Planet Computers, a mobile computers startup based in London, has announced a new innovative 5G smartphone that comes with a physical sliding keyboard which we used to see in olden days Nokia smartphones like the Nokia N97.
This device, dubbed as the Astro Slide, also comes with a dual-boot feature that allows users to boot the phone on either Android 11 OS or Linux OS – a handy feature that we don’t usually see among smartphones. According to the company, the Astro Slide is touted to offer both the ”convenience of a smartphone, as well as laptop keyboard productivity”.
Starting with the front side of the phone, the Astro Slide smartphone builds around a 6.39” AMOLED display (w/ Gorilla Glass 3) that offers a FHD+ screen resolution, 60Hz refresh rate. A 13 megapixels front-facing camera is also available to help with selfie and video calls.
Around the back of the phone, it settles with a single 48 megapixels main camera along with a LED flash to help with low-light photography. Along it’s right edge, there’s also a Power button that doubles up as a fingerprint scanner as well.
Under the hood, the Astro Slide is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 800 chipset which will be aided by 8GB RAM and 128GB built-in storage that can be further expanded via a microSD.
To keep it’s lights on, the phone is device with a decent 4,000mAh battery with 10W wired and wireless charging support. Finally, it also brings along a 3.5mm headphone jack as well as support for NFC connectivity.
In the Japanese market, the Astro Slide is expected to carry a recommended retail price of around 130,000 Yen (US$1,144).