Unihertz Atom 2.5" rugged Android 8.1

[ztra]

I just backed a campaign on Kickstarter for a new 2.5" rugged Android phone. As I hate carrying large phones. 

Will there be any issues switching to this phone on public mobile?

The details cam be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jellyphone/atom-world-s-smallest-4g-rugged-smartphone/descripti...

What "network" type or "bands" does the phone need to have in order to work here?

[jp2]

Ya, I totally understand but my work schedule requires me to be using the phone all of the time for a week or 2 or 3 then I'm off and don't use any of that social media crap. Just a couple calls, music when biking, and google maps. 

So it's the perfect phone for days off but not for my work days, unless I carry a tablet with me.

[ztra]

This phone is designed for the people that want to have a phone with them all of the time, but don't play on it all the time.  If you are constantly, updating facebook, instragram, etc.. then this is not your phone.  It you just need to read stuff, check out google maps, play music and you are an outdoor person then this is a great phone.  I got it because I mountain bike, kayak and back pack camping so it was ideal for me.  

I have already dropped this phone a couple of times on tile floors (I have young kids) and the phone was fine.  I didn't try a water test, but it is good to know that water should not hurt it, I just don't want to test the water.

I would buy the phone again, if I needed too.  The screen quality is really good as I'm stream the Football game right from CTV GO app.  And it is easy to see.

But, I did order myself for xmas a 12.5" ChromeBook (Black Friday deals) and I will use that at night when I need to do other computer crap. 🙂 

[jp2]

I could have everything forward to a different number. Just get a new sim with the 10 dollar plan for the atom. 

A cloned sim would work perfectly but I'm sure your right PM wouldn't have a feature like that. 

[wetcoaster]

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@jp2 wrote:

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@wetcoaster wrote:

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@jp2 wrote:

I think this phone would be perfect for everything outdoors and several other applications. If only I didn't have to swap sims all the time

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@jp2:

@ztra  as an actual user might correct me but I think the Atom (like the Jelly) is dual SIM with 4G stand-by on both slots?

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@wetcoaster I actually meant putting my sim into the atom for biking, canoeing, camping, etc. then switching sim back into a larger phone for around town.  

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How about call forwarding?

[ztra]

With regards to the battery life, it is not as good as my Asus ZenPhone 5.5" screen but on the weekend it will easily last the entire day, checking it through out the day.  I have my Garmin fitness tracker and home security system constantly connected and it is still good for a full day. 

At work I usually charge it up in the middle of the afternoon, but I'm stream music or radio all day using a bluetooth headset. 

The thing I like it, is that if you use the a better quality USB "plug" (like the one that comes with the phone) it will do a full charge from about 15% to 100% in about an hour.  If you use a cheaper (less amps) USB port it detects that and the home screen says "Charging Slowly". I use that at night as I expect that it is better to charge slowly at night.

[ztra]

Too bad you couldn't clone a SIM card.

I don't know anything about them, but one of my friends got a SIM card for their Apple watch which is only a little bit more, per month, but they are related to the same iPhone account.  Can that "duplicated" SIM card be used in a secondary phone?  I'm guessing not, but I know nothing about them and I don't know if Public Mobile has that service anyway.

[jp2]

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@wetcoaster wrote:

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@jp2 wrote:

I think this phone would be perfect for everything outdoors and several other applications. If only I didn't have to swap sims all the time

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@jp2:

@ztra  as an actual user might correct me but I think the Atom (like the Jelly) is dual SIM with 4G stand-by on both slots?

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@wetcoaster I actually meant putting my sim into the atom for biking, canoeing, camping, etc. then switching sim back into a larger phone for around town.  

[jp2]

How long does the battery last?

[ztra]

I should also say about the keyboard that it is easy to use and I have large fingers. The entire phone easily fits in the palm of my hand which is great. I'm 6'1” shaped like a football player and weigh over 200 lbs.

At work I showed the phone to some friends and the height of my screen is shorter than the width of their screens. 

It is definitely a phone that I can easily do everything on and it fits in your pocket so easily. I would recommend having a tablet for playing with at night in front of the tv.

[ztra]

Yes, it does have dual 4G sim card. It does not have a slot for a micro SD card but it does come with 64GB on board memory.

[wetcoaster]

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@jp2 wrote:

I think this phone would be perfect for everything outdoors and several other applications. If only I didn't have to swap sims all the time

---

@jp2:

@ztra  as an actual user might correct me but I think the Atom (like the Jelly) is dual SIM with 4G stand-by on both slots?

[jp2]

I think this phone would be perfect for everything outdoors and several other applications. If only I didn't have to swap sims all the time

[ztra]

Surprisingly, it is not very difficult to use. I'm replying to this post on the phone right now.

I use a swipe keyboard but doing normal typing is not a problem. Most apps that I have used all seem to work well. 

Simplii financial app will not open on the phone . I'm guessing it does some check on start up and it crashes . Some other apps the text gets over lapped but for the most part it is a great phone to carry around.

I would recommend this phone for carrying around with you every day but you may want to have a tablet for doing some other apps.

[ztra]

The problem with the data on Public Mobile is that you have to Edit/Add a APN (access point name) and Android 8.1 blocks you from accessing the edit menu.

Unihertz send me a new ROM image (1.3GB) that I installed in the phone. After that I was able to enter into a different menu like the engineering mode on the phone and I was able to update/add a new APN.

Unihertz said that they will provide an update to all phones so that other people don't run into the same problem.

[jp2]

Do you find the screen is too small? My phone is way to big but when I'm watching review videos on the Atom it seems like it would be hard to click on things. The smallest smartphone I've used was 4.5"

[Anonymous]

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@ztra wrote:

Yes, I received it about a month ago. It is a great little phone; perfect for putting in your pocket.  

I had problems at first getting the public mobile data to work, but this was more related to a change that Google made to Android 8.1. Unihertz (the maker of the phone) helped me resolve the problem fairly quickly.

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So what'd they have you do?

[ztra]

Yes, I received it about a month ago. It is a great little phone; perfect for putting in your pocket.  

I had problems at first getting the public mobile data to work, but this was more related to a change that Google made to Android 8.1. Unihertz (the maker of the phone) helped me resolve the problem fairly quickly.

[jp2]

@ztra have you received this phone yet? 

[ztra]

I will let you @jp2@ know after I get it. It is not supposed to be delivered until October.

But I like the old small Sony compact phones with the 3.5"screens. So, this being a rugged phone will be great when I'm hiking, mountain biking and kayaking.

[jp2]

@ztra@This phone looks like it might be good for me and it's a reasonable price. Please post a review once you've had it a while.

[jp2 · Accepted solution]

It should work the link you provided says it supports all 4G network bands.

Public Mobile utilizes the following frequency bands: 4G LTE and LTE Advanced

700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS)

HSPA

850 MHz
1900 MHz (UMTS)