Reflections on State of Gemini OS'es & General

[ArchiMark]

Hi fellow Geministas,

Now that I've had Gemini for more than a month and multiple re-flashes and updates behind me, I thought I'd share some general thoughts about our little pocket computer, and see if you agree or have different perspective.

The last two re-flashes have been with the recent multi-boot setup.

Currently, have it setup as follows:

1. Android Rooted

2. Recovery

3. Debian

4. Sailfish



So, in that order, here's some thoughts about each:


1. Android Rooted

Works well overall.

However, need to learn how to use Android without needing Google and signing in to apps, etc. If there's a good place online to learn about doing this, please let me know.

Disappointed in Planet's new Agenda app. Looks very nice visually, but "where's the beef?" as the old Burger King commercial said.


3. Debian

Works well overall.

However, still has a few rough edges...

No ethernet support.

I'm fine with using it with my little mini-mouse when I'm at a desk. However, would be nice if I could use it easily without a mouse when out and about, on the train, etc. Like others have said, it would be great if Gemini had a pointing device built-in. I think an optical pointer like on the Viliv N5 and UMID mBook (think it had one...) would be great. Other option is a little trackpoint like on my GPD Pocket.. Also, some mouse buttons would be helpful too, either on keyboard or if no room, on side of display or even back of display as on my old Libretto way back when.


4. Sailfish

Looks pretty......

Not sure there's much more to say about it. Definitely, feels very unfinished, at least to me.



Well, there you have it, my impressions of the various Gemini OS'es, as currently available.


Overall, think Gemini is a very nice pocketable mobile computer (I don't use it as a phone...).

Think it has a lot of promise to be much better and refined as time goes by and more updates released.

Think that Planet is clearly under-resourced and they are playing catch-up to meet all the various demands about the device.

Planet's website and Support page are very un-developed. Various things you'd expect normally are not found, like contact info, general Gemini support info besides flashing, etc.


Please don't take this post as I'm bashing Planet or the Gemini. To be very clear, I really enjoy using the Gemini now and look forward to seeing it get even better as time goes by.

If you have any comments or other thoughts on this, please feel free to share them.

OK, back to using Gemini....

 


Mark

[jakfish]

Nice post, Mark. I think your assessments are spot-on (except that Wendy's did the "Where's the beef?"  )

I have the same boot setup as yours, but since I use the G as a phone, I don't play w/ Linux that much (it truly needs some kind of built-in pointer/trackpoint to work w/ the G alone) and I don't play w/ Sailfish at all since I'm more of a pkb guy than a swiper.

I'm fine with Android and I'm fatalistic about Google, so my rooted Android holds me in good stead. I'm also very optimistic about community development. Graynada's LED work has filled an important niche, this forum is a good one, and as the number of G users increase, more Android apps and better custom Linux distros are sure to follow.

Moving to a Gemini overview, I'm a little concerned about the unhappy post-ers in IGG, complaining about very late shipments, poor communication, etc. I agree with you that Planet is overstretched, but the alternative is worse, and I would hope that the grousing fades once all the shipments are fulfilled. If the problems stay in people's memories, a G2 has a steeper climb to success.

Jake

[ArchiMark]

Thanks, Jake, and for your input.

I was just testing you about the commercial....you passed!




Yes, like you, hopeful that things will continue in an upward direction over time....hope this catches more attention in the dev community out there.


Agree with you about IGG...between the whining, lack of people reading background info, so, too many unnecessary griping posts, then replies to griping/whining posts, it's hard for me to read the posts anymore since receiving my Gemini...

Again, crossing my fingers, that all will go in positive direction for Planet and in turn Gemini.....

Mark

[jakfish]

And another trouble w/ the IGG comment section is a missing search capability. So any kind of helpful tech, or even shipping info, is promptly buried under a deluge of complaints about flash tools and where's-my-perk.

Small wonder that PC gives it a pass. Their purported lack of response to inquiring emails is troubling, however.

Jake

[ArchiMark]

Agree about lack of search function and email responses...

Guessing that is lack of resources and being overwhelmed with processing orders, etc...

[vader]

I'm running:

1. Rooted Android (as a fallback in case things didn't work) - never even booted
2. Recovery
3. Sailfish - my daily driver
4. Debian - had a play, but with no phone/sms it is a non-starter for me unfortunately.


I'm not an android (or iOS) fan and couldn't wait to get something else. With debian unable to act as a phone, I had to wait for sailfish. To be honest, I really love it. It is a full blown linux distro, with a phone interface. It is a stopgap until the new version (3.0) is released which will have far better integration with the gemini (keyboard/screen orientation etc). The one downside is there aren't a huge number of apps - even with 2 app stores, jolla and openrepos. The plus side is that you can take most open source apps and compile (on the gemini no less) them. I have compiled imagemagick and ffmpeg, and they work well. ffplay (the video player from ffmpeg) seems to work very well, and supports more formats than either the built in one, or the openrepos videoplayer.

If I weren't worried about phone calls/sms, I would use debian. From my short play around, it seemed quite usable. I didn't try ethernet, but wifi connected straight away, and all the things I tried just worked. The only trick is that with such a small screen, a mouse is almost a requirement (as ArchiMark said). From a functionality point of view, however, it was great.

To summarise
-----------------

1. Gemini as a phone: Sailfish
2. Gemini as a micro laptop: Debian
3. If all else fails, rooted android.

PS. I would also like a search function for the IGG page

[Jeffers]

And another trouble w/ the IGG comment section is a missing search capability. So any kind of helpful tech, or even shipping info, is promptly buried under a deluge of complaints about flash tools and where's-my-perk.

Small wonder that PC gives it a pass. Their purported lack of response to inquiring emails is troubling, however.

We know that when PC goes dark, it's because they're busy doing something in the background. I would guess that the lack of email replies has a lot to do with this investment that was mentioned in that register article recently.

I got my unit back in mid-May, sans connectivity kit so I queried it with Robin. He said he'd get one out to me. Nothing since then. No reply to my follow up this week. Would it hurt PC to set up email autoreply acknowledgements? It's a real shame because it doesn't take a lot to defuse the griping over on IGG, but PC seem not to care. Do griping comments on IGG put off potential buyers? Who knows!

[depscribe]

I agree with you except for one important detail: little old lady Clara Peller squaked out "Where's the beef?" in commercials for Wendy's, not Burger King.

[ArchiMark]

@vader

Thanks for your input about Sailfish...

Agree about lack of apps....that's part of what made me feel there wasn't much there, there, besides a 'pretty face'. So, good to know about option to compile apps for it.

Keep us posted on the forum as you use it more.


@jeffers

Thanks for your input...although sorry to hear about lack of response by PC to you...not good. Hope they make things right for you.

Not sure what the investment has to do with PC not responding to emails though...you'd think it would be other way round if they got more funding....ie, able to afford to hire some more bodies to assist with customers, etc.


@depscribe

Well, you passed the test too!  (see posts above...)

[andrewl]

I have Android squeezed into a minimal partition with the rest for sailfish. I have a strong dislike for Android so if I ever get the opportunity to remove it completely then I will.

Luckily for me, Sailfish does have the apps for the purposes that I wanted from the Gemini so it is my full time OS. I agree it is a little unfinished feeling, however that is to be expected as it is really just something to bridge the gap to Sailfish 3, which I expect to be more complete on the Gemini.

I knew when I backed Gemini that it was never going to make a good phone, so I continue to use my cellphone for those purposes. I have a SIM in the Gemini for 4G/LTE data only.

[Dixit]

Perhaps I should first specify what set-up I used before the Gemini:

Phone: Nokia Communicator 9300i
Computer: Psion netBook

Now, whilst those two are still superior technologies, I must admit that I appreciate having been launched into the second decade of this century.
So I am fully happy with the stock Android, discovering new features every day.
 
On the subject of Planet: I really wish them all the best. After all: the Gemini is what I waited for since 2001. The hardware of the 5mx. But it comes with modern software. Planet really must succeed. Otherwise I am in trouble (the battery of the netBook is dying... and I would miss WhatsApp, because MSN2Go doesn't work anymore).

I am therefore very worried about their poor customer performance. I am also slightly worried about the physical longevity of the Gemini (keyboard wear, battery life, hinge, screen...). Fifteen years of faithful usage might probably no longer be expected, but is three years too much to ask ?

[MikeC]

Perhaps I should first specify what set-up I used before the Gemini:

Phone: Nokia Communicator 9300i
Computer: Psion netBook

Now, whilst those two are still superior technologies, I must admit that I appreciate having been launched into the second decade of this century.
So I am fully happy with the stock Android, discovering new features every day.
 
On the subject of Planet: I really wish them all the best. After all: the Gemini is what I waited for since 2001. The hardware of the 5mx. But it comes with modern software. Planet really must succeed. Otherwise I am in trouble (the battery of the netBook is dying... and I would miss WhatsApp, because MSN2Go doesn't work anymore).

I am therefore very worried about their poor customer performance. I am also slightly worried about the physical longevity of the Gemini (keyboard wear, battery life, hinge, screen...). Fifteen years of faithful usage might probably no longer be expected, but is three years too much to ask ?

I hear you re: longevity. The fact that mobile phone batteries are not made easily replaceable is stunning. I hope the Gemini is an exception here -- I'm expecting a device such as this to last longer than the 2 years typical phone batteries last. Sigh.

[jakfish]

Dixit--hold on, you're saying that until your G arrived, you were using the 9300i as your phone? In 2018?

If so, man, that is amazing. I loved my 9300, and I kicked myself for not getting the 9300i, and I still use a Psion Series 7, but you get the award for never-giving-up

Jake

[inmontanis]

When Planet gave us the new tripple-boot-flash-possibility, I installed Android (rooted), Linux and Sailfish.

I booted Linux and Sailfish only once yet, because until now I can do everything what I need with Android .. and with some hacks it's quite good.

I've gone through the Sailfish-Intro but it's too much swiping there and too annoying (too fast, too slow, too short, too long, yeah, good bye). The Gemini has such a big screen, there would be no reason to swipe anything but the screen content (pressing a menu button is so much quicker than swiping from an unknown side inside the screen to reveal a hidden menu). Besides that I hate, hate, hate flat UIs and Sailfish looked even worse than this current Android. (Comparing to an old Kitkat-Tablet, wow, how good lucking Android was once, now everything's dull boring flat like every other "modern" OS. I hated flat UIs 25-30 years ago and will always hate that.)

Linux was always a kind of "backup" for me when I ordered my Gemini, just in case I won't like Android. (Because I was used to iPhone/iOS after .. some WinCE palmtop, after Nokia Communicator, after Psion Series 3a, ... and whenever I had an Android Phone/Tablet in my hand, I never wanted to switch to Android. But as Apple is also more and more annoying ...)

So far I'm fine with Android on my Gemini. And various emulators (Win98 and Amiga OS 3 run quite good on the Gemini).

[ArchiMark]

When Planet gave us the new tripple-boot-flash-possibility, I installed Android (rooted), Linux and Sailfish.

I booted Linux and Sailfish only once yet, because until now I can do everything what I need with Android .. and with some hacks it's quite good.

I've gone through the Sailfish-Intro but it's too much swiping there and too annoying (too fast, too slow, too short, too long, yeah, good bye). The Gemini has such a big screen, there would be no reason to swipe anything but the screen content (pressing a menu button is so much quicker than swiping from an unknown side inside the screen to reveal a hidden menu). Besides that I hate, hate, hate flat UIs and Sailfish looked even worse than this current Android. (Comparing to an old Kitkat-Tablet, wow, how good lucking Android was once, now everything's dull boring flat like every other "modern" OS. I hated flat UIs 25-30 years ago and will always hate that.)

Linux was always a kind of "backup" for me when I ordered my Gemini, just in case I won't like Android. (Because I was used to iPhone/iOS after .. some WinCE palmtop, after Nokia Communicator, after Psion Series 3a, ... and whenever I had an Android Phone/Tablet in my hand, I never wanted to switch to Android. But as Apple is also more and more annoying ...)

So far I'm fine with Android on my Gemini. And various emulators (Win98 and Amiga OS 3 run quite good on the Gemini).

Thanks for your input......

Curious about Win98 and Amiga OS 3......

What do you use to run them?