Saturday 24 March 2018

Planet Gemini PDA Review: A tiny computer with big ideas

Normally when I review a product, the question I'm trying to answer is whether it's worth the asking price. But the Planet Gemini PDA was crowdfunded, willed into existence by almost 6,000 people pooling over $2 million on Indiegogo so that Planet Computers could build a modern version of the classic Psion PDA.

Not ringing a bell? That's okay; the Psion only achieved wide popularity in Europe, and that was a long time ago. (In fact the only time I ever saw one was on film; it's the remote detonator the bad guys were brandishing in 1996's Executive Decision.) Still, the Psion captured many hearts by virtue of its legendary QWERTY keyboard – a keyboard faithfully reproduced by the folks at Planet and mated with an Android smartphone/tablet to become the Planet Gemini PDA.

Is it a smartphone? A tiny computer? A revived personal organizer? Bits of all three, really ... and I'd be doubtful for its prospects out in the "real world" but for the little detail of its fully-funded status. So now that Planet Gemini devices are rolling off the assembly line and into eager buyers' hands, let's take a look at how it performs out in the real world! Join me for the Planet Gemini review above, then stay tuned for Android Central's own Jerry Hildenbrand's thoughts on one of 2018's most interesting gadgets!