That looks amazing.
... For 2008.
this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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2008 was awesome!
Being on Lemmy sometimes makes me feel like everyone here is old. Y'all talking about the years that I was born in as if it was like yesterday.
Worry not: in 20 years' time people born in 2028 will all pretty much look like kids to you.
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That still looks awesome NGL
Ooof. After having a pinephone, I know what 2 or 3GB of RAM can handle these days. Not much, really. Specially the moment you open the browser. I'm going to pass from any project that doesn't attempt to at least get close to this decade's standards.
My current Android phone has 4GB and it's really smooth. I've got 90 Firefox tabs open and several apps. I'd love to see that level of optimization in a startup, but more RAM will just mask the bad optimization.
As an ex-Andrpid dev, all this optimization is what killed the creativity. Every feature you currently have is hyperoptimized (even with dedicated battery optimizations turned off for the most popular apps), and as a result nothing you can't easily change is changeable anymore.
Want a widget that self updates every couple minutes by connecting to the internet? Can't have that, even if the user explicitly accepts it. Want to customize behavior of things in the settings? Nope. Want to hook into the phone memory and do crazy hacks? Not even with root. Want to keep running some checks to determine when to send a notification? Can't do that either, non-push notifications are all scheduled in advance.
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Can I just send you five years worth of „we’re sorry we’re behind schedule” messages and then ghost you instead? If so send me $159
I will do it for $149, don't be stupid and come to me!!!
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A little worried that with swapping those components like that, it's trying to be too many things for too many different groups of people instead of one exact thing.
I think all I really want is something shaped like this with a keyboard, like an old Blackberry that could be used as a terminal.
A little worried that with swapping those components like that, it’s trying to be too many things for too many different groups of people instead of one exact thing.
Isn't that exactly what made Raspberry Pis a massive hit? Being able to be so many different things for so many different groups of people, at a reasonable price point, maximizing the groups it appealed to?
Yeah, but raspberry handhelds are chonky at best.
Right, which is why I'm implying this could be a hit because it's the right form factor aimed at a myriad of use-cases.
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I agree that id like a nice handheld terminal, but dont a lot of people like handheld emulation consoles? Hell both of those sound great to me. I would totally get both the game pad and keyboard if i went for it.
My real concern is that it would be garbage and/or the company would fold and support would become non existent.
Maybe i just got burned by pocketchip
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I see a lot of negativity in the comments. And yeah, this thing probably isn’t something I’m going to get, but at least they are trying something that isn’t a generic rectangle of glass like all the others. I miss the days of fun gadgets.
Fun useful gadgets. A gadget for the sake of a gadget is just another word for "e-waste".
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I wonder who this is made for?
The article calls it a "smartphone sized pocket computer", but that describes smartphones too; they already are pocket computers. And they've had decades of design and development behind them.
So... This device has a tiny touchscreen, and a keyboard, rather than having the whole thing being a touchscreen. So instead it has a modular bottom half... Which... Sounds like it's trying to solve a problem that would've been a problem in like... The 90s, maybe, but has been solved by using... A touchscreen that can change the type of input it is flexibly, like smartphones do.
It can't call, like a smartphone, despite being a smartphone sized device. It has USB A 2.0 sockets and an Ethernet socket... Which makes it once again sound incredibly out-dated, like a device found in a time capsule, because USB C is smaller and faster than USB A 2.0, and can potentially be used for damn near anything. Which includes connecting to the Internet.
Its battery looks very weak. Its CPU looks very weak. It has a tiny amount of RAM, and a tiny amount of storage. It is outclassed by any affordable, midrange smartphone, at nearly the same price too (if you avoid big brand names).
This device has a tiny touchscreen, and a keyboard, rather than having the whole thing being a touchscreen.
That's awesome. I still miss my Blackberry Passport (keyboard and large 1:1 screen).
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For people who like a concept more than practicality. There’s maybe a handful use cases that this specific device fits in that isn’t covered better by existing tech, but I guarantee if that thing actually gets kickstarted and arrives severely delayed in several years, it’ll show up in a couple YouTube videos with people sort of uncertain what to use it for, and in the vast majority of cases it’ll end up in some drawers after having been used a few hours tops.
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Full-size usb, Ethernet and keyboard mean you can use it as a Linux computer, install arbitrary debian packages, run shell scripts, python scripts, and you don't need any dongles. This is the differential factor. You can't do the same on a smartphone, and it's not supposed to be a smartphone. Why would you need a separate sim card when you can simply tether Internet from your phone?
I get that this device isn't for you, but there are people who don't want to write and maintain apps through apps stores and simply want to copy simple scripts into a small device they can have with them. It's a niche market and good for them for trying to fill that niche.
I wonder what they use for charging port if not usb c...
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3gb RAM? 32gb emmc? This feels a bit like a raspberry pi project. Up the specs at least 6gb to at least no[t look like yet another microdeck with emulators, please... I like the concept, but as is, it leaves plenty to be desired
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yet an other hardware from 10+ years ago. here we have an ARM Cortex-A53 from what it seems to be 2012. Maybe it is actually compatible with OpenGL 3...
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I've learned not to get my hopes up with kickstarters but I'll keep an eye on this one
I'm still too dumb to learn... Ask me about my OKPad! In fact, ask me for my OKPad. Please, take the god awful thing off my hands!
Ok.... I'll bite....but for me to take it off your hands I'll need to get a $50 deposit, and another $100 due after it's arrived to me, you can pay shipping and duties as well...
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I'll wait for retail if ever. I learnt my lesson about backing tech based kickstarters.
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I like the form factor, but seeing the issues with supply on hackberrypi and uconsole, im hoping they dont have the same issue. Lots of people like that form factor (including myself).
I'm intrigued. And although I read the article, I'm not entirely sure who or what this is for. It's cool, but... what?
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I'm intrigued simply because it's not Android but the keyboard and gamepad are better done with existing products like the click keyboard and Gamesir.
Sorry, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. If you can't make this stuff at scale, no way you could sell it at $160 a unit.
While I hope I'm wrong, I agree this thing will go the way of most Kickstarters. It is interesting, but it will never have appeal outside of the hobby space, and the cash needed to get this thing off the ground will be immense.
They just use really low spec hardware…
It looks cool and all, but its probably going to have like 400mb of ram and an rp2040 like every other linux handheld device.
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I would really love a return to a concept where you have a tablet that docks into a full size laptop form factor. Even better if the dock can have a graphics card.
Agree. Sometimes I want a tablet, sometimes a laptop but I don't need or want 2 separate devices of that size. I recall quite a few Android projects (Mirabook, Project Linda) that would use a phone with a laptop dock but I'd prefer a phone as a standalone device and a secondary, larger & more powerful, device that can have multiple forms.
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This is super cool! I’ve wondered what sort of device can I use to essentially have a phone but only interact with my own services and guarantee to some degree it isn’t calling home. This seems like a good choice for this problem :)
Looks suspiciously like a smartphone with an external KB plugin
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