When the Minimal Telephone was first introduced this time final 12 months, you might need been forgiven for considering it was vaporware. However one 12 months — and plenty of delays — later, the world’s first Android cellphone with each an E Ink show and a bodily QWERTY keyboard has begun transport to backers.
In broad strokes, the Minimal Telephone appears to be like a bit like a BlackBerry, with a large physique and a squat display screen perched above its streamlined QWERTY keyboard. We’ve seen telephones like this earlier than. What makes it stand out is the display screen itself, which is a monochrome E Ink panel at a whopping 600 x 800 decision.
Regardless of utilizing E Ink tech, the Minimal Telephone runs Android 14, so the one apps you’re giving up are those who actually can’t run on the sluggish show and fundamental {hardware} — you received’t be popping many headshots in CoD: Cell, I concern. Entry to all of your Android apps may put the mislead Minimal Firm’s promise of a “distraction-free” cellphone, however the firm means that the E Ink panel nonetheless “encourages you to make use of them extra mindfully.” On the smartphone-sized Boox Palma e-reader we discovered most Android apps “simply terrible to make use of,” which proved a neat approach of eradicating their temptation to distract, so the corporate is likely to be proper in any case.
Whereas the cellphone is fundamental in just a few different methods — its 16 megapixel digital camera appears to be like unlikely to impress, and it’s restricted to 4G LTE connections — it packs just a few sudden perks too. NFC funds, a fingerprint sensor, and Qi wi-fi charging are all supported, and the inclusion of dual-SIM assist, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and expandable storage ticks off many of the old-school smartphone nerd wishlist.
Initially set to ship to Indiegogo backers in August 2024, the Minimal Telephone slipped to September, then December, and at last began heading out final week. The corporate says it’s transport telephones within the order they had been bought, working “from now till March.” You can too order the cellphone now for supply in March, beginning at $399, a $100 low cost on the official retail worth.
Its chief competitors comes from TCL, whose Nxtpaper telephones ship a daily Android cellphone expertise with the choice to flip a swap and allow an E Ink-like monochrome mode. There’s no bodily keyboard although, so until Clicks keyboard instances broaden to suit extra telephones, the Minimal Telephone is the one sport on the town for individuals who demand QWERTY and E Ink in the identical handset.
