Simple project turns Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ into slider phone with keyboard and touchpad

The vast majority of smartphones for the mass market follow a pretty monotonous design language as they are looking to offer a huge flat display with small bezels. A physical keyboard can’t be found on modern phones.

Ironically, the most popular mobile operating system in the world debuted on the HTC Dream, which was a slider phone with an actual keyboard. Some more or less current devices such as the Unihertz Titan Slim do also sport a proper keyboard, and there are some accessories for retrofitting them, but it’s a rather small niche.

Therefore, Reddit user AdmiralSym has now presented a project that turns a normal smartphone, in this case it’s a little bit older Samsung Galaxy Note10 Plus, into a slider phone with a keyboard. The keyboard itself is quite interesting, since the creator didn’t use a BlackBerry keyboard like other similar projects, but simply a G60S Pro remote, which is equipped with a keyboard as well as a touchpad.

A video illustrates how the customized mobile device is used in DEX standalone mode. The user interface is similar to that of a classic desktop operating system, as the cursor and windows can be moved with the aforementioned touchpad. This intriguing project can be replicated by users, and corresponding 3D-printing designs are available for free.

However, the DIY slider phone still has some issues. For example, the gyroscope integrated into the remote control deactivates the keyboard and trackpad when the device is tilted in a certain angle. Fortunately, the costs for this project should be rather low, as the remote control is pretty cheap and the materials needed for 3D printing are affordable as well.