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Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

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301–310 of 358 posts

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#301

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…

The n900 had a _tiny_ keyboard. But it was practical to type are almost normal keyboard speeds. Unlike on a touch screen, where auto correct gets in the way.

> where auto correct gets in the way.

Even without autocorrect (say, with Hacker's Keyboard on Termux), I still get frustrated by mistyped keys. "Up arrow" instead of space in bash, "o" instead of "p" in org-mode (with speed-commands).

I miss my N900 physical keyboard.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#302
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?

If typing on a screen was really as enjoyable and productive as a keyboard, we wouldn't see the enormous collapse in long-form text blogging over the last decade in favor of just uploading images with a much smaller amount of text.

Physical keyboards appeal to, besides those who just like to write a lot of text, also people who often need to SSH into a server and enter extended characters, or who run Emacs on their phone and want to easily use the power of packages like org-mode.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#303

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…

>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?

When I had a Nokia N900, I programmed on the device all the time. Nothing especially big, of course, but the traditional-Linux environment and physical keyboard on that phone allowed you to quickly knock out a small shell or Python script if you had some task you wanted to automate.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#304
post #61

Am I the only one who thinks that "finger model" on the landingpage is a poor choice? It looks like you couldn't even use the device with those nails.

No, it's a fine choice. If you can use it with those nails, then most people can use it. And with long acrylics, where there's a will, there's usually a way.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#305
post #296
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I have SSHed into a remote server from my phone out of necessity many, many times. When you get that e-mail on debian-security-announce that some package on one of your servers has just received a security update to fix some serious vulnerability, then ideally you install that update and reload the service right away, instead of putting it off for later.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#306
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…

I still think the best keyboard smartphone were my BlackBerries, and I still miss typing on a HW keyboards.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#307
post #296
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

It was for work but mostly to see if I could. I got a code review approval email while commuting and logged in to submit.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#308
post #25

I would like to see the keyboard layout but I can't find any photo.

See [1], source: FTA. This is the spiritual successor of the Nokia N900, and it isn't a very good keyboard (but a better layout than N900). Its pretty much a rebrand of the same device with the same name from 2019 without the 'X'. Difference is it has better OS support (thanks to XDA, I guess), different SOC (recent SD600 series instead of SD835), and a different colour (blue instead of grey). If you want a very good…

It can't really be called the spiritual successor of the Nokia N900 if it runs Android. What made the N900 special wasn't just the hardware, it was also that it was running a traditional Linux environment, which means you could use that physical keyboard for all the hacking you can do on your desktop computer.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's to do with pockets, at a guess. There's no penalty for expanding in the height and width dimensions up to the limits of a back pocket, which is comparatively huge. If you expand in the depth direction, the pocket can't expand far before it starts to feel uncomfortable, particularly if you sit on it.

I put my phone in my front pocket. My front pocket can accommodate reasonably thick items like my wallet, but if they're too wide and long, it interferes with my ability to bend at the waist.

Keys and change go in front pockets. Things with screens don't go in those pockets.

Re: Pro1 X: A Linux smartphone with slideout keyboard

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's to do with pockets, at a guess. There's no penalty for expanding in the height and width dimensions up to the limits of a back pocket, which is comparatively huge. If you expand in the depth direction, the pocket can't expand far before it starts to feel uncomfortable, particularly if you sit on it.

People put phones in their back pockets?

Yes.
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