Messages

1

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Random Turn-off when battery is less than 50%

« on: July 20, 2019, 08:11:47 am »

I recently started getting this issue too. I'll be using Termux just below 50% battery life and all of a sudden, the battery saver mode will enable (that orange/red theme) and the Gemini will turn off.
This never used to happen with Android 7, only 8. I have noticed the battery life becoming much shorter than what it used to be, so I do hope this is a firmware issue. If not, then I also wouldn't mind purchasing a new battery.

2

Gemini PDA - Linux / Kali insted of Debian on triple boot

« on: December 05, 2018, 12:46:00 am »

What a nice surprise! I passed my OSCP exam last week too. Just got done flashing it, Planet's new initial setup menu is much better. I don't think replacing Debian with Kali is possible due to the way Linux is "merged" with Android on the Gemini, but it should still be theoretically possible. Maybe try replacing "linux_root.img" and "linux_boot.img"? I do think you need a new scatter file though.

3

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Big announcement on 5th November

« on: November 06, 2018, 01:59:29 am »

I hope the third revision (if it comes around!) does my suggestions. A bit disappointed with the Cosmo Communicator, as nobody with a Gemini (the main audience) has a reason outside of backlighting to purchase it; however, it's a great step in the right direction, since these are the only people making smartphones with full proper keyboards!

Some people with geminis have upgraded.....

All the good things are still there (keyboard, screen, battery), plus faster processor/GPU, more RAM, more ROM, second display, much better camera, backlit keyboard. I did hum and har for a good hour or two, then put my money down. By then, sailfish 3.0 will be out and have a few updates under the belt.

Most of these things are not beneficial towards what the Gemini's attraction (and life force) is: the keyboard. I certainly can't see why anyone needs the performance upgrades, another MediaTek chipset is painful. It seems like it's "more because why not", which just increases the costs.
The price IMO is just too high to justify a better camera and backlighting. If the Cosmo's standard price was around $400 USD, I could see it being very compelling, but that's literally half the current full price.

Yeah, $800 USD is madness, they should focus towards the low to mid range instead.
I would honestly be perfectly fine with a cheap $150 USD smartphone that has a keyboard, because using a keyboard (taking notes or using SSH) doesn't require such overkill flagship specs that go to waste running YouTube or a browser.

4

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Big announcement on 5th November

« on: November 05, 2018, 09:06:05 am »

It's a huge missed opportunity to have a bigger touchscreen on the back (when closed), so then you can use it like an actual smartphone, and when you need to use the keyboard, you could open the clamshell. This would have sold it to me personally.

That's my biggest issue with the Gemini (and this new Cosmo), it's just awkward to open it up for quick usage. It's especially awkward for any vertical usage, as the keyboard loses functionality and there is no ergonomics.

A smartphone is a quicker device for checking anything and the keyboard doesn't get in your way, which is probably why nobody is producing phones with keyboards these days. Even the last phones with them had slider keyboards that were hidden very well.

Having essentially dual screens could have made these two devices appeal to so many more consumers, it would have justified the very hefty price that the Cosmo goes for (even with a damn 31% off sale).
When you're not using the keyboard, it's a hindrance. It's what makes the Gemini PDA a really niche item. Giving the user a way to ignore it when not in use would have been great, it's another reason why everyone uses detachable bluetooth keyboards.

Also sore to see a lack of any pointing devices. A ThinkPad style trackpoint would have been a good addition, especially for the Linux users who aren't glued to a shell and terminal emulator unlike me.

I hope the third revision (if it comes around!) does my suggestions. A bit disappointed with the Cosmo Communicator, as nobody with a Gemini (the main audience) has a reason outside of backlighting to purchase it; however, it's a great step in the right direction, since these are the only people making smartphones with full proper keyboards!

5

Gemini PDA - Android / New firmware update released

« on: June 14, 2018, 03:39:25 pm »

Just a warning for anyone who has TWRP installed, after this firmware update I couldn't even get into Android again and it had me in a bootloop into recovery with no errors (apparently). Not even flashing the system image file alone works, as a firmware upgrade was the only thing that got my device working again, so that meant losing userdata. Oh well.

Is there a way to install .zip files without TWRP? Last time I checked, the standard recovery system doesn't let you do that, or am I mistaken?

-RSS

6

Gemini PDA - Linux / linux on Gemini

« on: June 01, 2018, 01:57:18 pm »

The next kernel is likely to be 4.4 -- at least that's what the Android update would/will be, and we're tragically tied to the Android kernel.

That's really good news, hopefully it will be 4.4 indeed, as it is an extended LTS release. My biggest worry with the Gemini was that we would be permanently stuck on 3.18, which is seriously outdated by this point and is likely to drop support if it hasn't already.

-RSS