January 20, 2015 at 19:10Neptune Pine: a hand-held smartphone
How to say it right: I have a smartphone “in my hand”? Or is it "on hand"? No, everything is in order with the Russian language. It's just that in the case of the Neptune Pine, the use of prepositions really needs clarification: Canadian developers wanted to make the coolest “smart watches”, but it turned out ... a smartphone worn on the arm.
The story of the gadget has begun - you will laugh! - from raising money on Kickstarter. The arguments of the Neptune guys were convincing, the project raised $ 800,000 and start-ups began to make their dream a reality.
And the idea was simple: why should a smart watch complement a smartphone or tablet? After all, it can be an independent, powerful gadget, in no way inferior to large devices. So, in fact, the Neptune Pine was born - a “smart watch” with smartphone functionality.
Externally, the gadget looks like a huge watch with a wide strap. Someone such a brutal look attracts, and someone scares. Seriously and for a long time. The Neptune Pine itself can be separated at any time from the strap, and then it becomes either a pager from the 1990s, or a miniature navigator popular several years ago. And you will have to disconnect the gadget constantly - at one of the ends hiding under the latch is a microUSB connector, which serves to transfer data and charge the device.
What is even more surprising - and the Neptune Pine has a lot of amazing things - on the back panel, the one that is adjacent to the arm, is the main five-megapixel camera. Do you want to shoot? Take off ... the gadget from the strap.
Since we are talking about cameras, they give out very, very mediocre quality, they work slowly and give acceptable results only if there is good lighting. Slightly sweeten the pill - both the main and the front camera have their own LED flash.
Inside, the Neptune Pine is like an adult. Kvalkomovsky Snapdragon S4, 512 megabytes of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of user memory. A complete set of wireless protocols and sensors - 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, digital compass and even a pedometer.
Neptune Pine
price: 21 500 rub.
- OS: Android 4.1.2
- processor: Snapdragon S4, 1.2 GHz
- screen: 2.4``, 320x240
- RAM: 512 MB
- memory: 16/32 GB
- 2G / 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
- cameras: 5 / 0.3 MP
- battery: 810 mAh
- dimensions, weight: 66x53.5x14.2 mm, 96 g
Shoving all of the above into a box the size of a half-iPhone is not a trivial task, but the Canadians did it. And the Neptune Pine works quite cheerfully. Although running Android 4.1.2.
A slightly more unexpected surprise is the lack of Google services. However, all this is solved: you can use third-party application stores, dig something tasty on the NeptuneNinja website or find a bunch of APKs on the Web. The main desire. And the developers promise to still get the coveted key to Google Play. True, no terms are called.
Phone, SMS, Skype, messengers, video calls, YouTube - working with the miniature Neptune Pine has its own charm. And at times, and convenience.
The capacity of a non-removable battery exceeds 800 mAh - the Galaxy Gear, for example, this parameter is 2 times lower. Alas, this does not add any advantages of Neptune Pine. A day's work is maximum.
During the field tests of the gadget, several more features of the device were revealed: weak viewing angles, imperfect operation of the touch screen, difficulties with fixing the gadget and strap - these are not critical problems, but they need to be mentioned.
The creators of Neptune Pine call their brainchild "experimental mobile computer." And it’s hard to disagree with this - after all, experiments are different. Is such a solution in demand? Given the amount collected, yes. Is it comfortable? A moot point.
This gadget has a number of very noticeable shortcomings - some of them are easily corrected, others can be fixed only by changing the concept. However, if you start from the principle of “more gadgets, good and different,” then the Neptune Pine deserves a place in the sun. Although, most likely, it will remain only a bold experiment.
PS How it really was - a Neptune Pine video : a smartphone that puts a hand on our YouTube channel Geek to the Future
