August Abolins wrote to Daniel <=-

Hello Daniel!

** On Monday 18.05.20 - 23:32, Daniel wrote to Doug Cooper:

really enjoyed the Marco Polo Ap for smart phones ...
... It's replaced any other form of communication other then the
telephone I choose to reply to. If I get a messanger or text, I tell
them to marco polo me, and don't answer their questions.

Yeah smartphones. I transitioned from a cell to satellite phone over two years ago. I sms/mms with a mobile PDA called 'Gemini.'

I did not realize that the Gemini is so recent! That one is a nice combination smartphone+keyboard. I like it.

That was the selling point. I hate virtual keyboard and this clamshell guarantees no breakage of screen. It can be a phone too and is built to be one as well.

But I can't think of such spending right now.

I bought mine last year and is the same model as the one linked. They have a phone and another one being kickstarted at the moment that is more slider.

Which model do you have? Did you order yours from the UK, or did you
find a domestic seller in your USA?

I have the gemini PDA

https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/gemini-pda

I ordered it out of the UK during a black friday sale. It was 25% off + free shipping. Couldn't pass that up. I retired my trusty Palm Pilot Tungsten T5 for good when it came in. I just now wiped off a layer of dust as it sits on one
of my network switches.

Their top model with the extensive network features looks to be
designed for the frequent glob-trotter. Probably overkill for a
domestic like me.

I use it for SMS and to ssh into my home network. Occasionally I'll fire up my irc client. I have keepass and my two factor auth. Then, naturally email.

I don't use google services on it.

If someone wants to reach me by voice they have my landline.

Same here. My Blackberry is activated as a phone primarily because I
only use it to access internet via the data services, but no one knows
the phone number.

My last smartphone was the blackberry Key One before my obese manager sat on it and bent the frame. Out went the battery with the onion-skin thin battery cable as it scampered on the floor. I reactivated my old smartphone in the meantime and filed an insurance claim about a month later due to a travel schedule and insurance wouldn't cover it since the damage was too old. I vowed never pay for phone insurance again. But I miss that sexy ass blackberry. What a great keyboard.

If I were to ever get a smartphone again it would be a blackberry. Have you seen the blackberry phone made by Punkt? That would be it for me. Second link below.

I'm a real fan of minimalism and that takes the cake.

I only "open" my landline to calls from 7p-9p only. Ringer is off the
rest of the time. I just grew tired of picking up the phone for the
bogus spam calls and surveys.

I used to have that problem. My phone's a POTS only within the house. Otherwise, it's a digital line. I setup my call rules to block all calls but those whitelisted. So anyone who knows me can call. And my bank plus few other debtors can call me if needed. So when my phone rings, it's only those who I intend to call me. Any other business needing to reach me can do so via email, which they prefer to do anyway.

For five years now I've been paying my bills via mailed envelopes and checks. Doing so cut credit card fraud alerts by 100%. Seeing my mail-lady is a highlight of my day too.

Ref: https://blackberrymobile.com/us/product/blackberry-keyone/
Ref: https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/

... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
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Kurt Weiske wrote to Daniel <=-

Daniel wrote to August Abolins <=-

https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/gemini-pda

I ordered it out of the UK during a black friday sale. It was 25% off + free shipping. Couldn't pass that up. I retired my trusty Palm Pilot Tungsten T5 for good when it came in. I just now wiped off a layer of
dust as it sits on one of my network switches.

That does look awesome. How's the battery life?

Not too sure man.

I've wanted to make a phone into a laptop replacement, with some of the new cloud apps and a Bluetooth keyboard it's almost possible. A
clamshell palmtop with bluetooth and a cellular radio would be killer.

They have a USB -> HDMI that does that very thing. Keyboard/mouse on bluetooth and you're set. The gemini has two type C connectors. One for charging, the other for video output so you can charge while it is on display. It's hella.

I was smitten with the IBM Palmtop from Japan, the Toshiba Libretto,
and to a lesser extent the Atari Portfolios and HP 95/100/200lx
designs.

smartphone in the meantime and filed an insurance claim about a month later due to a travel schedule and insurance wouldn't cover it since
the damage was too old. I vowed never pay for phone insurance again.
But I miss that sexy ass blackberry. What a great keyboard.

I remember those Blackberry years - I spent years with the model with
the 7290, then the Pearl, then a Curve, then one of the newer touchpad models. loved the keyboard, but I borrowed a iPhone 3GS from work and never looked back.

Loved the Blackberry Enterprise Server - I could tell it *only* to
notify me if certain people emailed. Saved on a lot of distraction. Getting android to do the same is tricky; the Samsung app has a feature
to accomplish this but Gmail doesn't.

That's gone now. Blackberry is now a cybersecurity outfit.

Ref: https://blackberrymobile.com/us/product/blackberry-keyone/
Ref: https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/

There are a handful of similar sized phones on Amazon, not sure which
ones support 3G networks, but I've always had a thought of going with a feature phone and cutting out all of the apps. Use the phone just to communicate.

The current blackberry models are modern smartphones. They do 3g, 4g/lte, etc. The one i had was a sprint LTE model.

I used to have an old Nokia 3100 Classic I'd keep around to try out -
the Punkt is a hell of a lot cooler looking. I'd need a Montblanc pen
and a leather journal to go with it. :)

The punkt also has a lte connection that allows hotspotting.

Daniel Traechin

... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
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