For all that many crowdfunded hardware projects are not necessarily successful or even trustworthy, now and then one comes along that merits another look. For example, the Gemini PDA.
Effectively the second coming of the Psion 5, the Gemini is a clamshell mobile device, like a miniature notebook computer. It has a 5.9″ 403ppi 2160 x 1080 display—effectively the same display as many current smartphones—with a similarly-sized keyboard attached.
The Gemini has 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of internal storage, and a micro-SD slot. It comes in WiFi and WiFi + 4G variants, for $500 and $600 respectively. It dual-boots Android and Linux, and will also function as a smartphone (in the 4G version, at least). And it’s raised $2,221,000 (from 6,200 backers), which it says is 284% of its original goal. It comes in WiFi and WiFi + 4G variants, for $500 and $600 respectively.
On TechCrunch, writer Brian Heater has a hands-on look at the device. He finds the idea of it appealing, but admits that the Gemini is actually a better idea than it is a device.
It’s unclear which problems the device is looking to solve in a world of ubiquitous slate phones and low-cost laptops and tablets. There aren’t ultimately all that many scenarios in which the throwback makes more sense than the hundreds of other available options, so it’s hard to recommend this as either a primary phone or laptop in 2018.
And at 17.14 cm (6.75 inches) wide, the keyboard is more than an inch narrower than Anker’s iPad Mini keyboard, which I found unusably tiny when I tried it out a couple of years ago. As neat as it might be to have a truly pocketable touch-typing writing machine, I can’t imagine actually touch-typing on something the size of the Gemini. (Also, its keyboard seems to be missing the quotation mark character entirely, unless I’m missing something.)
This isn’t the first time this form factor has been tried lately, though the specs and keyboard on the Z8550 Paul wrote about in 2016 are considerably less impressive than this model.
While clearly meant more for writing than for reading, and with an attached keyboard that could make it awkward to use in portrait orientation, the Gemini could nonetheless be used for e-reading. It even has a physical space bar to tap to advance the pages rather than having to tap the screen. I can’t see that ever being a popular use for it, though.
And after ten years of development, screen keyboards have gotten to be good enough that I can type nearly as fast with one as I can touch-type on a full-sized keyboard. With that being the case, is a physical keyboard really necessary?
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teleread.org 
This gadget has some competition that some might find a better deal. You can’t slip an Alphasmart Neo into your pocket, but it fits well into a pack and you can’t beat it for on-the-go writing. It’s rugged, has a full-sized keyboard, and LCD screen that you can read in bright sunlight. Even more amazing, it runs for 700 (that’s seven-hundred) hours on three cheap AAA batteries.
Elementary and middle schools used them to teach typing and writing. That explains their ruggedness. New, they cost several hundred dollars. You can find them on ebay for about $25. It will hold about 200 pages of text. When you’re ready to put that book on a computer, simple connect it like a USB keyboard and tell it to send that text into your word processing program. The one downside it that, while it is fine for drafting, the UI is a bit clumsy for editing. It should be great for bus and train commutes since that real keyboard works well in a bouncing vehicle.
There were various Alphasmart devices over the years, but the Neo and almost identical Neo 2 make the most sense, since they store more text than earlier models and cost not much more.
Search for “alphasmart neo review” to get more details. Here is one review.
http://www.andybrain.com/extras/alphasmart-neo-review.htm
–Mike Perry
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Well, writing isn’t the only use one might have for such a thing. Some people might prefer being able to tap physical keys for sending instant messages and so on, too.
I still can’t see trying to touch-type on a physical keyboard that tiny, though.
Have heard a lot of good things about the Alphasmarts for portable writing, too. Maybe I’ll look into one someday.
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I’ve got a gemini, and wanted to let you know that it is more than possible to touch type on it. Ok, so I have little hands, which may help. To get all the characters, you have to use the FN key. Here is a ‘, and a “. Oh, btw, I am typing this on the gemini.
It really feels like a little laptop rather than a phone. Even using android rather than linux, you can set it up to do everythin you laptop would do. I have a gnu environment where I code and compile as well as do lots of machine maintenance via ssh. I haven’t touched my laptop for 2 months now, and the gemini is my only device (ie. phone) as well.
It isn’t for everyone, but for those who can make use of it, it will be the one.
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