This 5G smartphone comes with Android, Linux - and a keyboard. Back to the future with the Astro Slide - ZDNet

The Astro Slide, in PDA mode (left) and smartphone mode (right).

Images: Planet Computers

London-based Planet Computers is on a mission to reinvent the iconic Psion Series 5 PDA for the smartphone age. Although mobile professionals -- especially those old enough to remember the 1997 Series 5 with affection -- are often open to the idea, the company's previous efforts, the Gemini PDA and Cosmo Communicator, have had their drawbacks.

The Gemini PDA, for example, is a landscape-mode clamshell device that, despite a great keyboard, is difficult to make and take calls on and only has one camera -- a front-facing unit for video calling. The Cosmo Communicator adds a small external touch screen for notifications and some basic functions plus a rear-facing camera, but you still have to open the clamshell to do anything productive.

The Astro Slide, announced today via a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, has a new design with one large (6.53-inch) screen that slides open to reveal the keyboard, transforming the device from a portrait smartphone to a landscape PDA via a patented RockUp mechanism.

The Astro Slide's patented RockUp mechanism transforms the device from portrait smartphone to landscape PDA.

Images: Planet Computers

Here's how the Astro Slide stacks up against its two predecessors.

Planet Computers phone/PDA specs

	Astro Slide	Cosmo Communicator	Gemini PDA
Dimensions	164 x 76.6 x 15mm	171.4 x 79.3 x 17.3mm	171.4 x 79.3 x 15.1mm
Form factor	palmtop transformer with RockUp Slider and physical keyboard (backlit)	clamshell with physical keyboard (backlit)	clamshell with physical keyboard
Weight	300g	326g	308g
Chipset	MediaTek Dimensity 1000	MediTek Helio P70	MediaTek Helio X27
RAM	6GB	6GB	4GB
Internal storage	128GB	128GB	64GB
MicroSD slot	yes	yes	yes
Operating system	Android 10	Android 9 (Pie)	Android 8.1 (Oreo)
Linux support	Sailfish, Debian, Kali	Sailfish, Debian, Kali	Sailfish, Debian, Kali
Battery	4000mAh	4220mAh	4220mAh
Fast charging	yes	yes	yes
Wireless charging	yes (Qi)	no	no
Display size	6.53 inches	5.99 inches	5.99 inches
Resolution	2340 x 1080 (395ppi)	2160 x 1080 (403ppi)	2160 x 1080 (403ppi)
Multi-touch	yes	yes	yes
Scratch-resistant glass	yes	yes	yes
External screen	n/a	1.91-inch touch OLED	no
Rear camera	48MP	24MP	5MP (optional add-on)
Front camera	5MP	5MP	5MP
SIM slots	2 x Nano SIM	2 x Nano SIM	1 x Micro SIM
eSIM	yes	yes	no
Wi-fi	802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)	802.11ac	802.11ac
Cellular	5G	4G LTE	optional 4G LTE
Bluetooth	5.1	5.0	4.1
GPS	yes	yes	yes
NFC	yes	yes	no
Sensors	accelerometer, ambient light, gyroscope, magnetic sensor	accelerometer, compass, ambient light, gyroscope, magnetic sensor	accelerometer, compass, ambient light, gyroscope, magnetic sensor
Fingerprint reader	yes	yes	no
USB	2 x USB-C	2 x USB-C	2 x USB-C
Microphone	ambient noise suppression	ambient noise suppression	integrated ambient
3.5mm audio jack	yes	yes	yes
Price (inc. VAT)	£799 (target)	£799	£499 (Wi-Fi only), £599 (4G + Wi-Fi)

As with the Gemini PDA and Cosmo Communicator, the designer behind the form factor is Martin Riddiford, who was also responsible for the industrial design of the original Psion Series 5. 

"We started this process by looking at devices with dual screens, which we thought was a big compromise on the keyboard," Janko Mrsic-Flogel, CEO of Planet Computers, told ZDNet. "Then we looked at the usual kind of flip-up, like the F(x)tec, but that reduced the size of the keyboard. So we came up with a couple of designs that didn't compromise on the keyboard -- we patented both, and are launching one of them now." 

When closed, the 6.53-inch Astro Slide looks like a conventional large-screen smartphone -- albeit a hefty one, thanks to the physical keyboard. It measures 76.6mm wide by 164mm deep by 15mm thick and weighs 300g, compared to 73.7mm x 161.9mm x 7.8mm and 186g for Samsung's Galaxy S20+ for example. 

The Astro Slide is powered by MediaTek's flagship Dimensity 1000 chipset, a 7nm SoC with an integrated 5G modem that provides support for dual 5G SIMs and carrier aggregation resulting in up to 4.7Gbps performance. The standard model, with a target price of £799, will come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage (expandable via MicroSD), although Mrsic-Flogel said there may be a premium model with more RAM and 1TB of storage in due course. It supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and has a 48MP rear camera -- a big step up from the Cosmo Communicator's 24MP. The front-facing camera is unchanged at 5MP.

SEE: IT pro's guide to the evolution and impact of 5G technology (free PDF)

The Astro Slide runs on Android 10, with a multi-boot option supporting various Linux distributions. It comes with Planet Computers' software suite -- Agenda (calendaring & to-do lists), Airmail (email), Data (database) and Notes (note-taking & dictation). One software tweak for the Astro Slide will be the ability to specify different quick-access icons for portrait and landscape mode.

Summing up "the first 5G phone with a keyboard", Mrsic-Flogel said: "It's a little bit of a departure...it looks like a PDA, but will provide even better no-compromise functionality for portrait and landscape use, and one-handed use, which was missing a little bit. Cosmo Communicator users appreciate the 'semi-engaged' mode when the device is closed and the 'fully engaged' mode when it's open. That's great for Nokia Communicator/Psion users, but we really wanted to bring more people into the fold. We see this more for the BlackBerry people who want a keyboard on a traditional smartphone."

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