A Blast From The Past: Astro Slide 5G Smartphone Has a Full Sized Keybaord

The Astro Slide 5G Transformer is a unique smartphone resurrecting a form-factor for those who prefer physical keyboards over touch screen keyboards. The handset has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard similar to the classic Nokia E7 and a handful of Sony Ericsson phones of old.

Design and Display

The phone has a 6.53-inch screen with FHD+ resolution and a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. The presence of an in-display fingerprint sensor suggests that the display is using an OLED panel.

Sliding out the tactile backlit keyboard transforms the UI into horizontal orientation with a taskbar at the bottom and additional applications to either side.

Of course when closed up, it is a chunky device to say the least. But when the keyboard is slided out, it shows sizable buttons and even dedicated arrow keys, so there is no waste of space.

The back has a single camera unit with an LED flash beside it.

Internals and Storage

The self-proclaimed fastest 5G phone has a mid-range Mediatek Dimensity 1000 chipset but the handset clearly is aimed at buyers looking for novelty and not powerful specifications.

The chipset is coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage which is expandable through a microSD card.

Camera

The single-camera at the back is a 48MP shooter with unknown features for photos and videos. There is also a tiny 5MP front-facing camera beside the earpiece.

Battery and Pricing

The battery capacity on the phone is just 4,000 mAh even with the added heft and there is no mention of fast charging, but it does support wireless charging.

The crowdfunding price for the Astro Slide 5G Transform is $537 but its official retail price will be a whopping $900 once it goes on sale.

Astro Slide 5G Transformer Specifications

• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 1000
• CPU: 2.0Ghz, Octa-core
• OS: Android 10
• Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G
• Display:
  • 6.53″ OLED with 2340 x 1080 pixels resolution; 395 ppi,
• Memory:
  • RAM: 6 GB
  • Internal: 128 GB
  • Card slot: yes
• Camera:
  • Rear: 48MP
  • Front: 5MP
• Colors: Black
• Fingerprint sensor: In-display
• Battery: 4,000 mAh, wireless charging
• Price: $537 (crowdfunding), $900 (detail)