Planet Computers' Astro Slide features a physical keyboard, 5G, Android, and Linux

Something to look forward to: Are you tired of modern flagship smartphones that follow a similar design? Nostalgic for the days of BlackBerry PDAs? Then Planet Computers’ Astro Slide could be for you. The device is a 5G phone that runs Android 10, but it also features a sliding physical keyboard and will support Linux in the future.

According to its Indiegogo campaign page , the Astro Slide is the first 5G phone with a keyboard, and the fastest 5G device announced to date. It uses the company’s RockUp slider hinge to turn the 6.5-inch smartphone into a PDA. The screen flips up so the Astro Slide can be used as a tiny laptop.

This is the third product from Planet Computers, following the Gemini PDA and Cosmo Communicator , both of which also come with physical keyboards. But unlike the Astro Slide, the previous devices were clamshells.

The Astro Slide features a MediaTek Dimensity 1000 Octa-core SoC, which has built-in 5G offering “twice the performance of other 5G chipsets with significantly reduced power consumption.” There’s also a 2340 x 1080 (395 ppi) display, 6GB of RAM, a 48MP rear camera with a 5MP front snapper, 128GB of storage that’s expandable through the MicroSD slot, an eSIM slot, and two nano SIM slots. It even comes with a 3.5mm audio jack—a rarity on modern phones. A multi-boot option for supporting Linux will arrive later.

Like its previous devices, the Astro Slide is being crowdfunded. At the time of writing, it’s almost reached $179,000—89 percent of $200,242 target—with 40 days left, so it appears funding won’t be a problem. There are still early bird specials available for $546, while the full retail price will be “anything between $799 and $999.” The devices are expected to be shown off at CES next year, with delivery scheduled for March 2021.

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