The Minimal Phone, which made waves when first unveiled, is now shipping. Backers pledged more than $600,000 when the phone hit the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign last year. While the phone will now be shipping to an initial lot of backers, those who’d like to place their orders for the phone now can do so on the company website or via Indiegogo InDemand. Fortunately, they won’t have to wait months for the phone to arrive as all orders placed now will begin shipping by March.
The Minimal Phone is priced at $399 and comes in Pebble, Onyx, and Fusion shades. On top, the 4.3-inch E Ink display has a 600 x 800-pixel resolution, which translates to a 230 PPI pixel density. The front-lit display with a 4:3 aspect ratio is well suited for day-to-day tasks such as online research, catching up with your latest emails or other social media content, reading e-books or other office documents, etc.
Among the biggest positives of an E Ink display is its eye-friendly nature. They emit the least blue light and cause almost zero eye strain, even when viewed for more extended periods. E Ink displays are also highly power efficient, drawing power only when the display changes. Otherwise, they consume almost zero power if the display remains static.
The display is evident even in direct sunlight, and the front light ensures you can continue reading even in the dark. The front light can be turned off to preserve battery power further. However, the slow refresh rate makes the display only suitable for static content and less suitable for videos, games, etc.
Other specs include a MediaTek MT6769 processor, 6 GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128 GB ROM, a 3000 mAh battery with support for 15W Qi wireless charging, and a 16 MP rear cam. The phone runs Android 14 and supports the Google Play Store. The power button houses a fingerprint sensor, and a dedicated screen refresh button is also included. Underneath the display is a keyboard featuring 35 keys and a hotkey. The keys offer 0.15 mm of key travel.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, 4G LTE, and NFC. The phone also has a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. However, it does not support 5G. It measures 142 x 78 x 8.6mm.
Overall, the Minimal Phone is very appealing thanks to its unique design, which includes an E Ink display on top and a keyboard at the bottom. It is perhaps the only keyboard phone currently available.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
