I've been reviewing the Gemini for some time now and have some questions regarding actual real-world usage (I have a specific use-case in mind), hoping that people here with actual device experience would be so kind as to give feedback...
I'm just ONE user, who's using my Gemini as a secondary device, since I got it in March of 2018. I can't give any "1 - Yes, 2 - No" type answers, as reality tends not be that simple. Here's what I've experienced, thus far:
(1) Instant access from sleepIf you have many apps running or some app that leaks memory, Android may force stop applications. I typically only run a few apps, and the Gemini has 4GB of RAM, so I've never had any real issues. I typically leave the text editor Jota+ from Aquamarine Networks running when I close the clamshell (I use it for manual sleep tracking), and I can't remember a time where it wasn't there when I opened the case. I tried opening and closing the case a number of times, and it seems the screen needs around 1.5 seconds to come on. Beyond that, there's no further delay. If I flick the lid open and start mashing keys as quickly as I can, the Gemini might drop the first two characters, but if I open it as I normally do, by the time I've positioned my fingers to start typing, the screen is on and the device is ready.
You are normally advised to use some sort of screen lock, for theft security reasons. That would likely slow you down some more. The upcoming Cosmo will have a fingerprint reader, but how fast or good that will be, remains to be seen.
(2) Keyboard macrosTo the best of my knowledge, neither Android as such nor the Notes app, support macros. My text editor of choice, Jota+, has limited macro support. It allows you to define a number of phrases, the first nine of which can either be linked to an on-screen tool bar or keyboard shortcuts. By default Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 are mapped to the nine phrase slots that can be mapped. Beyond pure text, the phrases also supports a limited number of time-and-date related values, such as the current hour and minute (which I use for tracking sleep).
3) StabilityOverall, I'd say the stability is great. As Android has MANY more moving parts than EPOC/Symbian ever had, I can't say it is completely as stable as the Series 5 (or Series 3, where I had a grand total of two crashes across three devices, one of which occurred when the backlight hardware physically broke down, causing the 3c to kill an app and then just remove "backlight" from the menu, as if it had never been there...). Generally speaking, bugs seems to mainly be related to particular apps. Right now an e-ID I have, just does not work, at all and Firefox behaves weirdly at times, just as it does on the desktop, which, in turn, is pretty much like any web browser more complex than Lynx. Of the built-in apps, I mainly use AirMail, the photo gallery, the camera app (I have the camera add-on, which works, but the picture quality is just sad) and sometimes the file manager. Those are, in my experience, very stable (though I've heard others having issues with AirMail). I used to use the calculator too, with no stability issues, but I have since moved to a more capable calculator app. At times, some background task can cause an undue battery draw, so I may have to reboot my Gemini once a month or so. Other than that and besides specific issues with particular apps, I experience no stability issues in general.
4) Battery lifeRight now, it's 38 hours since my last full charge and the battery is at 72%, with an estimated 91 hours remaining, though that is, in my experience a rather optimistic figure. On average, I keep my Gemini in flight mode about 12 hours per day.
With the radios ON I could probably get a tad above two days of light use, if staying near a cell tower and letting the battery run down completely. By forcing "battery saver" (which limits the peak CPU speed and peak screen brightness, none of which should interfere with your note taking) on all the time, I could probably stretch that to three days. With the radios and screen OFF, the device as such, would likely last ten days or more, as its standby power consumption seems to be very low.
What will limit your usage is most likely the power used by the screen, since it, much like any screen giving off its own light, relatively speaking, consumes quite a lot of power. Were you to mostly take brief notes, with the radios OFF, I'd say you'd probably be able get more than three days. Were you to keep the screen on for hours, that alone could drain the battery in a single day. "Your mileage may vary", as they say.
5) Desktop typing speedProbably not, unless your desktop keyboard speed is quite slow. Still, the Gemini (and upcoming Cosmo) is probably the fastest keyboard you will find on a pocket sized device. I'm typing a bit faster on my Gemini than I was ever able to on my Series 5, as the keys on the Gemini requires a bit less force and tolerates off-center hits better than my Series 5 keyboard did. It's still a "center-peg" (not scissor-type) mechanism, so it's a little less forgiving than a typical full size computer keyboard. The letter keys of the Gemini, just like on the Series 5, are only 14.5mm (0.571") wide, which is 76% of the regular 19.05mm (0.750"), so you'd need hand like a ten-year old to be able to do proper ten-finger typing. The "Home keys", F and J does NOT have a raised dot or similar. The stated reason is because all keys of the same size are molded the same and then laser etched. Adding raised bumps would have required six types of keys instead of five, and that was apparently too expensive.
On a regular keyboard and the Gemini, I usually type using six fingers, while glancing back and forth between the screen and keys. Since the screen is so close to the keyboard on the Gemini, I think I gain back a little of what I loose in raw typing speed due to the keyboard itself. On the Gemini, I might reach 2/3 of my regular typing speed. With practice, I'd estimate I'd be able to reach 3/4, maybe 76%. ;-)
Just so you know, the keyboard has some idiosyncrasies, which seems to stem from that Android isn't really optimized for keyboards. When Caps Lock is on, certain other key combinations, such as Fn+Left (for Home), doesn't work. Most things I've noticed are related to Caps Lock though, so as long as you don't use it, you'll mostly be fine. Right now, while left Shift + Backspace works as Delete, right Shift + Backspace doesn't. That's probably a bug, which I have reported and I hope it'll get fixed.
Closing thoughtsAs you probably know, the successor Cosmo is on its way. For mainly note-taking, I'd recommend the Gemini, unless you want a backlit keyboard. The Cosmo will have that (it can be turned off though). Once the Cosmo starts shipping to crowdfunding backers (current guesstimate is late July) there will probably be a number of second-hand Geminis for sale. If you are not going to use the device as a smartphone at all, I'd recommend the WiFi only Gemini. It doesn't have a cell phone radio, and is thus cheaper.
Phew... that's all for now, I think. I hope this helps rather than confuses. Good luck.
