Gemini Cosmo - On Indiegogo

[netlinker]

After buying the Gemini I rather wait and see, if they take USB-C integration seriously regarding display port integration and powerdelivery. After all I find the USB-C on the Gemini rather disappointing, which is really a shame. They could have built the same functionality using a micro USB and one USB type A. If it doesn't charge on a USB-C powerdelivery charger, something is broken, at least in my opinion.

 

[levi]

Hang on, I thought the brand name was Planet Computers. Is this the Cosmo from Gemini, or the Gemini Cosmo from Planet?

Still, I guess it makes some sense. We all know the best gadgets come from similar people that change their name every device or two; from GP with the GP32 to GPH with the GP2X to GPD with various devices and the OpenPandora Pandora to the Dragonbox Pyra.

 

[vcoleiro1]

Cosmo Communicator interview with the CEO

9500 Gemini PDA's were made to date (11 months)

 

[levi]

I guess you posted that video soon after it went up. It wasn't playable first of all for me, but I managed to start watching it about 20 minutes ago.

His trouble mixing up the backlit keyboard and the camera made me think, and I first thought that it hasn't got a rear facing camera. But that's not quite right; if you're using the device closed and using the 2" screen to compose the shot then it's a high-spec selfie camera, but if you open it up and use the main screen to check and compose the shot, it's now facing the rear. Thinking through this form factor can need to be done carefully.

 

[Grench]

After buying the Gemini I rather wait and see, if they take USB-C integration seriously regarding display port integration and powerdelivery. After all I find the USB-C on the Gemini rather disappointing, which is really a shame. They could have built the same functionality using a micro USB and one USB type A. If it doesn't charge on a USB-C powerdelivery charger, something is broken, at least in my opinion.

Each SoC maker seems to have their own proprietary USB charger and voltage specs. Power delivery, Quick Charge, Pump Express, and now Google is white listing their own too.

A Gemini runs on Mediatech which is Pump Express.

 

[pmprog]

State of Linux on Gemini:
https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?s=68e4c6dd68cdc1e0c2dbf97b9a08ccf9&showforum=194

Hmmm, I'm not browsing through every forum post. Is there a list of known-to-not-be-working?

The igg page is already well over it's initial target of $200k although it looks like a good few people are paying well over the suggested odds for one of these

If you're talking the number of $599, it seems that's the $549 with postage costs - not that they're paying more

I atm seriously weighing getting this and racing with the Pyra (canceling the later one to come out)

I'm thinking on similar lines, but I'm currently more inclined towards the Pyra, so willing to give it more time first, especially as it sounds close to mass production

 

[vcoleiro1]

Martin Riddiford interview, designer of Psion, Gemini PDA, Cosmo Communicator

 

[Swordfish II]

I'm thinking on similar lines, but I'm currently more inclined towards the Pyra, so willing to give it more time first, especially as it sounds close to mass production

After 4 years of preorder i am wearing down because it has been "close" all four years. Stuff that was thought fixed isn't. Even now last we heard was "running tests before shipping prototypes" that was 2ish weeks ago.

Pyra meets my use case better. But a flawed device i can actually have.... I will take any day. So maybe i will hedge my bets.

 

[Grench]

Martin Riddiford interview, designer of Psion, Gemini PDA, Cosmo Communicator

Riddiford's interview was great. The Planet Computers guy in the red pants at the table beside him spent the entire interview clearly bored and playing with his non-Planet phablet phone - in the Planet Computers office - on camera - during an interview about Planet Computers product design. So very wrong.
[doublepost=1541524508,1541524414][/doublepost]Oh - and can we get a thread title update? This is a discussion about the Planet Computers Cosmo. The Gemini was Planet Computers previous product.

 

[vcoleiro1]

Oh - and can we get a thread title update? This is a discussion about the Planet Computers Cosmo. The Gemini was Planet Computers previous product.

Yeah, I would like to change the name , but I don't see a way to do it. Maybe a mod can change it to Cosmo Communicator - Now on Indiegogo

 

[AVahne]

Glad they finally added a second screen, now this can finally be a viable phone. Not for me though, just having a keyboard isn't enough anymore. The price is quite steep and the specs are quite mediocre by today's standards, so it's not something I would want for my daily driver.
As for something to add to my handheld computer collection, I've already decided to limit my range to those devices that have BOTH a keyboard and gaming controls of whatever variety. And as of this moment, that limits my current targets to just the Pyra and whatever the Win 3 turns out to be. Limiting things to just gaming UMPCs should make me wallet and bank account scream in pain less often.

 

[NetBLOKS]

Glad they finally added a second screen, now this can finally be a viable phone. Not for me though, just having a keyboard isn't enough anymore. The price is quite steep and the specs are quite mediocre by today's standards, so it's not something I would want for my daily driver.
As for something to add to my handheld computer collection, I've already decided to limit my range to those devices that have BOTH a keyboard and gaming controls of whatever variety. And as of this moment, that limits my current targets to just the Pyra and whatever the Win 3 turns out to be. Limiting things to just gaming UMPCs should make me wallet and bank account scream in pain less often.

If you main goal is gaming, it is a reasonable descision.
For me, the Gemini (and hopefully soon the Cosmo and Pyra) are really helpful for my work.
If I would not use the Gemini for work, I had no need for it's specific features and it' shortcoming like the missing (good) camera and non-lighted keyboard.
I thing the cosmo will be interesting for all people in search for a new smartphone, who like hardware keyboards. I don't see anything amiss if they release it with the features they told on Indigogo except for maybe the not top-notch SoC.

What I was trying to say: the Gemini was a needed and mostwelcome tool
The cosmo is the same AND I would have bought him even when I would just need a new smartphone.

 

[AVahne]

If you main goal is gaming, it is a reasonable descision.
For me, the Gemini (and hopefully soon the Cosmo and Pyra) are really helpful for my work.
If I would not use the Gemini for work, I had no need for it's specific features and it' shortcoming like the missing (good) camera and non-lighted keyboard.
I thing the cosmo will be interesting for all people in search for a new smartphone, who like hardware keyboards. I don't see anything amiss if they release it with the features they told on Indigogo except for maybe the not top-notch SoC.

What I was trying to say: the Gemini was a needed and mostwelcome tool
The cosmo is the same AND I would have bought him even when I would just need a new smartphone.

Yeah that's what I see it as, mostly just a work tool or a phone for the mobile professional. At the moment I don't have a job where I would benefit from a touch-typeable keyboard on the go (though that might change next year!), so since it's mostly just for that I'm skipping it. And again, I'm also just trying to stop myself from buying every handheld computer I see; gotta curb my obsession somehow lol

 

[gadgetoid]

I’ve probably not given the Gemini enough time- but I found the keyboard somewhat disappointing. The space bar has to be hit pretty much dead center and some of the most Programmer-specific key combinations trigger really awkward ghosting issues that make it a frustration to use. I’m much more proficient on the Pandora, but maybe this is more related to how I type than the specific merits of the keyboards.

Lack of common USB Type-C features drives me crazy. That I can connect the Gemini to any of my USB Type-C docks and have most of the features work but no video out (DisplayPort/HDMI alt mode) and no charging (Power Delivery) is frustrating. I can understand their choice to go with Pump Express to save a whole subsystem of placements and cost, but it’s basically useless to anyone wanting to unify their peripherals. Sheesh even my iPhone apparently supports Power Delivery and it doesn’t even have a USB Type-C port.

The sad fact with USB Type-C is that it’s probably one of the more confused ports to have ever graced the market. All the assumptions that were - reasonably - safe to make about plugging a USB thing into a classic “B” port have flown out of the window with the complexity of alt modes and bus routing and bandwidth.

The other thing to deeply disappoint me about the Gemini is the hopeless Linux support. It will probably never be comprehensive or upstream, and despite it being promised in the original Kickstarter page we’re seeing Planet Computers instead launch a second device making the same promises before delivering on those they made with the first.

I wanted so much to love the Gemini, but it feels like it’s all potential and promise and no substance. The Cosmos is the result of them asking customers what they wanted which- imo- is a safe but irrational approach. A camel is a horse designed by committee and it’s clear by the patently insane features and aesthetic of the Cosmos that listening to customers is going to result in a software nightmare and a physical disaster of a device rather than refining their offering into the productivity powerhouse it could have been.

It should never have tried to be a phone. The demands made upon that market are almost completely at odds with what the Gemini and Cosmos should be.

My hope- that they use the Cosmos/Gemini branding to segment their market between people who want a phone and people who just want a productive handheld. Drop any notion of phone support on the Gemini and release a V2 with backlit keys and its various hardware issues fixed.

 

[NetBLOKS]

Well, for me, the Gemini was a big improvement over my smartphone and I use it every day.
But I have to mention, that I use it as an android device, not Linux. The Pyra will be my fully-fledged Linux mobile system.
Of course, the keyboard is not perfect, but it is a huge step in the right direction and after some getting used to it, you can type and work really fast on it without havin your display cramped with info and a virtual keyboard.
The Linux support was just a marketing gag in my opinion to get the tech savy users onto the system.
For me, the cosmo fixes most of the features I missed, espescially the bcklit keyboard.

I never got the intention of the WIFI only Gemini.
If I want no mobile data, I could just deactivate it instead of havin an other device.

 

[Grench]

I have a Google Fi data SIM in it and use my Gemini as a pocketable connected Android based computer.

That said, the keyboard support within Android itself needs to be redone. If you have ever connected a bluetooth or USB keyboard to an Android device, you'll quickly find things that the keyboard can do that the OS and most applications in it simply do not understand. I doubt that Planet will be able to fix those general OS issues in the Cosmo, but they are fixing a lot of other things.

The bad: The project is looking like it is going to be a few months behind schedule.

The good: The progress that they are making is looking pretty solid. They have the backlight working, rear display figured out, case & hinge hardware going into production, etc. I'm looking forward to this one - it might actually be able to be my 'all in one phone device' that the Gemini just couldn't quite be.

 

[NetBLOKS]

I have a Google Fi data SIM in it and use my Gemini as a pocketable connected Android based computer.

That said, the keyboard support within Android itself needs to be redone. If you have ever connected a bluetooth or USB keyboard to an Android device, you'll quickly find things that the keyboard can do that the OS and most applications in it simply do not understand. I doubt that Planet will be able to fix those general OS issues in the Cosmo, but they are fixing a lot of other things.

The bad: The project is looking like it is going to be a few months behind schedule.

The good: The progress that they are making is looking pretty solid. They have the backlight working, rear display figured out, case & hinge hardware going into production, etc. I'm looking forward to this one - it might actually be able to be my 'all in one phone device' that the Gemini just couldn't quite be.

Yep, the T0 samples look very impressive and promising.
They even claim to have optimised the hinge mechanism, which you have to "rebend" from time to time on the Gemini.
Since I am quite early in line for the Cosmo, I hope they do not repeat their bad behavior and send mediocre product samples to their first customers as they did with the Gemini (The X25 batch).
Regarding the delay: I always thought the original delivery date was unrealistic, so I planned on getting the Cosmo in August this year when I preordered it.
When you got a Gemini, waiting for the Cosmo and the Pyra is pretty relaxed, as you got nearly everything beforehand.

 

[Grench]

Yep, the T0 samples look very impressive and promising.
They even claim to have optimised the hinge mechanism, which you have to "rebend" from time to time on the Gemini.
Since I am quite early in line for the Cosmo, I hope they do not repeat their bad behavior and send mediocre product samples to their first customers as they did with the Gemini (The X25 batch).
Regarding the delay: I always thought the original delivery date was unrealistic, so I planned on getting the Cosmo in August this year when I preordered it.
When you got a Gemini, waiting for the Cosmo and the Pyra is pretty relaxed, as you got nearly everything beforehand.

I guess I ended up joining the Gemini pre-order at the right moment - I got one of the first X27 processors. But - frankly, there isn't much difference between them - like a fraction of a percent speed difference right? Still, the Gemini, in my humble opinion, is a pretty good device. Particularly for their 'first device' given the complexity of it.

 

[Grench]

There has been a significant update on this. They're doing a press launch party in Tokyo coming up and should be in production in the next couple of weeks.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cosmo-communicator#/updates/all

Looking forward to this one - and hoping that I can get it to work on Google Fi (Yes, I know, CDMA carrier - but the LTE connection through Fi worked well for data on my Gemini - so here's to hope...)

 

[Swordfish II]

After 4 years of preorder i am wearing down because it has been "close" all four years. Stuff that was thought fixed isn't. Even now last we heard was "running tests before shipping prototypes" that was 2ish weeks ago.

Pyra meets my use case better. But a flawed device i can actually have.... I will take any day. So maybe i will hedge my bets.

So i posted this Nov 2018.

Prototypes STILL haven't gone out 9 months later. C'mon @EvilDragon