The upcoming Astro Slide 5G from Planet Computers is a smartphone with a 6.5 inch touchscreen display and a slide-out keyboard that lets you use it like a little laptop. First announced last year, the phone has been available for pre-order through crowdfunding and we learned last week that it’s now expected to ship in June.
We also learned that it’ll also have a less powerful processor than anticipated, but the folks at Planet Computer reached out this morning to let me know that the phone will at least have a 4,000 mAh battery rather than the downgraded 3,500 mAh battery. The company also provided Liliputing with some of the first images showing the phone running a pre-release version of Ubuntu Touch for the Astro Slide 5G.
The phone will most likely ship with Android, but Planet Computers hopes to work with developers at UBPorts to offer a full version of Ubuntu Touch for download later this year.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Update: Planet Computers Astro Slide 5G smartphone coming in June [Liliputing]
The Astro Slide 5G smartphone with a physical keyboard and multi-boot support will ship with a 4,000 mAh battery (up from 3,500 mAh). Also we now have some new pictures showing the phone running Ubuntu Touch software. - Qualcomm’s answer to Apple M1? New high-end ARM chip in progress [WinFuture]
Leak/rumor: Qualcomm’s next chip for premium Windows devices will be the SC8280 processor with support for up to 8GB of LPDDR5 or 32GB of LPDDR4X RAM and a Snapdragon X55 5G modem. This could be Qualcomm’s answer to Apple’s M1 chip. - Huawei MateBook X Pro, 13 and 14 2021 launched with 11th gen intel processors and AppGallery [Huawei Central]
Huawei launches new MateBook X Pro, MateBook 13, and MateBook 14 laptops with Intel Tiger Lake-U processors and optional support for NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics in some models. - E INK has developed ACEP Gallery 4100 Color E-Paper [GoodEReader]
2nd-gen E Ink ACEP color ePaper is said to be coming in 2022. With support for more than 40,000 colors and a thinner design than E Ink’s existing color tech, it could be used in future eReaders, but may drive prices even higher. - Shuttle slim DA320 mini PC with AMD Ryzen [Shuttle]
The Shuttle XPC Slim DA320 is a mini desktop PC with support for up to a 65-watt AMD Ryzen desktop 2000 or 3000 series processor. The computer measures 7.44″ x 6.5″ x 1.7″ and supports up to 32GB of RAM and an M.2 2280 SSD and/or 2.5″ HDD or SSD. - Trump admin slams China’s Huawei, halting shipments from Intel, others [Reuters]
Trump administration is revoking license for some US companies, including Intel, to export parts and technology to Chinese electronics company Huawei. With the Biden administration set to begin Wednesday, it’s unclear what will happen next or what, if any, impact the move will have on Huawei’s new Intel-powered laptops (see above). - Apple Considers Foldable iPhone; Minor Changes Planned for 2021 Models [Bloomberg]
Report: Apple is starting work on a foldable iPhone, but may be years away from releasing one, if it ever does. One new feature is coming to 2021 phones though: an in-screen fingerprint reader. - PinePhone Mobian Community Edition up for pre-order [Pine64]
As promised just a few days ago, the PinePhone Mobian Community Edition is now available for pre-order for $150 and up. The phone ships with Mobian, a Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution designed for mobile devices. - Pine64 finalizes the layout for the upcoming PinePhone keyboard accessory [@thepine644]
Like most modern smartphones (with the exception of the the Astro Slide 5G and F(x)Tec Pro 1) the PinePhone is a touchscreen devices with a capacitive touch display that responds to finger input. But physical keyboard fans will soon have a chance to order an inexpensive optional add-on that turns the phone into a sort of mini Linux laptop. This is what the keyboard layout will look like — but users will also be able to modify it on their own devices. #openhardware
We worked with the community on the #PinePhone‘s keyboard layout over the weekend. After some push and pull, and a total of 6 complete layout revisions, we arrived at a compromise that most ought to be happy with.
Thank you to all those who participated. pic.twitter.com/SkTRZ8YBdM— PINE64 (@thepine64) January 18, 2021
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you um. meant astro SLIDE, not…
I keep making that mistake. Mea culpa, but seriously, who chooses a name for their product that’s so close to another product that you probably (maybe?) don’t want to associate with?
it was genuinely good for a needed laugh, so no complaints. “man, this new phone is slick!”
Damn. Even after it was corrected, I read it the wrong way 😅.