4 ms·

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

by wazoox 6y ago

Snitch-Thursday 6y ago
I own one. Mine feels no thicker than the Samsung Galaxy in a case. As long as it perceptually feels more or less like a box of playing cards, I'm not worried about thickness.
degenerate 6y ago
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
- ethbr0 6y ago
  Half-height, allowing the screen to slide out? Probably with a separate one with 4-corner shock bumpers on the screen.
  - notum 6y ago
    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?
    - afandian 6y ago
      Some of us still use wired headphones!
- bserge 6y ago
  A completely removable sleeve is more useful for such a phone imo
remram 6y ago
It does look like two phones. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to make it actually two phones (or separate phone-sized devices), so you can use the touchscreen part as a phone, and have the other part be a pluggable keyboard + powerbank.
- jostylr 6y ago
  The textblade (https://waytools.com/ https://waytools.com/ ) would be the ideal form factor in my mind. Unfortunately, it has been 6 years since they said they were going to release it though there have been people (testers) using it for real for several years.
  - jolux 6y ago
    If it's not released it's pretty suspicious that they let you buy one without mentioning that. edit: this thing looks like a total scam. Announced as being 12 weeks out in 2015, taking orders, and still not released in April 2021, yet still taking orders? That's more than a blown deadline at this point. They're lucky they haven't seen legal action.
  - alexvoda 6y ago
    I saw the Textblade the first day it appeared on HN and I still droll over it. It's a real shame the company has been so shady (and they were from the start). I would really love for someone to clone it and actually bring it to market.
- rtkwe 6y ago
  Issue with separate devices is now half the time I won't be carrying the keyboard because it's extra optional bulk. Also the connection would probably be much crappier meaning the form factor won't be as convenient, the keyboard being part of the phone means they're pretty well connected where the two separate pieces version doesn't have one.
ianai 6y ago
I don’t mind more thick than current phones. There’s absolutely no reason to think every user has the same demands for form factors. Just like some people would only ever buy a truck and others sedans.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  I don't get the use case for thin phones, and believe it's just marketing-driven preference. We're told thin phones are better over and over, and slowly the market starts to believe it because the message is saturated and there's no counter-message to it. It couldn't be that thick phones are heavier to carry around. The difference between a 8mm phone and a 16mm phone couldn't be more than 200 grams or so. That's making you sweat as you carry it? It couldn't be that it's tough to hold up to your ear. My Nokia 7210 was probably one of my best phones ever and it was by today's standards a thick brick. Google tells me it was a whopping 17.5mm thick. So what is it? What practical benefit do you get from a thin phone? The only thing I can think of is the ability to carry it stealthily in your pocket, but is that really the driving use case?
mywacaday 6y ago
It really depends if it needs a case or not, my note10+ feels fine with a case and almost too thin when the case is off
- macksd 6y ago
  I agree. My Pixel 3 feels great in my pocket, but it's too thin and slippery in the hand. My case is for comfort as much as its a precaution!
bserge 6y ago
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.
NathanielK 6y ago
That's about as thick as most phones with a "Tuf" case.
technofiend 6y ago
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.

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

by wazoox 6y ago

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

I own one. Mine feels no thicker than the Samsung Galaxy in a case. As long as it perceptually feels more or less like a box of playing cards, I'm not worried about thickness.

degenerate 6y ago

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

ethbr0 6y ago
Half-height, allowing the screen to slide out? Probably with a separate one with 4-corner shock bumpers on the screen.
- notum 6y ago
  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?
  - afandian 6y ago
    Some of us still use wired headphones!
bserge 6y ago
A completely removable sleeve is more useful for such a phone imo

remram 6y ago

It does look like two phones. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to make it actually two phones (or separate phone-sized devices), so you can use the touchscreen part as a phone, and have the other part be a pluggable keyboard + powerbank.

jostylr 6y ago
The textblade (https://waytools.com/ https://waytools.com/ ) would be the ideal form factor in my mind. Unfortunately, it has been 6 years since they said they were going to release it though there have been people (testers) using it for real for several years.
- jolux 6y ago
  If it's not released it's pretty suspicious that they let you buy one without mentioning that. edit: this thing looks like a total scam. Announced as being 12 weeks out in 2015, taking orders, and still not released in April 2021, yet still taking orders? That's more than a blown deadline at this point. They're lucky they haven't seen legal action.
- alexvoda 6y ago
  I saw the Textblade the first day it appeared on HN and I still droll over it. It's a real shame the company has been so shady (and they were from the start). I would really love for someone to clone it and actually bring it to market.
rtkwe 6y ago
Issue with separate devices is now half the time I won't be carrying the keyboard because it's extra optional bulk. Also the connection would probably be much crappier meaning the form factor won't be as convenient, the keyboard being part of the phone means they're pretty well connected where the two separate pieces version doesn't have one.

ianai 6y ago

I don’t mind more thick than current phones. There’s absolutely no reason to think every user has the same demands for form factors. Just like some people would only ever buy a truck and others sedans.

ryandrake 6y ago
I don't get the use case for thin phones, and believe it's just marketing-driven preference. We're told thin phones are better over and over, and slowly the market starts to believe it because the message is saturated and there's no counter-message to it. It couldn't be that thick phones are heavier to carry around. The difference between a 8mm phone and a 16mm phone couldn't be more than 200 grams or so. That's making you sweat as you carry it? It couldn't be that it's tough to hold up to your ear. My Nokia 7210 was probably one of my best phones ever and it was by today's standards a thick brick. Google tells me it was a whopping 17.5mm thick. So what is it? What practical benefit do you get from a thin phone? The only thing I can think of is the ability to carry it stealthily in your pocket, but is that really the driving use case?

mywacaday 6y ago

It really depends if it needs a case or not, my note10+ feels fine with a case and almost too thin when the case is off

macksd 6y ago
I agree. My Pixel 3 feels great in my pocket, but it's too thin and slippery in the hand. My case is for comfort as much as its a precaution!

bserge 6y ago

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.

NathanielK 6y ago

That's about as thick as most phones with a "Tuf" case.

technofiend 6y ago

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.