Planet Computers Gemini PDA wins CES Innovation Award

[HEXUS]

This Android / Linux PDA was created by ex-Psion designers. It is priced from $499.

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[mtyson]

Psion Series 5 fans double take

[LSG501]

Honestly this could have been designed so much nicer, it basically looks like what it is, a mobile phone with a keyboard stuck on the side. Even more so when you look at the video of it using android.

[Wozza63]

It's Android, so there's not really much point to it. The GPD devices make more sense than this. At least they are Windows so the keyboard is actually useful.

[Biscuit]

Mediatek...

[scaryjim]

Can I just check I've got this right?

A group of former Psion employees have created an updated Psion and stuck Android on it .... and it's won an innovation award?!

Did Blackberry win the same award last year for the keyONE?

[cheesemp]

Mediatek...

I was going to say this. My one MediaTek phone was so disappointing. They just don't support driver updates so your stuck on a specific release of Android with no hope of custom roms. Any other CPU provider and it might have been vaguely interesting (if I felt the need for a PDA!).

[GinoLatino]

Nokia Communicator anyone?

[jimbouk]

Much as though I wish the company all the best for sticking a physical keyboard on a small device, winning the Innovation Award for a reboot does seem beyond stupid.

[Biscuit]

I was going to say this. My one MediaTek phone was so disappointing. They just don't support driver updates so your stuck on a specific release of Android with no hope of custom roms. Any other CPU provider and it might have been vaguely interesting (if I felt the need for a PDA!).

Its a pretty well known limitation to these CPUs which makes it a VERY strange decision for a start up such as this. They must know they're likely to hit a niche audience due to the inclusion of the "linux" compatibility (which I have to honestly see in depth before believing), in reality, these people are going to want to tinker and place higher value on libraries for deeper customising that simply don't exist for Mediatek CPUs.

Aside from price, which is a double edged sword as it makes the product less appealing, I cant for the life of me think of a single reason to go for Mediatek instead of Snapdragon.

This is the kind of product which, despite actually not being all that useful in reality, could have been an impulse buy for thousands of nerds who just think its cool. Instead... I predict a flop.

[scaryjim]

I... the inclusion of the "linux" compatibility (which I have to honestly see in depth before believing) ...

I had a friend running Linux on his PDA in the late 90s. Not really a stretch at all; plenty of Linux distros out there with ARM builds (although I think his might have been a MIPS processor...).

[Biscuit]

I had a friend running Linux on his PDA in the late 90s. Not really a stretch at all; plenty of Linux distros out there with ARM builds (although I think his might have been a MIPS processor...).

I believe it can be, and will be done, what I dont believe is that it will "work" in the traditional sense, rather than having pages of "working/not working"

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Its probably down to cost why Mediatek was used and also whether other SOC suppliers will need a minimum order volume which is more than what Planet Computers aspects to sell for its PDA.

[philehidiot]

I dunno why but the nerd in me wants to stick Kali on this and take it shopping.

[scaryjim]

I believe it can be, and will be done, what I dont believe is that it will "work" in the traditional sense, rather than having pages of "working/not working"

Lots of people run full linux distros on ARM hardware. There's whole datacentres running on ARM. We even have resident hexites who run Linux on ARM test farms as part of their day job. You can buy consumer Linux-on-ARM devices from mainstream retailers right now (ChromeOS is a custom GUI over a fairly standard Linux kernel & back end, AIUI).

What is it you think won't work?

[Biscuit]

Lots of people run full linux distros on ARM hardware. There's whole datacentres running on ARM. We even have resident hexites who run Linux on ARM test farms as part of their day job. You can buy consumer Linux-on-ARM devices from mainstream retailers right now (ChromeOS is a custom GUI over a fairly standard Linux kernel & back end, AIUI).

What is it you think won't work?

It's the Mediatek drivers, not the ARM architecture in general that I have concerns with.