Essential Reveals Project Gem Smartphone With Very Long, Unusual Design 89
Andy Rubin, the controversial mobile industry executive who co-founded Android, left Google amid allegations of sexual misconduct while retaining a huge severance package, and went on to create the Essential Phone, has tweeted photos teasing an upcoming device with an elongated design and very tall UI composed of card-like apps. The Verge reports: It look extremely small in his hands, too. The device has a large button and volume rocker on the right edge and a fingerprint divot around back, below what appears to be a single main camera. And as you can see, these devices have some decidedly flashy finishes that change color when you view them at different angles -- a sea green that shifts to yellow and blue, for example.
An Essential spokesperson confirmed to the The Verge that this is the company's new phone, adding: "We've been working on a new device that's now in early testing with our team outside the lab. We look forward to sharing more in the near future." A couple hours later, Essential tweeted some slightly more official images of the new phone, which it's calling Project Gem. XDA-Developers also spotted some leaked code that mentions the divot on the rear of the device may activate its voice assistant when you tap your finger to it. They also suggest it runs Android and packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor.
An Essential spokesperson confirmed to the The Verge that this is the company's new phone, adding: "We've been working on a new device that's now in early testing with our team outside the lab. We look forward to sharing more in the near future." A couple hours later, Essential tweeted some slightly more official images of the new phone, which it's calling Project Gem. XDA-Developers also spotted some leaked code that mentions the divot on the rear of the device may activate its voice assistant when you tap your finger to it. They also suggest it runs Android and packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor.
Relevance (Score:5, Insightful)
How is his past conduct (or more so allegations of it) relevant to this article?
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How is his past conduct (or more so allegations of it) relevant to this article?
It's a warning that the phone could contain a telescopic dildo that attacks you when you're least expecting it.
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How is his past conduct (or more so allegations of it) relevant to this article?
It's a warning that the phone could contain a telescopic dildo that attacks you when you're least expecting it.
Like the Spanish Inquisition -- nobody expects that.
Re:Relevance (Score:5, Insightful)
It's to help you judge the value of his work based on unsubstantiated rumours about his personal character. Because that's how democracy and freedom work now, don't cha' know?
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Except they aren't "unsubstantiated" or "rumours"
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/1... [cnbc.com]
Great misinformation though, that's how democracy fails.
Re:Relevance (Score:4, Informative)
An accusation is not proof.
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Even the link you sent.... ALLEGED. If they are guilty bury them. But guilty means proven in a court of law.
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It took a bit of plodding through the links within links but at the end of that I was left with a claim that Rubin coerced a co-worker into sucking his dick. Now, leaving aside the weird world where you can coerce someone into doing that without a gun, it's still a claim and not substantiated by any evidence that I could find. So it's just a claim at the moment as far as I can see. Happy to read anything else you can post that moves it further.
Why Google sacked him is a complicated question. It seems likely
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Because humans that have a vajayjay don't have to prove anything. Anyone with an allegation is guilty until proven innocent and anyone with a vajayjay and an allegation gets to be called a survivor even when there is no proof. Obviously I'm being a smartass, but in all seriousness, rape is horrible and NO ONE should get away with it. But it isn't any more or less horrible than murder. And as horrible as murder is, when people make an accusation they have to prove it in a court of law. The same same is true
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It's the SJW crowd that does a disservice to women. Just today on the Drudge headline, Matt Lauer was accused of Rape. Ok, so one of the women was raped, and came back for more sex. Ummmm....ok..... right. And then, we had the Democrats push with slanderous fictitious nasty allegations of rape on Brett Kavanaugh. Almost got him, and coined the term "Kavanaugh-ed". And then who could forget the Duke lacrosse case in which DA Mike Nifong was disbarred for "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation".
So here we are, a degenerate society that fervently stands with the philosophy of "The seriousness of the charge, not the nature of evidence". Well, fuck that society!!!
You make a great argument.
Except for the fact that there was a preponderance of evidence in all three cases you mentioned. And it all three cases the men involved actually did slimy scumbag shit.
I can completely understand why slimy scumbag shitballs would be upset at the possibility of not being able to continue being dirtbags, but why are you so upset about it?
Oh wait.
Re: Relevance (Score:2, Interesting)
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Nah. In that Lauer case, their group had all been drinking when he asked her up to his room.
She said that she didn't think he'd try anything: I'm sorry, but someone asking you up to their room when you're both plowed is pretty obvious. I don't think I've ever been so drunk that I couldn't understand that.
Following their "encounter", she seemed more angry that he'd done anal than anything else.
Then, when back in New York, she continued the relationship , referring to it as "transactional".
Lauer might be scum
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No one said rape. They said sexual misconduct.
Do you think sexual misconduct in the work place is fun? If no one is complaining then it isn't misconduct. If someone is complaining then only one person is having fun.
An employee male or female is taking their career seriously and someone decides to take things too far sexually. We are not talking about a joke or being asked out on a date, people don't get fired or asked to resign for this. It's ALWAYS repeated unwelcome advances.
So the employee gets the shame
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How about his purely business conduct? Look up what his "miraculous VC touch" did to CastAR https://news.ycombinator.com/i... [ycombinator.com]
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How about his purely business conduct? Look up what his "miraculous VC touch" did to CastAR https://news.ycombinator.com/i... [ycombinator.com]
How about we only judge teachers that molest their students based on the teaching ability?
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How about his purely business conduct? Look up what his "miraculous VC touch" did to CastAR https://news.ycombinator.com/i... [ycombinator.com]
How about we only judge teachers that molest their students based on the teaching ability?
/blush
Should have read the linked article. I deserved the down mod.
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Not sure but on a positive note, that phone would be a lot easier to sneak in jail through the 'traditional' channel. Maybe he's just planning ahead?
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I assumed it was there to get someone a 5-point comment for complaining about it. It's called "engagement" and it worked. Though more like "enragement", am I right? Up Top *left hanging*.
Well sir, advertising is a funny thing.
If people stop paying attention to it
pretty soon, it goes away.
- Van Burnt & Churchill
Horrible design (Score:4, Insightful)
That is a horrible design for a modern smartphone considering what they are generally used for: media consumption and internet browsing. In landscape mode a video would be tiny and trying to view a website in portrait mode would involve just as much horizontal scrolling as vertical. Trying to sit with that thing in your pocket would be very uncomfortable as well compared to a normal smartphone.
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Exactly, sounds like they tried something different just for the sake of being different. It's like doing a 5 wheels car and trying to find a use for it.
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trying to find a use for it^^^^trying to find a sucker to buy it off their hands
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And what if the screen breaks on this "new, EXCITING" phone? Haha! You will have more luck finding a leprechaun under a rock than finding any repair shops that can fix this in your area. And because this "new EXCITING" phone is so unique (read: proprietary), the cost of a DIY repair is not worth it (the parts would cost as much as a new phone, if not more), and you would have to send it off to them, and they can still rook you for as much as they desire.
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It doesn't appeal to me, but as a fan of phones with physical keyboards, sdcard slots, removable batteries and analog headset jacks, I like it when people play around with design to step away from the mainstream. I remember back when all phones were just trying to be small and everyone was like out of their mind over the ridiculousness of the galaxy note "phablets", and I was like finally a phone that fits my hand and pocket. Now that most mainstream flagship phones are bigger that the original note, I'm su
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The problem is that application compatibility is going to suck.
I get that they are trying something new. Most tries are failures however. Samsung was proven right with the original Galaxy Note. People wanted big screens (and Apple was wrong thinking people wanted small screens). But this is the exception, not the norm.
This time I can safely bet that Essential will be proven wrong and this phone will be a failure. We won't see a second iteration of this phone a year later. Just like the 3D display phones in
Re:Horrible design (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention the horror of watching someone's vertical video they recorded on this phone.
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I've seen videos on Youtube that almost look like they were recorded with this phone.
It gets even better when the video is sideways! :O)
The display does not record video (Score:2)
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For what it's worth, I'm not really certain there's anything they could do that would result in the kind of radical success that would allow them to stick around long term. From the hardware perspective they're going to have a hard time competing against companies like Apple or Samsung that design a lot of their chips or components in house and get performance or
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The only "Wow" I would be expressing about this phone is;
"Wow, now what garment do I have that has a pocket that can
hold this awkward phone?"
"Wow - this game looks incredibly shitty and weird on this phone. Maybe if I just change orientation...Damn! It looks even worse!"
"Wow - people are staring at me because they think I am talking into a TV remote control"
Weird, uncomfortable form factors is a sure way to make sure your product fails in the marketplace.
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For reading emails it's fine.
Really?
You would be ok with a form-factor that can only display about 3-4 words on a line, using a font size that anyone over 25 years old could read?
Or, in Landscape mode, could display maybe 3 lines of text?
I submit you are in the extreme minority.
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"For browsing the web? Could go either way - I have fond memories of "browsing the web" at 9600bps on my Nokia Communicators,"
Those phones were released at a time when this tech was new, expensive, and uncommon. They were also aimed at business people, not your average Joe.
I don't think the people who used this phone 'liked it' as much as 'simply put up with it'. That said, back then I still wanted that phone despite the relative awkwardness of the design, but now, not so much.
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I use my phone as an audio player, and for google maps via android auto -- i do very little internet browsing on it, i've got other devices for that. This small form factor is very attractive for someone like me.
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Re: Horrible design (Score:2)
Ok, here's the thing about the web. If you shrink to a narrow view, all the dead space (ads) on the sides disappears. I imagine web browsing on this device will be better than most phones.
I know this because I actually tile my windows and resize the regularly, and because I'm constantly zooming in.
Many people who run at full screen all the time might not be aware of this.
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Re: Horrible design (Score:2)
It happens on the majority of sites I visit. They all end up in the footer. You just stop scrolling at the bottom of the real content.
If you visit click-bait, then sure, it's not gonna help much. If you regularly read legit news and useful content, ads aren't really a thing when the screen is narrow.
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I see an awkward design like this and my mind says "corporate suicide".
This phone is practically DOA.
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Trying to sit with that thing in your pocket would be very uncomfortable as well compared to a normal smartphone.
Look at the picture where he's holding it. This isn't a very long design so much as it's very narrow. For a phone, I like that better than the wide things we've all gotten used to because we want the bigger display.
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That is a horrible design for a modern smartphone ...
But a good one for a TV remote -- app.
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For folks like me who use their phones for nothing more than a phone, it's a fantastic design. Fits an adult face better, fits most people's hands better because it's not so wide it's "awkward" and generally appeals to a different market. Is it a niche market? Perhaps, but I'd happily give up either my iPhone 8 (work) or personal LG phone for one that is more in line with what I use my phone for on a daily basis.
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That is a horrible design for a modern smartphone considering what they are generally used for: media consumption and internet browsing.
No, it is actually the perfect design for consuming media with your less dominant hand -- you can grip the bottom part of the phone like you are holding an old television remote control with one hand. You then use your thumb to stop/advance/fast forward/rewind. As you are doing that, the top part of the phone still remains visible, so you can watch what is on the screen. Meanwhile your other (dominant) hand is free for other tasks.
Is that a new Essential phone in your pocket (Score:4, Funny)
or do we need to call HR?
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Can I change out the battery? (Score:1)
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All the new phones are sealed and very expensive to remove and replace the battery, yet the battery is the one thing I want the ability to change easily.
Especially since this thing is going to be able to fit about a 1200 mAh battery at best. Notice that it didn't trade width for thickness; so, unless they have some radical new battery tech, this is the very definition of EPIC FAIL.
Welcome to the 4 hour smartphone.
Another thing: What are the specs on that Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 SoC? The lower part number makes me think it is somewhat less capable than the SoCs that most Android phones use these days.
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Notice that it didn't trade width for thickness; so, unless they have some radical new battery tech, this is the very definition of EPIC FAIL.
Welcome to the 4 hour smartphone.
Probably not going to be great battery life but it might not be THAT terrible either; being so narrow, the smaller screen will use less battery than a wider, larger screen. The screen is one of the biggest battery hogs.
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But how much are they really saving? The width was exchanged for height, so you still have roughly the same total screen size as a regular smartphone. And if you do shave some pixels off of your screen, are you saving enough battery power to make a difference? I think the back light and driver electronics are the biggest power hogs in an LCD screen.
Rearview mirror display. (Score:2)
The funny thing about their first phone (Score:2)
This new phone looks like a pretty weird form factor unless it unfolds or something.
Lost your phone? (Score:5, Funny)
"And as you can see, these devices have some decidedly flashy finishes that change color when you view them at different angles -- a sea green that shifts to yellow and blue, for example."
Cop: "Your phone was stolen? What color is it?"
You: "Umm, it's green. I mean blue. Or maybe yellow. It depends how you look at it..."
Cop: "Goddammit, what color is your fucking phone?"
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"And as you can see, these devices have some decidedly flashy finishes that change color when you view them at different angles -- a sea green that shifts to yellow and blue, for example."
Cop: "Your phone was stolen? What color is it?"
You: "Umm, it's green. I mean blue. Or maybe yellow. It depends how you look at it..."
Cop: "Goddammit, what color is your fucking phone?"
That made me smile.
Thanks!
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"And as you can see, these devices have some decidedly flashy finishes that change color when you view them at different angles -- a sea green that shifts to yellow and blue, for example."
Cop: "Your phone was stolen? What color is it?"
You: "Umm, it's green. I mean blue. Or maybe yellow. It depends how you look at it..."
Cop: "Goddammit, what color is your fucking phone?"
We had an ugly-ass minivan once. It was grey-green, or grey, or grey-blue, depending on the light and time of day... kind of like the colour of murky polluted seawater
Thankfully never had to report it stolen to the cops, but it was a pain any time I had to fill out information about the car and it had a "colour" field, I never knew what to put.
The good thing about the phone is you can get a case that will stay the same colour.
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I'm a little surprised there isn't a market for protective cases for cars, too...
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You've never seen a car bra?
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We had an ugly-ass minivan once. It was grey-green, or grey, or grey-blue, depending on the light and time of day... kind of like the colour of murky polluted seawater
Thankfully never had to report it stolen to the cops, but it was a pain any time I had to fill out information about the car and it had a "colour" field, I never knew what to put.
Was it a Honda Odyssey from 2005-2010 model years? The color is "slate green metallic".
I have a radical phone idea! (Score:2)
But seriously, when did changing the dimensions of a rectangle start counting as wildly different?
Re: I have a radical phone idea! (Score:2)
When phone manufacturers abandoned the idea that a mobile phone should be designed to use on the go. First they removed keyboards. Then replaceable batteries. Then they turned the whole thing into a two-hand device my pumping up the size, which no one was asking for, but it let them sell movies, so fuck it.
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I think that's the joke
No problem (Score:2)
Well, that phone looks super easy to carry or put in a pocket. NOT.
But no problem- I'll just have my tailor modify all the pockets on all my clothes so I can carry this phone.
Re: No problem (Score:3)
I hate to say this, but as a tall man it's no problem; women's pockets are a disaster though. I wound up buying my daughter fashion pants for EMS techs just so she had one decent pair of pants with pockets.
For guys who don't know - many women's pants will even have the outline of a pocket on the outside but inside they're sewn short at about 1.5" ("so they lay better"). You'll see far more women stowing a phone in their back pocket for this reason. "Well they have a purse anyway" is a common excuse. So
Re: No problem (Score:4, Insightful)
and apparently the fashion industry forward-propagates these memes.
All of it nonsense.
There is women's clothing available with pockets, I only buy my wife stuff with proper pockets because she's shown a clear preference for it.
The problem is, companies are basing their decision on what sells. Women may say they want proper pockets, but then they go ahead and buy something that has fake pockets or no pockets because it "looks better". What that says to the clothing companies is "make more clothes without pockets".
There's no patriarchal conspiracy going on, there's no attempt to squash women's ability to carry things on their bodies... there's just too many women out there going for style over function (or just not caring about function enough to pass on pocketless clothing) to make it worthwhile for the fashion industry to change.
The clothes are being driven by the market.
It's the same with "personal supplies" like deodorant, shampoo, etc... women's products cost so much more than men's and they shouldn't... however... studies have shown that when given the choice of two similar sticks of deodorant (and no former bias or preference) men will most frequently buy the cheaper product and women will most frequently buy the more expensive product believing that if it costs more, it must be better.
So, when selling to women, they actually sell more products if they are not the cheapest brand, so there is no downward pressure on prices.
Products on the market aren't part of any anti-woman conspiracy, they're just responding to the market forces, and the market says no pockets and expensive shampoo is what women want (to the frustration of sensible-minded women everywhere).
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You can see that in suits and coats too: the pockets are sewn shut to to lay better, and you would have to rip the seam to be able to use the pocket for anything.
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Prison pocket.
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Ewwww, I feel sorry for the dude who tries to keester this! =|
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Well, that phone looks super easy to carry or put in a pocket. NOT.
But no problem- I'll just have my tailor modify all the pockets on all my clothes so I can carry this phone.
Looks like it might fit in a pistol mag pouch. Would at least look better than those blackberry belt pouches.
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Exactly! They made it narrower than the tablets that pass for phones these days. But too tall. So it isn't pocketable. its just different for the sake of being different. Won't appeal t to the "media consumption" crowd, nor to those who want to carry something that isn't noticeable until you need it.
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Hmmm, looking at the few pictures I can find, you may be right. Perhaps it's just annoyingly narrow rather than annoyingly long.
Why would I want this? (Score:2)
This thing is very physically awkward and thus makes it hard to carry around. People don't like that It also looks like a TV remote.
Re: Why would I want this? (Score:2)
Why would I want a mobile device that is designed to be used with one hand without looking at it? Because it's a mobile device.
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"Why would I want a mobile device that is designed to be used with one hand without looking at it? Because it's a mobile device."
Except now you have to slide the phone up and down in your hand to access the whole screen.
This isn't really a problem with a TV remote because you are sitting on your couch and those devices are typically simple and fairly rugged. The raised rubber push buttons that don't change position makes things easy.
Now having to do this with a much more delicate pho
Re: Why would I want this? (Score:2)
Well designed apps (few and far between for sure), put all important interfaces at the bottom and tend to support swipe gestures with large hit targets outside of this zone. I rarely need to "go to the top" in most apps.
The one notable exception in my day to day is Chrome's "new tab" interface. Opera, for example, puts this at the bottom where it should be.
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They could make it foldable, too, so the clamshell phones can make a comeback.
Awesome. (Score:2)
I've fixed it (Score:2)
Useless (Score:2)
The display is too narrow. You can't do anything useful with it. This will be too niche for anyone to care either.
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