The $499 smartphone is described as being “purpose-built” for people who carry two phones — one for work and one for personal use. That is, the company believes its market will be people who do a lot of actual work on their devices — meaning messaging, emailing, working with documents, or other things where using a physical keyboard could be an advantage.
This but Linux and dpalt mode.
It’s running Android and Mediatek chip, which means it should be easy enough to make it run what you want (as long as it supports ARM)
Let me first say that I love the idea of this phone and it breaking free of the “tall, skinny rectangle” form factor. The physical keyboard is a huge draw for me as well. However, there are some things on the software side that are definitely making me wary.
While it offers a screen for viewing and responding to messages, the Communicator doesn’t provide access to addictive social media apps or games. Instead, the company partnered with the maker of an Android launcher, Niagara Launcher, to provide access to messaging apps and productivity tools like Gmail, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Slack.
I don’t understand why it would limit apps. $499 is a lot to spend on a secondary device, and I don’t know that I’d want to EDC two devices. That’s a lie. I know I wouldn’t want to everyday carry two phones because I did that for work and absolutely hated it.
Most apps work fine on smaller screens. I’ve been daily driving a Cat S22 Flip with a portrait-oriented 480x640 screen for over a year, and most apps scale just fine.
I’ve at least heard of Niagara Launcher. Is that saying the only way to use those apps is through the launcher’s integration? That sounds shitty.
The company is teasing the possibility of integrating AI applications with this button
Dear god, no.
The phone’s standout feature is its Signal Light, a light-up button on the side of the device that can be customized with different colors and light patterns to indicate when you’ve received messages from certain people, groups, or app
So, a feature that has existed for years but was taken away from us? My old OnePlus had a customizable RGB light which could be configured the same way. It was really handy, and I hated the “always on” display that replaced it. I could tell from the color and pattern what kind of notification it was without having to preview it which was nice as it didn’t stress me out with a need to reply.
I want to like this, but it seems like they’re being very opinionated on how you actually use it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll be bootloader unlockable and LineageOS can save it from the shitty decisions of the manufacturer.
Edit: Submitted a question/ticket to ask support. Every time a promising-looking device is announced, I always ask. The answer is usually either “What? What do you mean?” or “No”. One of these days, there will hopefully be a manufacturer that doesn’t equate Android with Google.
We’ll see how it shakes out but I bet you can tweak the settings or switch away from Niagara to view social media apps or games if you want.
The AI thing is possible future partnerships that I’m wary of too but I hope would be opt in.
They’re bringing back a lot of old features, but old or no I’m glad for it. 3.5mm jack, SD card slot, DND toggle, notification light are all pluses for me. Removable battery would be great but I understand the trade off against capacity.
I’m not even a huge fan of physical keyboards but the price point and other features, as well as being more reasonably sized meant I had to reserve this. If the camera performance is passable, it might even replace my main
Android 16 with 5 years of security updates
Makes a nice change for a niche device
I didn’t know I want a detached phone keyboard until now
the company believes its market will be people who do a lot of actual work on their devices
Ew.
I like some of the features of this phone and in some ways it is similar to the iKKO Mind One I backed, but I’ve always found this idea of “companion” phones very weird. There have been a few over the years and they’re always just ginped and overpriced. You pay a relatively large amount of money for a convoluted solution to a problem that is very niche in the first place.
