Pro 2 - rumor and speculation thread

[EskeRahn 5,427]

I think you’re all missing the “which is set to bring back more nostalgic features” part of the statement. So I’m going with a retractable aerial, a resistive touchscreen with stylus and storage expansion via compact flash card.

 

Ha ha. Yeah, but why touch? Full retro, Symbian and 2G only - while it is still available... And full size SIM like the early Motorola StarTac. Funny that most carriers still send out their SIMs as FULL BTW ;).

 

But on a more serious note, to me it sound like clamshells, fully protecting the one screen, and not at exorbitant prices as the newer Samsung W

[EskeRahn 5,427]

...Maybe they could make a clamshell that can bend over Yoga-style, so it can be used either as clamshell, closed protected, or opened all the way round as a slab.

[PC_ 61]

Or something like this?

[attachment file=XDA Exec_02.png]

 

 

[EskeRahn 5,427]

Or something like this?

 

<span class="image-overlay overlay-type-image" style="left: -5px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden; display: block; height: 211px; width: 404px;"><span class="image-overlay-inside"></span></span>

 

or

https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_6822-996.php

[EskeRahn 5,427]

Or this oddity

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p910-pictures-846.php

[Hook 2,945]

I would seriously consider a clamshell the same size as the Pro1, although it might have to be a small fraction thicker to not have screen mash into keyboard. I don't know, not an engineer. I love clamshells, but the Gemini is just too big for the phone aspects.

 

Love all these old phone designs. Man, those Nokia designers of old were amazing.

[SirBaconIII 66]

Or this oddity

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p910-pictures-846.php

 

I'll scrap my old list, because this just gave me the one thing I truly want for the Pro2...

 

...a Memory Stick Duo slot.

[Doktor Oswaldo 904]

Or this oddity

 

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p910-pictures-846.php

 

Why does this have a qwerty keyboard which you have to flip out AND HAS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THE NUMBER KEYBOARD?

That drives me crazy.

[Krzysieq 55]

I think it suffices to say that Nokia, Motorola (think Razr v3) and Sony Ericsson designers of old used do spoil us for choice of form factors and features on the phones they offered. These days all You choose is the brand name/logo somewhere above, below or behind the screen as well as how badly damaged a version of Android system you want. To me that's just sad but I think that's the reality of the business. Although maybe that's just laziness and lack of courage on the part of manufacturers these days not to have anything more interesting on offer? You'd think physical keyboards are over, but how come a jio phone - the first feature phone with WhatsApp and some barebone google offerings - sold 25 million units in India alone despite not even having a physical qwerty keyboard. Yes, it's down to price mostly, but You have really cheap Android handsets as well, and jio phone 2 sells really well too despite being on par price-wise with cheapest all-screen slabs.

 

I was going to post a picture of the clamshell nokia that had numpad when folded, but opened up to full qwerty with screen in the middle, but someone already beat me to it :) That was creative design, something clearly missing in phones today. That's why I'm fully behind Pro1, it's a breath of fresh air that to me is going to offer something far more important than a gazzilion megapixels in 7 camera sensors and a fart-illion gigahertz cpu clock. But maybe that's just me and I belong in the past...

[EskeRahn 5,427]

EskeRahn wrote:

Or this oddity

 

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p910-pictures-846.php

Why does this have a qwerty keyboard which you have to flip out AND HAS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THE NUMBER KEYBOARD?

 

That drives me crazy.

 

The idea was a flap with qwerty on one side and num keyboard on the other. AND the flap could be removed completely.

[Doktor Oswaldo 904]

doktor.oswaldo wrote:

EskeRahn wrote:

Or this oddity

 

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p910-pictures-846.php

 

Why does this have a qwerty keyboard which you have to flip out AND HAS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THE NUMBER KEYBOARD?

 

That drives me crazy.

The idea was a flap with qwerty on one side and num keyboard on the other. AND the flap could be removed completely.

 

Could you also turn the flap? So that there is a QWERTY on the front site?

I would actually like that for a portrait keyboard phone. You could easily use it like a blackberry but flip the keyboard away to consume media. This is an interesting concept. Still don't see any gain in the number-keyboard, so would prefer QWERTY on both sides or something like Media keys on the back (maybe even joysticks).

But after all I still prefer a Landscape Slider!

[EskeRahn 5,427]

Could you also turn the flap? So that there is a QWERTY on the front site?

 

Nice idea, but I do not think so.

[netman 1,424]

But maybe that’s just me and I belong in the past…

 

Nope, you're not at all alone and we all gather here in preparation of the glorious future. There's even a few people here for who Pro1 will be there first hardware keyboard phone and that makes me quite happy :).

[Hook 2,945]

Funny, but how appropriate, that a thread intended to speculate about a future phone turns into a journey into the past. As the song lyric goes, "Don't it always seem to go

that you don't know what you've got til its gone." Except we knew what we had. Here's hoping we can get more of it back, but also open the door to exciting new ideas. Most importantly, user centered design.

 

Although my personal reason for wishing F(x) Tec success is to get myself a keyboard slider with modern specs, my greater overall reason for wanting F(x) Tec to succeed is to show the industry there are rewards for the above.

[Siani_8 105]

I've been paying attention to the comments of potential customers on Pro 1 videos as well as the limited hands on reviews and there seems to be a few things that consistently come up that should be addressed when/if there is a Pro 2.

 

Seems that quite a few people would have been more interested if the specs truly were flagship including chip.

 

The battery is not acceptable for that size screen.

 

The screen is too big and that means the keyboard is too wide and just about every reviewer who has had hands on with the device seems to have trouble stretching to reach the keys in the center of the keyboard.

 

Just food for thought. Still excited to get mine.

[ddark-il 100]

The screen is too big and that means the keyboard is too wide and just about every reviewer who has had hands on with the device seems to have trouble stretching to reach the keys in the center of the keyboard.

 

There’s no trouble with reaching the keys in the center, it’s a little bit uncomfortable. On other side my last qwertys are N900 and Passport, both are much narrower.

 

My guess that after I’ll get used to keyboard width, I may reconsider this part of my wishlist.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

There’s no trouble with reaching the keys in the center, it’s a little bit uncomfortable. On other side my last qwertys are N900 and Passport, both are much narrower.

 

My guess that after I’ll get used to keyboard width, I may reconsider this part of my wishlist.

 

That you and I have no problems reaching in, does not mean that no one will.

Different people, different physiognomy. e.g. I know a young woman a head lower than me, that can easily reach the entire screen of an even larger phablet than mine with her thumb, while keeping a grip. There is a HUGE variation in how we are 'build'.

[Krzysieq 55]

There is a HUGE variation in how we are ‘build’.

And yet there's surprisingly little variation in how phones are built these days. One thing I'm really curious about the Pro1 is whether the keyboard will allow typing with all fingers, not just thumbs (think of a very small traditional keyboard). Judging by the phone's size alone I think it should be possible for people with relatively small or medium sized fingers, but it really depends on the tactile feedback of the keyboard.

 

I think for thumb(s) only typing the form factor of a nokia e72 or old blackberry is better, albeit at the price of a much much smaller screen.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

And yet there’s surprisingly little variation in how phones are built these days. One thing I’m really curious about the Pro1 is whether the keyboard will allow typing with all fingers, not just thumbs (think of a very small traditional keyboard). Judging by the phone’s size alone I think it should be possible for people with relatively small or medium sized fingers, but it really depends on the tactile feedback of the keyboard.

 

I got a friend of mine that got fine fingers, that can do full typing on an early unit, yes. I have a strong suspicion that what I bought as a spare phone will be ripped off my hands, so I will have to buy another... Though she was not at all pleased by the shift, so I expect that she will be thrilled when I show her the unshifted qwertZ.

 

She is a heavy user, using a lot of storage, and travelling between countries, so the hybrid slot was not to her liking either. But as this does not require the usual needle to open, nails will do, I hope she can accept swapping the SIM...

[Kzin 31]

I really would like to see the Keyboard from a Psion 5MX on a Phone.

Also, my Droid 4 can detect when you put it in the car dock, & goes in to car mode.

A specific(not generic) Car dock. etc.

 

 

 

[okayphoneme 28]

wishlist:

 

1. using keyboard like BB KeyONE/TWO, instead of a slider.

 

2. remove the useless front camera, LITERALLY, no quirks like filping or poping.

 

3. removable battery, at least 4000mAh.

 

4. diagonal length should no more than 5′, not the screen, but the entire phone.

 

5. support for two SIMs and microSD card simultaneously rather than a hybrid slot.

 

actually what Fxtec attracts me most is the open policy like bootloader unlocked, officially supported LineageOS.

 

otherwise I would definitely choose BB, since obviously it is already matches multiple items from my wishlist.

 

100% this.

 

I'd kill for a device with with a BB keyboard, good specs and running Sailfish. I'm sure BlackBerry would gladly license their keyboard tech.

[antoine.sauve01 0]

Wish list for the next phone

 

1) Removable battery with bigger capacity and external charging dock

2) Touch Interface on the physical keyboard (for scrolling web page and ect...) like the Blackberry Priv has.

3) Latest specs

4) Wide angle camera

5) Pen / stylus would be nice

 

[VaZso 1,997]

5) Pen / stylus would be nice

 

I agree, a Pen / stylus would be a very nice addition - but only, I mean only if it will not affect the ability of using two SIMs AND microSD cards simultaneously.

For the above functionality, I would also eliminate one of the speakers if necessary - the lack of this possibility really hurts me.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

antoine.sauve01 wrote:

5) Pen / stylus would be nice

I agree, a Pen / stylus would be a very nice addition – but only, I mean only if it will not affect the ability of using two SIMs AND microSD cards simultaneously.

 

For the above functionality, I would also eliminate one of the speakers if necessary – the lack of this possibility really hurts me.

 

A fairly simple way to do this would be to have two versions of a case, one with a slot for a pen.

[Krzysieq 55]

It looks like I'm not the only one craving a BB-like phone done right :) Hope that's where FXtec will go next, someone above suggested licensing the keyboard tech from blackberry while doing everything else FXtec style. To me that would be a winning combination and it's easy enough to imagine, much the same way as is done today with screen+battery size variations on otherwise identical phones, how FXtec could offer such a device in a variety of sizes appealing to a much bigger audience. I'd personally like something in the size of an old Nokia e72 or not a lot bigger, but a very old nokia trick could allow to please a large number of potential clients. Remember how 6110, 6210, 6310 and 7110 nokias handled battery replacement? The battery was part of the case at the same time as it was providing the phone with juice. Because of that it was really easy for Nokia to offer bigger batteries - of course the price for that was a slightly bulkier phone, but hey - who's to say there aren't people willing to trade a little phone thickness for a little battery life. I for one would buy the biggest battery on offer for an e72 or similar sized handset.