Possible Pyra competitor: Graalphone


Also: http://www.pcmag.com/news/350764/the-3-in-1-graalphone-is-the-weirdest-phone-ive-seen-at-ces

At first I thought it was pretty interesting. The more I looked and read about it the less it appealed to me. I wouldn't call it a Pyra competitor, although there is some feature overlap.

Problems for me are that the Pyra is already pushing the limits of what I feel ids an acceptable size, and this thing sounds like it is larger. While skimming the article I linked I saw that the battery capacity seems unlikely to do it for me with what it is supposed to be packing (didn't it say two CPUs?). I am not a fan of those OSs, and I am trying to get away from using them at all. I suppose that may not be an issue if this will work with something I am more comfortable with. I prefer a clamshell, but that is pretty minor. A greater concern, especially since it isn't a clamshell, ifs being able to easily repair it myself. That serves a few purposes for me: It saves me money if I break something, sometimes I like to poke around in the guys for no good reason, I don't contribute as much to waste, and it is more responsible on my part (and that of the manufacturer, which is why I am also interested in the Pyra and Fairphone, and part of why I had my eye on Project Ara).

I think the 3D is interesting, but just like the cameras, I would probably never use it. I didn't look closely at the keyboard, but that is a positive, and it might be more comfortable to type on than the Pyra. x86 could be useful.

Overall, I like some of what they are trying to do, but this seems more targeted toward average consumers than it is to me, and I don't think it will catch on in that market. I think I would rather stick with a decent laptop and an older mobile phone of some sort.
 
I like the idea of a modular device that you can upgrade for different usage scenarios by plugging it into things, but in this instance, none of the form factors interest me especially unfortunately.

Since it's not coming this year or anywhere close, has no gaming controls, runs closed OSes and has limited storage capacity, nor a keyboard on the go, I don't really see this as being anything like the pyra, so I assert that the thread title is misleading.
 
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ok, so whenever they say "latest generation octophone" (bad paraphrase on my part), i'm a bit skeptical. they'd be better off using something like the eoma68 standard :)

but, with the octophone, why not use the camera in the smart phone and forget about one in the big case?
 
I think the epic fail is, that the Keyboard/Screen part needs an own OS. WTF: you have an octocore processor and need anotherone to drive an 7"display and a keyboard?????
My daily PC is an 15 Year old Thinkpad, which can do more in a way.

as to android/Win10??? (I have an easier way to get me in pain: a hammer and both of my knee caps)
 
My interest depends on the price... anyway it's not for gaming... (I don't want to plug gamepads on things like these...)
 
It looks schizophrenic to me; trying to do too much, and likely is average, at best, at any one of them. Windows/Android are also a turn off.
 
I think it looks great, I hope the extended battery they will have to create looks as good.
 
Looks really cool, but I would want Linux on it. Seems like that Ubuntu Touch (the OS that no one really wants to touch lol) would be perfect on it. But because I've already per-ordered a Pyra I really have no need for it.
 
I've read the article. They remind me a bit of PGS:
- They promise ALL THE FEATURES, best of breed, super fast, endless battery life
- The release date is short after the announcement
- There is no working prototype, just a plastic mockup to show something to people on CES
- The announced price is 700 Euro for a high-end phone + small laptop + real compact camera, 3D display and being a niche device... yeah sure
I'm just missing some actors and a Kickstarter campaign ;-)
 
Well, if you read the english article rygD posted it makes it pretty clear that this is a design prototype - a little flight of fancy that barely looks like the finish product, whatever that is. I guess that's supported by the home page not having a suggested retail price or a subscription list, but just a contact form - if you're a phone maker and you want to use this design to iterate and produce something more realistic with, then sure, let's talk costs.

I've not come across this sort of thing being done in public, as it were, with a separate legal entity feeding into design work at this stage, but I guess it might work. Trying to build hype for something at this stage seems kind of risky to me (because the finished product wouldn't be nearly as functional, or as compact, or both), so it's probably a good job they haven't come up with anything all that compelling to a lot of people, if these boards are at all representative.
 
The prototype looks kinda sexy. But it's just that, a klotz of plastic.

I don't see a precise pointing device like an active digitizer or analogue mouse replacement. No gaming controls AMA.

The display looks like it's impossible to build - the PGS comes to mind.

The keyboard looks like it's too small for comfy ten-finger typing, while the shape of the keys doesn't lend itself to thumb-typing.

I don't quite get why the plug-in design entails two separate CPUs. Overcomplicating things as early as brainstorming phase is what this reeks of.
 
kuru said:
The keyboard looks like it's too small for comfy ten-finger typing, while the shape of the keys doesn't lend itself to thumb-typing.
Click to expand...
Although I don't know the dimensions, this comes to mind:
http://oldcomputers.net/poqet-pc.html
(I would like to eventually get one of those and Atari Portfolio to go along with my 100LX.)

After I took another look at the keyboard, I agree, those keys look quite iffy, but we don't know until we try it out. I think this topic deserves its own thread, and maybe we can discuss the layout. ;)
 
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rygD said:
Although I don't know the dimensions, this comes to mind:
http://oldcomputers.net/poqet-pc.html
(I would like to eventually get one of those and Atari Portfolio to go along with my 100LX.)
Click to expand...

Running on non-proprietory batteries, nice...I'm a bit in love with that form factor just by looking at it, feels like the ancestry of this small Sony Vaio. So much monies though. I do have to type on one of those some day. The newer device even has a nice trackpoint.

rygD said:
After I took another look at the keyboard, I agree, those keys look quite iffy, but we don't know until we try it out. I think this topic deserves its own thread, and maybe we can discuss the layout. ;)
Click to expand...
The lovecraftian horrors of community development XD
 
There are things I like about this idea and design, but I think they missed a big opportunity here. Smartphones have become fantastic general-purpose computers, loaded with sensors, simple but powerful I/O through touchscreens, and increasingly formidable CPU and RAM - but they aren't really very good at being, well, telephones. Compared to a dumbphone, even a very high end smartphone dies early, and my beard has led to more than one misdial and disconnect on the touchscreen.

Instead of a smartphone docked inside a 3-in-1 device, they could've had some sort of "phone stick" or smart watch paired with it, providing 3G/4G data and standard telephone options. A full smartphone that you just keep tucked in a mobile tablet is rather pointless, and a waste of money if you ask me.
 
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