Remember PDAs? They're coming back. In phone form.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > YOSPOS > Remember PDAs? They're coming back. In phone form.

Maximo Roboto: Feb 4, 2012

Gemini PDA: 20 years on, meet the new Psion Series 5

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The new Gemini PDA, from Planet Computers, is the spiritual successor to the Psion Series 5 organiser from the late 1990s*; A Personal Digital Assistant that I swore by, using it to write copy for newspapers and magazines, and also for communicating on bulletin boards, via a modem connection over Infrared to various phones.

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The Gemini PDA is an all new device that has modern specs, but retains the original keyboard design. Not a lookalike, but the same tech that made it so uniquely comfortable to type on.

The rest of the specs are a world apart, from the 6-inch 18:9 ratio FHD+ display that has 2160�1080 pixels instead of the 640�240 pixels on the original, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity (a Wi-Fi only model is also available at a lower price), dual-booting for both Android (Nougat) and Linux (Debian), two USB-C ports for connecting external hardware, hubs, or outputting to a monitor, and a 4220mAh battery to make sure you should get a decent level of usage from it, whether using it as a primary or secondary device.

There are stereo speakers too, a voice control button, and a 3.5mm headphone socket. Inside there�s a 5-megapixel front-facing camera designed primarily for video calling, while an optional rear camera (5-megapixel) can be fitted by changing the rear casing.

The idea for the device started earlier in the year as an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which quickly raised all the required funding, and then some, before getting further support when the original founder of Psion, Sir David Potter, got onboard and became honorary president � and also invested a bit more too.

Having the ability to switch between Android (Nougat for now, Oreo coming later) and Linux gives you a great deal of flexibility, especially as you can also opt to run Linux as an app within Android to save dual-booting.

In Linux mode, you get a higher DPI setting to fit more information on the screen, which especially pays off when hooked up to a monitor. The Android mode will simply output a mirrored screen image, although I was told they might look at offering a different display output in a future software update.

The choice of a MediaTek 10 ARM-core chipset (Helio X27) gives the Gemini PDA plenty of grunt (a significant leap from the single core 18MHz ARM chip on the original or the 36MHz version on the later Series 5mx), although it could be argued that most users aren�t as likely to be after the absolute fastest possible performance, as much as they will want the best hardware for being productive.

While only using a non-final prototype, I was able to jump between key apps like Word, Excel and WordPress, knowing that I could easily see myself using it to cover any product launch or conference with ease, being able to write copy on the go, edit photos and much more, without ever pushing the device to its physical limits.

Even video editing is on the table with cloud-based services like WeVideo, making this a viable alternative to a laptop for many.

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Unlike the original, the Gemini PDA allows you to make calls too. Whether you will want to depends firmly on whether this is going to be your only device, or a secondary device with its own SIM.

With no external display, which would have added further bulk and cost, the device has a row of five programmable multi-colour LEDS instead. These can be programmed in near limitless configurations to identify callers, and they can be animated too. Suffice to say one of the examples I was shown simulated the front grille of KITT from Knight Rider.