Unihertz Titan Pocket evaluation: Rugged, pocketable Android telephone with QWERTY keyboard

Three years in the past I attempted out the huge Unihertz Titan smartphone with a really giant bodily QWERTY keyboard. I beloved the BlackBerry Passport, however the Titan was simply too giant for me to hold day by day and use it to get work accomplished frequently.

For the previous couple of weeks, I’ve been carrying an early prototype of the Unihertz Titan Pocket, a considerably smaller model of the Titan that also has a bodily QWERTY keyboard and rugged design. It is accessible on Kickstarter for one more couple of weeks for $221 or $399 for 2 of them, with plans to ship the telephone in September 2021.

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The Titan Pocket is the sixth telephone launched on Kickstarter by Unihertz and I’ve had the chance to check out the final 5. The telephones are affordably priced, even outdoors of the Kickstarter particular gives, and goal area of interest segments of the smartphone market. Every one has far exceeded the modest Kickstarter targets and with the Titan Pocket we see there may be already greater than 3,000 backers with pledges nearly reaching $700,000 (on the time of publishing this text).

Specs

• Processor: MediaTek Helio P70
• Show: 3.1-inches 716×720 pixels decision TFT LCD, Gorilla Glass
• Working system: Android 11
• RAM: 6GB
• Storage: 128GB inside storage with microSD help
• Cameras: 16-megapixel rear digicam and 8-megapixel front-facing digicam
• Wi-fi know-how: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS/BEIDOU/GLONASS, FM radio, infrared
• Sensors: Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient mild, barometer, and compass
• Battery: 4,000mAh non-removable
• Dimensions: 132.5 x 73.2 x 16.8mm and 216 grams

{Hardware}

The Unihertz Titan Pocket jogs my memory of a thick BlackBerry Daring with its small bodily QWERTY keyboard and sq. show. The QWERTY keyboard is clearly a spotlight of this new telephone and it has just a few good options, but additionally just a few annoyances. There are 4 rows current on the keyboard with the highest row for shift, image, and different Android management keys.

The central fingerprint sensor is nice, there may be good tactile really feel to the keyboard, you may swipe up and down on the keyboard to scroll by lengthy pages of textual content and knowledge, and you may create customized shortcuts throughout all of the keys for apps and different features. I am not a fan of the far higher left shift key or the tiny house bar, however total the keyboard is kind of succesful.

Beginning on the entrance, now we have the three.1-inch LCD display screen, which is kind of small in at present’s world of massive telephones. My growing old eyes battle to see among the fonts on the show and it is simply too small for this 52-year outdated. The colours look nice on the show and it is vivid sufficient for any lighting situation. The sq. format gives a restricted quantity of information, comparable to 3.5 emails in Gmail on one display screen.

The headset speaker and front-facing 8MP digicam are above the show. An ordinary 3.5mm headset jack is discovered on the highest subsequent to an IR port. There may be software program included on the telephone so you may manipulate distant controls for numerous digital merchandise. The USB-C port is on the underside of the telephone.

The amount buttons are is positioned on the higher left aspect with the microSD/SIM card tray beneath these two buttons. An influence button and customizable pink key are situated on the higher proper aspect. There’s a utility to customized a press and a press and maintain of this button.

The mono speaker fires out of the decrease again, adjoining to the aluminum again panel. The 16-megapixel digicam is discovered centered on the high of the again with a flash to the fitting of the digicam.

The cameras carried out nice with timelapse, video, picture, and guide modes accessible. There isn’t any portrait mode help and the images do not have superior artistic parts. The telephone shouldn’t be designed for gorgeous images, however when you’re out and about it can make it easier to seize your environment.

Additionally: Unihertz Titan first impressions: Big, rugged, long-lasting, QWERTY Android phone

Software program

The Unihertz Titan Pocket launches with Android 11 out of the field and the prototype I examined has an April 5, 2021, Android safety replace put in. Purchase the telephone with the software program it launches with since I have never seen in depth updates supplied by Unihertz and it is best to not rely on updates which can be unlikely to return at a later date.

The telephone runs a reasonably inventory model of Android. The Google Uncover web page is offered whenever you swipe all the way in which from left to proper to the primary panel, very similar to a Pixel telephone.

Along with the Google fundamentals comparable to calculator, calendar, digicam, Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Messages, and extra, you get just a few apps from Unihertz. These embody a file supervisor, FM radio, IR distant management app, music participant, NoteBook, sound recorder, and Toolbox.

The Toolbox is filled with helpful utilities that improve the performance of the telephone. The instruments within the Toolbox embody a sound meter, compass, flashlight, bubble degree, image hanger device, coronary heart fee monitor, top measuring utility, magnifier, pedometer, speedometer, alarm, plumb bob, and protractor. It is cool to see the digicam used with a few of these instruments to offer an augmented actuality expertise that gives you with a tool for correct measurements.

The house display screen helps widespread app widgets too so you may customise your Android expertise. The Fast Controls part from the notification shade will also be personalized to your private preferences.

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Preliminary utilization experiences

The Unihertz Titan Pocket could enchantment to critical BlackBerry Curve or Daring followers who need a comparable type issue with trendy Android. It is a very effectively constructed telephone with some degree of drop safety, not specified, however no degree of mud or water resistance. Though it looks like a tank, do not take it out in heavy rain or drop it in a puddle. The bigger Titan did have an IP67 ranking and I nearly took the Titan Pocket into the river fly fishing with me final week earlier than I checked on the specs.

Total, the keyboard is effectively accomplished with good spacing and tactile efficiency. The flexibility to swipe up and down the keyboard, like a mouse pad, and likewise create an unlimited variety of shortcuts with the keys may be nice for effectivity and productiveness.

The Titan Pocket is constructed to get work accomplished and isn’t a gaming or multimedia machine. Movies play effectively and music sounds good from the rear speaker, however work comes first on this telephone. Talking of labor, the small show is the first motive I can’t use this telephone as my day by day driver. Possibly 20 years in the past when my eyes had been a lot better, however not at present.

I have to spend extra time with it to check the battery, however 4000 mAh on a telephone of this measurement has thus far proven to final at the least a few days with out charging. The cameras on the telephone usually are not that nice so do not rely on capturing any award profitable photographs with the Titan Pocket.

Should you get pleasure from QWERTY keyboards and spend plenty of time messaging folks then chances are you’ll benefit from the Titan Pocket. Though it’s a smaller telephone, the thickness and weight nonetheless make two-handed use one of the best method to utilizing the telephone.