4G Gemini as main device ?

[sbsshadow]

Morning all

Does anyone here use their 4G Gemini as their main device ? if so what issues have you found with it ?

And if not, why have you chosen not to ?

Thank you

Stephen

[vader]

Does anyone here use their 4G Gemini as their main device ? if so what issues have you found with it ?

Yep. The one and only device. I now use sailfish, but started off with android. Apart from the usual android complaints, I had to turn off VoLTE as my carrier didn't seem to support it fully. The clarity of the microphone can't compete with other top notch, noise cancelling phones, but is quite usable. It is quite big, but you probably know that.

Under sailfish, the gemini is a pleasure to use, however the price for that is limited apps. If you are an app fiend, then wait for the android app compatible version 3.0 sailfish. If you want SMS, email, web, etc and the occaisional app then sailfish is wonderful. The main problems I have at the moment is that autoswitching 4g to 3g doesn't work, so you need to set 3G data connection if you want reliable phone connection. 3.5G is still pretty quick, and you can always manually change it. As a phone it works as well as I need, as a computer it works remarkably well. When sailfish 3.0 comes out, it will be perfect!

[Jeffers]

Does anyone here use their 4G Gemini as their main device ? if so what issues have you found with it ?

My Gemini works better than I had anticipated as my single device. I'm deferring a switch to Sailfish until the V3 release, because I still need to use a few Android apps. It's been brilliant at replacing my laptop in work situations where tasks are simple like data entry or document editing.

I only have a few issues, and none are dealbreakers:

- the addon camera module is shockingly bad. I find the image quality to be so embarassing I don't want to look at the photos, let alone share them with anyone. But hey, the module was an addon, and it's clear that the focus was squarely on getting the keyboard done well, at the expense of many other things.

- on the move, the form-factor adds a level of inconvenience. I use a smartwatch so I can quickly get at incoming messages, but I find myself deferring replying for when I've arrived at destinations, mainly because I don't like thumb-typing. But that's probably just me.

- when you need to supply a QR code to be scanned, the form factor can cause a bit of clumsiness because the keyboard can get in the way of lining the screen up with the scanner. I've not had any fails with this though.

[Ifanafi]

Received my 4G WiFi Gemini June 5th.

After many weeks trying unsuccessful to sort out the Verizon-related incompatibility issues, Gemini became my "main device" as of July 26th when I dumped Verizon for MetroPCS/T-Mobile-Sprint. Their loss is my gain and $$$ savings monthly.

Since then my Gemini works very well as (intended) I expected / hoped for and now enjoy using 12 hours daily.

In short, no complaints. no issues. Just sheer delight using my Gemini (and donating my mint condition Samsung phone and accessories to a local women's center).

Ifanafi

P.S. When will Planet update Android security is my singular "concern". That said, Planet's timely replies to my emailed "when?" questions (asked bi-weekly) is 'ASAP because that is atop their working-on-it list'.

Because of Symantec Norton's mobile security suite of apps, I am comfortable waiting for Planet to update Android security presently. Thereafter I look forward to the customized-for-Gemini Sailfish 3 release by year's end and gleefully dumping all-things-Google and giving Google my middle-finger, sod off goodbye.

P.P.S. One wish for 2019 is that Planet announces plans for Gemini 2.0 which I will back gladly and hope to have in-hand by the end of 2019.

[mifritscher]

I use it as my main phone - and also as main laptop for the "little" things

[Primitive Person]

Morning all

Does anyone here use their 4G Gemini as their main device ? if so what issues have you found with it ?

And if not, why have you chosen not to ?

Thank you

Stephen

Yes. I've been using it as my main device since May. I changed over from my previous Galaxy Note 3 the day I got the Gemini. I originally intended to change over slowly, but I've been pleased enough with it to make the change immediately.

[Murple2]

Morning all

Does anyone here use their 4G Gemini as their main device ? if so what issues have you found with it ?

And if not, why have you chosen not to ?

Thank you

Stephen

I use it as my main device. No real issues in this regard, although sometimes I wish I had the camera module for taking convenient snaps.

[andrewl]

Definitely not my main device, as a computing device it is clearly compromised and as a phone device it is also compromised.

So I retained my phone and the Gemini does not take or make any voice calls or SMS. It's 4G function is for data only.

Also, when I have access to a full size screen and keyboard I use them. They are just more comfortable and productive. I have a large screen computer at home which is mainly for Scrivener for authoring and MS Word for publishing.

The Gemini, which has run only Sailfish since it became available, goes with me on frequent travels. In those moments when I feel like writing and it is the only tool available then there is nothing else like it in the world.

The best improvement to the Gemini for me would be a display that is better readable in sunlight.

[depscribe]

This week, for the first time in more than a decade, the Blackberry is off and its SIM card removed. The card is in my Gemini. That was made possible by my flashing the Gemini with Sailfish OS, the configuration of which was made possible by the sage advice of Vader and Meganerd.

I made the switch when it became clear that despite a reflash the Blackberry was not going to be able to receive ProtonMail. Worse, the reflash to the latest (and, alas, last) version of BB10 also took away WiFi calling, which I find useful in that out here in the woods there is no cellular coverage. I don't have WiFi cellular with Gemini/Sailfish 2.14.14, either, but I do have ProtonMail and ProtonVPN, neither of which worked with the Blackberry.

As I understand it, WiFi calling is added to the next Sailfish OS release -- but the ability to receive ProtonMail is gone. Having poked around the sailfish community, I am confident that this will be fixed before long, I hope through a dedicated application. I've opted not to try an upgrade yet, because I have ProtonMail, ProtonVPN, and of course telephony out in the world, and I have a landline at home.

In a smartphone, I need telephone, email, and for the children, texting. The ability to browse or follow a link is good, but I've never found it to be of especially great utility. And anything else is gravy.

So yes, as of this week I'm using Gemini as my sole portable phone. And I'm -- so far -- pleased with it, and expect to be more so as time goes on and things get more sorted.

[Tom D]

I use it as my main computing device, but unfortunately not as my phone because I use Google Fi, which doesn't work well with non-google devices. I lose the automatic switching between T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular. Luckily, I hate phone calls and Google Fi lets you use a data-only SIMs in other devices, so I have a data sim in the Gemini. With Google Hangouts and Hangouts Dialer, I can make phone calls and I receive messages for incoming calls. I have even left my main phone home sometimes, so I can use the Gemini only, but I usually bring the Fi phone with also. I tried using Linux but it was not ready for prime time, especially with 4G. For now, I use Termux for all my Linuxising. The main annoyance I have is the goofy Words With Friends app, which is the only app that refuses to work in Landscape. I have to manually rotate the screen to make moves. I'm considering dropping WWF for that reason. Get real WWF developers!

A second minor annoyance is that many apps don't handle the real-estate very well. For instance, Feedspot and Reddit want to present me pictures that are taller than the Gemini screen so it makes scrolling through articles a little clunky. I have the font sizes set to small and the developer option set to shrink things, but there still is not enough vertical real estate for scrolling through pages with images, or "card-like" presentation. I'm thinking the next Gemini should have a different aspect ratio that works better for Android - perhaps more in line with the 2nd generation GPD device, a 7-inch screen.

[andrewl]

I use it as my main computing device, but unfortunately not as my phone because I use Google Fi, which doesn't work well with non-google devices. I lose the automatic switching between T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular. Luckily, I hate phone calls and Google Fi lets you use a data-only SIMs in other devices, so I have a data sim in the Gemini. With Google Hangouts and Hangouts Dialer, I can make phone calls and I receive messages for incoming calls. I have even left my main phone home sometimes, so I can use the Gemini only, but I usually bring the Fi phone with also

I had to do a search on Google Fi as I had never heard of it. Interesting, I don't think it's available here but even if it was it seems very expensive compared to a normal data plan.

[KF6GPE]

I think you still need to live in the US to actually sign up.

The pricing's not as competitive as it used to be, unless one of two things is true --- either you travel internationally from the US regularly, or your usage really varies month to month. It's nice that you only pay for what you use, and on my international trips it's great that I can use data without worrying about roaming fees. A two-week trip to New Zealand with AT&T cost me nearly $500 for a half-gig of data in roaming fees, including overage. A similar two-week trip to Central America didn't do anything to my bill, and I used my usual 5GB.

I had to do a search on Google Fi as I had never heard of it. Interesting, I don't think it's available here but even if it was it seems very expensive compared to a normal data plan.

[Tom D]

The pricing's not as competitive as it used to be, unless one of two things is true --- either you travel internationally from the US regularly, or your usage really varies month to month.

For me, I travel to the Philippines once a year, so I like not having to get a local SIM each time. I agree it's not the cheapest, so it's a tradeoff. The main reason I switched back was the introduction of the cheaper Moto G6 to the plan. Previously you also had to buy a $600 phone to join. Secondly, they added a family plan, so I was able to add my wife for $15. She uses almost no data, so it is cheap for her. I tend to use 3-5GB of data, but lately I've been trying to cut it back to 2-3GB to make it a better deal.

EDIT: p.s., the other big draw is the free Data SIMs. You can have up to 10 and they just use your shared Data, so I like being able to use multiple devices. That's a huge plus for me.

[KF6GPE]

EDIT: p.s., the other big draw is the free Data SIMs. You can have up to 10 and they just use your shared Data, so I like being able to use multiple devices. That's a huge plus for me.

I forgot to mention that part. Most other US carriers charge between $10 and $20 for each additional device --- and for me, that added up very, very quickly. With Fi, I've just got a few and can pop them in and out of devices I'm using. My Gemini started online that way, and I only later added a voice plan, because with the Fi dialer you can make voice calls over data anyway.

[andrewl]

The cost of equipping my Gemini with data is a shade under $6.50 per month. That allows roaming within the European Union for no extra cost. For travel to the USA I took a SIM from Hutchison that covered me for all data.
I guess as for Fi you need to pay $20 before you use any data is the reason the google haven’t attempt to compete with it here. Each additional user is $15 too, so I can’t see any circumstances where it would save me money. But I can see the attraction against networks likeVerixon.