Planet Computers : Gemini - Psion Returns


Don't forget audio...

Wikipedia states this was invented by Samsung in 2008 as a hack for usb-on-the-go but that's fake news. I remember the Pandora threads on this subject in 2009 that went on forever into the horizon... woooo fade out. Which of course were all on Craig's forum and totally unprovable. Unless of course I kept html backup of that for reference, in which case Samsung and the others are legally liable in some way or other. Alternatively they're just sad wannabes.

Always backup important conversations and data. On an offline server. Like wow, I have the original PND files and firmware, patches. Can probably prove what OpenPandora do or do not own as intellectual property. Hmmm.
[doublepost=1526633370,1526630740][/doublepost]Wisdom from Yoda:

It's inevitable that when a decent boyband like Take That break up they call Robbie Williams a 'fat gay dancer' and various things go missing from the studio, like staplers and pens. But any decent mom puts macaronii pictures into a sturdy iron safe, sealed in a wooden crate and archived next to the ark of the covenant in a giant cold war warehouse with armed guards, several laser turrets and cloaked M1 abhrams tanks. Or to quote Terminator 2, most kids were too busy playing Nintendo. Eaaaaaaaasy money wink.
 
Lid switch (F11/F12) power saving settings appear to be overly aggressive. Music playing when the lid closes continues to play, but wired headphone remotes stop working. On a device witO buttons (lid closed in-poscket), that is quite annoying.

Have you tried track control with Bluetooth headphones? I don't have any headphones with that feature, unfortunately.


Keyboard has PgUp, PgDn, Home, End on the Fn layer of the arrow keys. Under Android the Fn layer for these keys isn't working.

Unfortunately, this is a very common problem on Android. Some programs, such as the K9 email client, do have the proper mappings but Google and other Android toolkit makers have failed to make such shortcuts the default within their textbox controls.

Google Assistant has ... overly aggressive accessibility? If opened, on purpose or accidentally, it takes over long press of the Android home button, the Gemini side-button AND the middle button press on wired headphone remotes (play/pause/next/prev gone). It then pops up nearly every time the Gemini is used, wanting to be trained and offer suggestions on how to use it. GA is not uninstallable, etc. The only way to get it out of the way is to quasi-disable it deep in the GA menus. I actually don't mind the GA concept, but I would like to be able to have it on my own terms. Maybe be able to toggle it on/off using Fn+G.

I find the Google assistant to be low quality and invasive. I always disable the Google app on my Android devices. You can't remove it without rooting but it can be blocked from running via the Application settings box.

The Android home screen has a non-removable non-resizable 1x5 icon Google assistant mic activation bar too. There is room for 25 icons on that screen and GA took 5 of them - for a long bubble Google icon - that is 3 icons of blank white - at the top edge of the screen - that does not take text input - which is a TON of real estate for functionality that could very well have been done in a 1x1.

Change your Android launcher. I use Lawnchair but there are many others that are good.

Overall, I find Android to be quite good on the Gemini. The Linux side is a different question though. I recently somehow managed to brick my Android install on my Gemini by trying to install a new kernel provided by their Linux port manager guy.

Not even sure how it happened either. I can still boot to Linux but his experimental stuff ruined my software keyboard map.

I'll probably have to reflash.

Others have had better Linux experiences than I but for me, it's been quite rough so far.
 
[ Snip....]

Overall, I find Android to be quite good on the Gemini. The Linux side is a different question though. I recently somehow managed to brick my Android install on my Gemini by trying to install a new kernel provided by their Linux port manager guy.

Not even sure how it happened either. I can still boot to Linux but his experimental stuff ruined my software keyboard map.

I'll probably have to reflash.

Others have had better Linux experiences than I but for me, it's been quite rough so far.

You should try again and follow instructions very carefully, step by step.

Also, if you need input, go to the OESF forum with section created Gemini and sub-sections for Android, Linux, Sailfish, etc.

Adam, the lead dev for the Debian image available, has been posting there and has responded to some of my questions.

Here's link to the linux section:

https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?showforum=194
 
Just read this review (in german):
https://www.golem.de/news/gemini-pda-im-test-2004-ist-nicht-2018-1806-134716.html
What i read, the keyboard is bad... an issue the pyra hopefully won't have :D

The Gemini keyboard is a result of compromises - as is the Pyra's. Both are good for what they do. They choose different elements to compromise.

For the Gemini, the primary objective was to be able to set the device on a surface and touch type. The other constraint is that the device has to fit comfortably in a man's front pants pocket. Those two requirements are not directly compatible. If you look a computer keyboard, the Gemini's total footprint is Q-O left to right and down to the space bar. So, 9 'full size' keys wide and 4 tall. However, Planet didn't want a 9 key wide 4 row keyboard - that would be notoriously awkward to type on. Instead, they put a 11-12 key wide, 5 row keyboard in that same space. That makes for some rather 'cute' keys.

When you first sit down to the Gemini, you are not going to blind touch type. The key spacing will be all wrong for you. But, with a bit of patience you can adjust to it. On my Vortex Race 3, I generally and casually type in the 80 wpm range. I'm probably a bit more than half of that on the Gemini, but I can feel my speed on it improving day to day. But - the important thing to me is that I -can- touch type more or less effectively on this diminutive device that fits in my pants pocket.

I see reviewer complaints that the Gemini keyboard is difficult to use 'in space' with thumbs. Yup - that is not the designed purpose. Of course it is going to be a bit awkward that way. Special characters are on a Fn layer? Yup - it's only 11.5 diminutive keys wide. Of course many of the keys on a standard keyboard are going to wind up on a Fn layer.. A bit less than ideal for phone calls? Yup - that wasn't the primary use case. Phone calling use is not ideal.

Planet Computers calls the Gemini keyboard 'mechanical'. I own examples of and can feel the difference and know the difference between rubber dome, scissor dome, Cherry MX Brown, Cherry MX clear, IBM type M, IBM type F, Unicomp and more. No, by keyboard enthusiast standards, the Gemini keyboard is not what we would call, 'Mechanical'. It is in fact a stabilized rubber dome setup. Key travel is short and the feel is very light. It has a bit lighter pressure and a fraction of the travel when compared to the MX Browns with double O ring spacers that I'm typing on now. It will never replace my mechanical keyboards. But, those keyboards don't fit in my pocket. The Gemini does. Within that set of compromises, I consider the Gemini keyboard to be very good.

For the niche of us who naturally type words and don't think in letters - essentially talking though the keyboard - onscreen keyboards have always been a source of extreme frustration. I have purchased a bunch of bluetooth keyboards of various brands and sizes in trying to get a keyboard to type comfortably on my Android devices. I have used hubs and hauled along rubber dome and mechanical keyboards of different sizes when traveling. All of those solutions are compromises involving pre-planning and equipment bags. The Gemini is a compromise in the other direction. I get to skip the bags and cables, but the keyboard itself is on the smallest knife edge of shrunken touch typing usability.

The Gemini isn't for everyone. But then, neither is the Pyra. These are niche devices. Each has it's advantages.
 
At least it offers a QWERTZ Keyboard. That alone makes an advantage for me over the Pyra Keyboard. :p
 
For the Gemini, the primary objective was to be able to set the device on a surface and touch type. The other constraint is that the device has to fit comfortably in a man's front pants pocket. Those two requirements are not directly compatible. If you look a computer keyboard, the Gemini's total footprint is Q-O left to right and down to the space bar. So, 9 'full size' keys wide and 4 tall. However, Planet didn't want a 9 key wide 4 row keyboard - that would be notoriously awkward to type on. Instead, they put a 11-12 key wide, 5 row keyboard in that same space. That makes for some rather 'cute' keys.
Funny how they ended up with almost a direct copy of the Psion S5 keyboard using those constraints, but broke it slightly (on the first attempt at least).

But I have no real complaints about that choice. On my old unit I found I was able to thumb type with reasonable speed and accuracy after a short adaptation. But then I can also thumb type with two thumbs on blackberry sized devices so maybe I'm weird.
 
Funny how they ended up with almost a direct copy of the Psion S5 keyboard using those constraints, but broke it slightly (on the first attempt at least).

But I have no real complaints about that choice. On my old unit I found I was able to thumb type with reasonable speed and accuracy after a short adaptation. But then I can also thumb type with two thumbs on blackberry sized devices so maybe I'm weird.

When comparing the two:
If your intention is to thumb type, then the Pyra's keyboard will be much better.
If your intention is to touch type, then the Gemini's keyboard will be much better.

Both are compromises to suit other needs (pocketability for the Gemini, game controller layout for Pyra).
 
@Grench, what if you plan to type both ways?
Then plug this into your Pyra?
Code:
https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2226

Not pocketable, but portable with a good typing experience - so long as you don't want to use numbers or Fn keys or be able to naturally touch type ' and " and are willing to bring a cheat sheet card to figure out where they put normal keys on the unlabeled Fn+Shift layer... Works great for typing words though.
 
...

I would rather use my huge keyboard that I love, then. It is also portable.

Anyone else remember the old portable computers?
 
Those old things were luggable rather than portable in my book. But was a nice coincidence that a full keyboard matches the height of two 5.25" disc drives (or the width of one on some old units), and width-wise if you include the number keys you can include a 4/3 display governed by the available height, and still have space for a speaker and a few case buttons.
 
Finally!!!
It arrived at about 12:30 and I've loaded the battery because I thought it would be started with the Google button :-)
After loading and reading the text on the Esc button. I was finally able to start this thing up.
I love it.
The keyboard is not perfect but a huge improvement over the on-screen one.
Regarding the camerad module:
You have to build it like Lego :-)
You first open the device, then insert the camera module itself.
After that. a litte plastic cage is attached.
You then close the Gemini with the fitting camera backplate and add the security glass on top.
I was quite impressed. what Planet thinks, the average user is able or willing to do.
For me, it was fun and it is not commpicated, but for the typical iPhone user... not so much.
Now I'm going to look up, how to reseat some of the buttons, as they are sitting in quite an angle and it looks rather strange.

Of course I'm writing this text on the Gemini.
[doublepost=1528300129,1528295176][/doublepost]Regarding the buttons:
Just pop them off with a knife from the top (screen) side of the cap an reinsert it.
It quite improves the angle and typing quality.
I' also pressed every button down with some force and some buttons clicked in a bit more.

The camera by the way is really nothing more than a documentation device you can use to make a snapshot of a serial numberor damage to IT devices, stuff like that.
Nothing for pictures or videos of your loved ones.
But I knew that before, so I am not complaining.
I really just need it for the docu stuff.
 
With the still far away Pyra arrival, i have been thinking more and more about getting one of these.
I'm waiting for a Pyra as well but have ordered a Gemini to keep me going for two months (tm). My Pandora just can't keep up with what I need.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
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