Formidable Astro Slide 5G smartphone and pocket computer hybrid with meteoric MediaTek Dimensity 1000 chipset streaks past its Indiegogo goal in hours

Planet Computers is the company behind devices such as the Gemini PDA and the Cosmo Communicator. The firm’s latest device is the Astro Slide, which has so many features packed into it that it’s almost a surprise not to find the kitchen sink in there too. The Astro Slide is marketed as a 5G smartphone and pocket computer hybrid in a transformer form factor. At the time of writing, this fascinating piece of tech had already managed to gain €211,601 (~US$233,966) in funding on Indiegogo, way beyond the fixed goal of €180,000 (~US$199,032).

It’s hardly surprising that funding is going so well for the Astro Slide when you take a look at it in detail and run through its specifications. The smartphone/computer hybrid has a 6.53-inch display with a 2340x1080 resolution and comes with a minimum of 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. The company’s RockUp slider hinge turns the smartphone into a mini laptop that comes with a full keyboard. A classic 3.5 mm audio jack is present, NFC is on-board, and there are two USB Type-C ports. Wireless charging, fast charging, fingerprint sensor, 4000-mAh battery – the impressive list continues.

However, a definite highlight is the presence of currently “the world’s fastest sub-6 GHz 5G SoC”. It’s a specific title, but there’s no doubting the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 is an incredible component. The 5G chipset contains 8 CPU cores (4x Cortex-A77 @2.6 GHz and 4x Cortex-A55 @2.0 GHz), 9 GPU cores (Mali-G77), and 6 APU cores, with Planet Computers stating that the Astro Slide can manage up to 4.7 Gb/s download and 2.5 Gb/s upload speeds. The Astro Slide runs on Android 10 and can also utilize Linux.

It seems the retail price for the Astro Slide is going to be €819 (~US$906), but Planet Computers has got some very attractive offers available for the transformer smartphone and pocket computer hybrid. Early bird funders can get the device for €491 (~US$543), while those who come in a bit later can obtain the mini laptop for €573 (~US$634). Two Astro Slides are priced at €1,000 (~US$1,106) for the time being, and it is possible to reserve a pack of five for €2,340 (~US$2,587), which is a 42% discount off the retail price of €4,095 (~US$4,528). Worldwide shipping for the Astro Slide is expected to commence in March 2021.