BlackBerry-like Titan Slim raises ten times its Kickstarter target in one day

[midian182]

In brief: Is there still a demand for phones with physical keyboards? A Kickstarter for the Unihertz Titan Slim definitely suggests so. The project blasted past its $50,000 goal in one day and is currently just shy of half a million dollars with 27 days left to go.

Developer Unihertz is a veteran when it comes to funding unconventional phones such as the tiny Atom and Jelly on Kickstarter. The Titan Slim might not be a super-small device, but its BlackBerry-style physical keyboard will make it stand out in the crowd.

This isn't the first Titan phone; it is joining the rugged Titan, which is a fairly hefty device, and the Titan Pocket, a smaller version of the original. Unihertz calls the Titan Slim the sleekest, most modern phone it has ever made.

Backers can secure a Titan Slim for around the equivalent of $249, which is 25% off the usual amount. It's obviously not going to offer flagship specs at that price: a 1,280 x 720 4.2-inch screen, no 5G, a 2019 Mediatek Helio P70 chipset, and cameras you wouldn't want to catch memorable moments with, but it does have fingerprint and face unlock capabilities, dual-sim support, and that physical keyboard with remappable keys.

After plans to launch a new BlackBerry phone were killed off earlier this year, those who still yearn for phones with physical keyboards are left with few options. It seems many like the look of the Titan Slim, despite some mixed reviews. With 27 days left to go, 1,915 backers have pledged $481,210—almost ten times the $50,000 target.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/94566-blackberry-like-titan-slim-raises-ten-times-kickstarter.html

 

[m4a4]

Lol, in comparison to the Key2, they add an IR blaster but removed the 3.5mm port (would want both).

The price is interestingly low, but not looking for a new phone again for a few years (just replaced the battery myself).

 

[p51d007]

Kind of reminds me, in a way, of the startup "Essential" and their PH-1. Granted, this one has a better target price. The Essential was priced WAY out of it's league, since it was essentially (no pun ) a no name startup per se. I picked up one for less than 1/2 of it's retail price. It wasn't bad, but lack of updates pretty much killed it.
Hope this one survives, because the more "non traditional" phones available, will make the "kings" come up with new things, instead of just producing the same think year after year...more cameras, more speed, faster displays HIGHER PRICES. (I'm not talking about the folding things...they still have a few years to go).

 

[MakeMSGreatAgain]

Need a horizontal slide-out keyboard model as well... I still miss my Moto Droid 4 to this day. 10 years later and I STILL can't stand touch-typing or swipe.

 

[Axeia]

Need a horizontal slide-out keyboard model as well... I still miss my Moto Droid 4 to this day. 10 years later and I STILL can't stand touch-typing or swipe.

I feel ya, I still miss my Nokia N900. In part due it's great keyboard in part due to Maemo being a great OS.
I did actually get a Blackberry Priv years back but that was the most disappointingly bad phone I ever bought.
1) super expensive
2) mediocre software support (and a secure bootloader so alternative firmware is never coming)
3) it overheats rather easily
4) midrange chipset despite the price
5) mediocre battery life despite the midrange chipset
6) Then worst of all, a terribly disappointing keyboard. I barely used it at all. No hotkey to switch tasks (Alt tab), no copy paste hotkeys, no arrow keys to make text selections or easily jump the text cursor to where you want it.
The only time I ended up using it was when typing big pieces of text (like this comment)

 

[Uncle Al]

Just a curious question. I've asked before but got no answer .... is there anyone or any company out there that keeps stats on how many of these Kickstarter projects actually reach completion, make a finished product, go to market, and survive past their first year?

 

[nismo91]

I've always kept an eye on these unique phones. the titan slim was visually appealing but the SOC is just too dated. it's like buying a 3-year old phone today that has been updated to android 12. use it just for one year and you'll have a 4-year-old device on your hand.

Just a curious question. I've asked before but got no answer .... is there anyone or any company out there that keeps stats on how many of these Kickstarter projects actually reach completion, make a finished product, go to market, and survive past their first year?

probably not much, but unihertz definitely survived their first year. their first phone was launched 5 years ago. I think it was thanks to kickstarter the company was able to survive. the titan slim was actually their third keyboard phone.

 

[ZedRM]

This is a very cool device. I like it!

 

[merikafyeah]

I still prefer the Fxtec Pro1X. It costs more but you get what you pay for.

 

[HardReset]

Just a curious question. I've asked before but got no answer .... is there anyone or any company out there that keeps stats on how many of these Kickstarter projects actually reach completion, make a finished product, go to market, and survive past their first year?

Probably not. Judging what is "finished" product (some consider Star Citizen as finished because you can "play it") and how you define "surviving". So far Unihertz has delivered what they promised.

I've always kept an eye on these unique phones. the titan slim was visually appealing but the SOC is just too dated. it's like buying a 3-year old phone today that has been updated to android 12. use it just for one year and you'll have a 4-year-old device on your hand.

True, it's quite outdated but as Titan owner I can say that's fast enough. I wouldn't pay much more for faster CPU. Those who want performance phone should look elsewhere. Problem with Unihertz is that making many different prones with physical keyboard is impossible so they cannot please everyone. They decided to go cheap this time. Perhaps next release will be more high end one.

 

[Dd663]

I like the slide-out keyboard form factor. I had one of those in high school and I wish that form factor were still a thing.

I now have a flip phone.