Here are my bullet points:
- From an ergonomic perspective, typing on a hard piece of glass is a disaster. Glass is hard and damaging to your fingers which are not. I predict that in a few years, there will be tons more RSI and arthritis problems among people who used a slab phone for 20 or 30 years.
- A keyboard is faster than swiping for those of us who use non-English languages with accents, or for people who have to type a lot of words that are not in the swiping dictionaries. Programming or server administration on a smartphone is an exercise in frustration. It's so much easier when you have a keyboard. Any programmer or admin who gets one of these things will thank themselves every day for doing it.
- Multi-tasking is a total mess in Android and IOS. They both kill your apps randomly and give you no control. And Android lets shit start up by itself without you ever asking for it. With Linux, you choose what's open and what's not.
- If you like big displays, the size of the Gemini is also a nice plus. The 18:9 ratio is the future.
- As for carrying around a keyboard, that's just dopey. They're bulky, you have to keep them charged, and they look mismatched and unsightly. With the Gemini, we have everything in one sleek package. I personally would have preferred a removable keyboard design that is also a clamshell (or something similar to the HTC 7 Pro) but from an engineering standpoint, these are much more complicated and will not happen unless Gemini 1.0 is a success. I'm not going to carry around an iPad Mini as my phone, either.
- The software flexibility of the Gemini is also a fantastic selling point. I am looking forward to Sailfish on my device but I also could choose Debian, Ubuntu, Postmarket, or AOSP if I wanted to. The developer-friendly attitude of Planet Computers is wonderful and something that can keep this phone supported for much longer than short support lifespans of other Android devices. With open firmware, we can be installing any Linux on the device that we want for years to come.
- Finally, I think there are a lot of people who are wary about the growing power and evilness of Google and Apple. These companies do not care about their customers' privacy and governments worldwide are looking to slurp up the cloud data that tech firms have hoarded for decades. With the Gemini, we will be able to have a device that does not impinge on our privacy.
A lot of times, people who are just used to buying whatever Apple or Samsung poops out have difficulty imagining how restricted their choices are. They mistake their own lack of imagination for savvy.
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