4 ms·

Planet Computers? https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/ https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/

by zokier 3y ago

petesergeant 3y ago
One day I will find an excuse to get one of these; they induce a heavy sense of nostalgia but I just don’t know what I’d do with it
- lproven 3y ago
  It's a superb portable writing tool, as was the Psion 5 in its day. The keyboard is better than anything available on any tablet or pocketable device in the world in any market. It's that good. No Surface or iPad addon comes even close; it is an order of magnitude better than any mainstream vendor's offering. I found it almost useless as a phone or tablet, though. But I have several of those so I don't care.
opan 3y ago
I highly recommend against anything from these guys. The software situation was dreadful, they pumped out new nearly-identical hardware too quick without fixing gemini issues. Seems like a cash grab. My Gemini PDA sits in my closet, I consider it near-useless with its electrically buggy keyboard and old android/ubuntu images. The PinePhone with its keyboard addon should fix most if not all issues the Gemini PDA had, but it looked so similar I still couldn't bring myself to get the keyboard for it. Plus I don't like the layout at all. MNT Pocket Reform seems very promising (but expensive). Good layout and reprogrammable keyboard. Not stuck on an old Android version.
- pydry 3y ago
  The pinephone would be perfect were it possible to install, e.g. android banking apps on it.
- wkat4242 3y ago
  Same here. I had a gemini but beside the poor software there was also the wobbliness of the display hinge that was super annoying. It was because they made it of springy metal. Also, the keyboard looks the exact same as the Psion 5's but the mechanism is much worse.
- afandian 3y ago
  I could have written your comment! Though I sold mine. I followed pocket reform closely but the thickness of it, combined with the price, put me off. It’s not the same class of device as Psion, Gemini, or the UMPCs.
  - lproven 3y ago
    Just for balance: I have a Gemini. I love it and still use it. The keyboard remains world-class, best of breed in any pocket-sized device. The OS is dated but still works fine and connectivity to Dropbox, gDrive, OneDrive etc. is very handy and mostly missing from desktop Linux. As a pocketable laptop replacement it is unequalled, for this writer.
    - afandian 3y ago
      Don’t get me wrong I’m very glad they built it, happy to share some risk to get a niche product to market, and used it as a daily driver for some time. Curious though, did the whole unit bounce, with the screen wobbling back and forward, when you typed?
      - lproven 3y ago
        Nope, it's pretty firm. The design isn't as good as the Psion 5, but it's OK. I mainly place it on my lap on something like a book, or preferably, on a desk or tabletop. Then I can type on it at about 60 WPM, which is about 3/4 of my speed on a full-sized keyboard such as my preferred IBM Model M. I occasionally can't remember where a character is, but I tell myself it's where it would be on a Psion and 20th century muscle memory kicks in and I just hit that combo.
        afandian 3y ago
        Interesting. I've heard other reports of the hinge wobbling. I wonder if there was a production issue with the material or geometry or something. Found this random video on youtube. You can see it wobbling at 15 seconds, though mine was more accentuated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opmb6jbeBY4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opmb6jbeBY4
sauruk 3y ago
Just tried a gemini from them this month, and the software support is awful. Highly recommend against
- abawany 3y ago
  I found the forums in which people had provided recipes for updates to Debian and Android to be helpful but it was a lot of work and should have been supported by the vendor, I agree.
vdqtp3 3y ago
They never released fully functional Linux support
- bacchusracine 3y ago
  >They never released fully functional Linux support Which is something that killed my interest dead for their hardware despite being exactly the kind of person who should fit their profile for a customer. But if they're willing to lie about Linux support, what else will they lie about? SO I continue to look...
ajb 3y ago
I had a gemini, but the hinge fell apart Shame, I quite liked it.
mikepavone 3y ago
I have an Astro Slide 5G from them (though bought via ebay) and I'm happy with my purchase, but it's kind of hard to recommend. Their track record on actually shipping pre-orders is kinda lousy (why I resorted to buying one second hand), the keyboard has some quality control issues and the software side feels a bit half-baked. For instance, there's almost always an undismissable "System Update" notification despite no updates being available. They did recently ship a system update which fixed some issues so they haven't abandoned it, but they have a ways to go still. I really want them to succeed. It's such a cool device
isr 3y ago
Not to overly denigrate some of the more pessimistic reply here, I have to say that my Gemini was easily one of the best computers (not just phone) I ever had. The keyboard was fantastic (better than the much larger GPD Pocket 1 that I also got at the same time), and with a fully-fleshed out termux install, I ended up coding on that thing far more than I probably should have. Yes, Planet Computers have a very poor record on delivering machines (still waiting for my Astro Slide), but the hardware, when done right (Planet again are poor when it comes to QA, which might explain some of the other responses), is great. I think the keyboard designer (who also did the original Psuon 5 keyboards, back in the day - I had one of those also), is really an idiot for letting his design be run into the ground by the sheer business incomptence that is Planet Computers. He should team up with a company that CAN deliver, then more could see that the great Psion5 isn't really dead

Planet Computers? https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/ https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/

by zokier 3y ago

Planet Computers? https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/ https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/

One day I will find an excuse to get one of these; they induce a heavy sense of nostalgia but I just don’t know what I’d do with it

lproven 3y ago
It's a superb portable writing tool, as was the Psion 5 in its day. The keyboard is better than anything available on any tablet or pocketable device in the world in any market. It's that good. No Surface or iPad addon comes even close; it is an order of magnitude better than any mainstream vendor's offering. I found it almost useless as a phone or tablet, though. But I have several of those so I don't care.

opan 3y ago

I highly recommend against anything from these guys. The software situation was dreadful, they pumped out new nearly-identical hardware too quick without fixing gemini issues. Seems like a cash grab. My Gemini PDA sits in my closet, I consider it near-useless with its electrically buggy keyboard and old android/ubuntu images. The PinePhone with its keyboard addon should fix most if not all issues the Gemini PDA had, but it looked so similar I still couldn't bring myself to get the keyboard for it. Plus I don't like the layout at all. MNT Pocket Reform seems very promising (but expensive). Good layout and reprogrammable keyboard. Not stuck on an old Android version.

pydry 3y ago
The pinephone would be perfect were it possible to install, e.g. android banking apps on it.
wkat4242 3y ago
Same here. I had a gemini but beside the poor software there was also the wobbliness of the display hinge that was super annoying. It was because they made it of springy metal. Also, the keyboard looks the exact same as the Psion 5's but the mechanism is much worse.
afandian 3y ago
I could have written your comment! Though I sold mine. I followed pocket reform closely but the thickness of it, combined with the price, put me off. It’s not the same class of device as Psion, Gemini, or the UMPCs.
- lproven 3y ago
  Just for balance: I have a Gemini. I love it and still use it. The keyboard remains world-class, best of breed in any pocket-sized device. The OS is dated but still works fine and connectivity to Dropbox, gDrive, OneDrive etc. is very handy and mostly missing from desktop Linux. As a pocketable laptop replacement it is unequalled, for this writer.
  - afandian 3y ago
    Don’t get me wrong I’m very glad they built it, happy to share some risk to get a niche product to market, and used it as a daily driver for some time. Curious though, did the whole unit bounce, with the screen wobbling back and forward, when you typed?
    - lproven 3y ago
      Nope, it's pretty firm. The design isn't as good as the Psion 5, but it's OK. I mainly place it on my lap on something like a book, or preferably, on a desk or tabletop. Then I can type on it at about 60 WPM, which is about 3/4 of my speed on a full-sized keyboard such as my preferred IBM Model M. I occasionally can't remember where a character is, but I tell myself it's where it would be on a Psion and 20th century muscle memory kicks in and I just hit that combo.
      - afandian 3y ago
        Interesting. I've heard other reports of the hinge wobbling. I wonder if there was a production issue with the material or geometry or something. Found this random video on youtube. You can see it wobbling at 15 seconds, though mine was more accentuated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opmb6jbeBY4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opmb6jbeBY4

sauruk 3y ago

Just tried a gemini from them this month, and the software support is awful. Highly recommend against

abawany 3y ago
I found the forums in which people had provided recipes for updates to Debian and Android to be helpful but it was a lot of work and should have been supported by the vendor, I agree.

vdqtp3 3y ago

They never released fully functional Linux support

bacchusracine 3y ago
>They never released fully functional Linux support Which is something that killed my interest dead for their hardware despite being exactly the kind of person who should fit their profile for a customer. But if they're willing to lie about Linux support, what else will they lie about? SO I continue to look...

ajb 3y ago

I had a gemini, but the hinge fell apart Shame, I quite liked it.

mikepavone 3y ago

I have an Astro Slide 5G from them (though bought via ebay) and I'm happy with my purchase, but it's kind of hard to recommend. Their track record on actually shipping pre-orders is kinda lousy (why I resorted to buying one second hand), the keyboard has some quality control issues and the software side feels a bit half-baked. For instance, there's almost always an undismissable "System Update" notification despite no updates being available. They did recently ship a system update which fixed some issues so they haven't abandoned it, but they have a ways to go still. I really want them to succeed. It's such a cool device

isr 3y ago

Not to overly denigrate some of the more pessimistic reply here, I have to say that my Gemini was easily one of the best computers (not just phone) I ever had. The keyboard was fantastic (better than the much larger GPD Pocket 1 that I also got at the same time), and with a fully-fleshed out termux install, I ended up coding on that thing far more than I probably should have. Yes, Planet Computers have a very poor record on delivering machines (still waiting for my Astro Slide), but the hardware, when done right (Planet again are poor when it comes to QA, which might explain some of the other responses), is great. I think the keyboard designer (who also did the original Psuon 5 keyboards, back in the day - I had one of those also), is really an idiot for letting his design be run into the ground by the sheer business incomptence that is Planet Computers. He should team up with a company that CAN deliver, then more could see that the great Psion5 isn't really dead