit driver support for things like the camera. - It will be impossible to find parts, so I would have to gingerly baby the thing and worry about the hassle productivity loss if my phone broke. - The thing is huge. Just about the size of a pinephone if not larger. The keyboard addon to the pinephone looks like it will turn into something identical, albeit with a slower processor and ancient GPU but at least parts are found plenty if something breaks. It's something to think about.
Post reply on HN