Planet Gemini PDA

[ChevronB19]

https://store.planetcom.co.uk/collections/gemini-p...

I am deeply tempted to get one as a replacement for my aging and now very slow iPhone 6. Anyone got one?

[Boz123]

Ooh what a Psion S5 could have been! Go for it and let us know how you get on?

[anonymous-user]

I backed it on indigo and have had one for about a year.

Happy to answer any questions.

[ChevronB19]

desolate said:

I backed it on indigo and have had one for about a year.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks desolate! Actually just realised a new version is about to come out - the Cosmo communicator, and cheap on pre-release...

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cosmo-communica...

I’m wanting it to replace, not support, my iPhone - sound reasonable?

[anonymous-user]

ChevronB19 said:

Thanks desolate! Actually just realised a new version is about to come out - the Cosmo communicator, and cheap on pre-release...

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cosmo-communica...

I’m wanting it to replace, not support, my iPhone - sound reasonable?

In theory yes - but in practice it didn't work for me.

I didn't realise how much I used my phone in situations like the back of a cab or just wandering down the street sending a quick one line message. It's very difficult to use in those circumstances.

Some one more organised than me could probably set up all the automatic assistants and use voice control more.

BUT on the positive - the keyboard really is very good, and you can use it very well if you are in a cafe or on a train or something and when I went on holiday it was more than adequate as a laptop replacement as the android apps just keep getting better

[judas]

Another Indiegogo backer here - had mine for about a year.

I love gadgets and have been using/collecting pocket computers since the early 80s. I loved the idea of a updated Psion 5 with full colour, hi-res screen and cellular/internet capability. But the reality (for me at least) is that technology and user interface design has moved on so much that there's little need for such device any more. On a day-to-day basis, a conventional touch-screen smartphone is a lot more usable unless you're doing a lot of typing. Also, for many use cases and apps, Android is intrinsically poorly suited to a wide landscape format - some apps cope better than others.

Mine is configured for triple boot: non-rooted Android, Sailfish and Linux, but after an initial few weeks of fiddling I've not bothered with anything but Android. I was planning to use it for out-of-hours server support and the like, but this hasn't really panned out.

At the time I bought mine my main phone was an iPhone SE and the Gemini was always meant to be a backup/secondary device. Since then I've moved to a Galaxy Note 9 and Gemini is still one of my backups and gets very little use.

The Cosmo looks to address many of the weaknesses of the Gemini, but it still has the same fundamental flaw of being an unwieldy format for its basic use as a phone and one-handed device. That said, the gadget freak in me still wants one!