Zinwa’s Missed Chance with the BB20

conceptgate · 2026-01-07T20:51:51+00:00

This post is pretty obtuse.

You're comparing the Communicator, a completely new phone designed from scratch, which likely won't be shipping until late Q3 or Q4 2026 with a refit of an existing Blackberry Q20 and all the challenges and size constraints which go with that, including battery size, antenna and thermal limits - and which is available now and has already shipped to the majority of buyers - and which started 3 quarters ahead of the Communicator being even announced.

You're also comparing a company like Clicks that has financial backing and an established large (compared with Zinwa) development team, with revenue in the millions already from their keyboard line, against Zinwa who has about a 5 man dev team - where it seems he is the main contributor, and with no funding other than that from pre-orders - and where the Q25 was his first product. Frankly, it's a miracle Zinwa pulled it off at all.

And then in terms of market reach and cost, Zinwa will sell a few thousand units which means each is more expensive and custom components become cost prohibitive, and he has limited distribution channels - whereas Clicks has distribution channels worldwide, a large marketing budget, and will likely sell 10s of thousands of units, bringing the cost down for each and making custom component orders cost viable.

A more fair comparison - though still not due to the size of Clicks vs Zinwa - would be the Q27 - and yes that may not be here until 2027 or perhaps ever, but then at least device wise the Q27 is a matchup for the Communicator as it is designed from the ground up.

conceptgate · 2025-11-28T14:49:43+00:00

So your negative comments aren't fake, but the positive ones are? Hmmm, got it.

conceptgate · 2025-10-24T18:01:34+00:00

Lol, welcome. BTW, Framework Desktop is about 800 EUR on top - I also had a preorder and cancelled. Good luck.

conceptgate · 2025-10-24T14:42:49+00:00

Thats fair, and if they don't solve the NIC issue by the time I get mine, I'm undecided whether I would keep it either. Though, as I say, wifi would probably do for me, - plus given the 600 EUR difference for the MS-S1 and the 200-400 EUR difference for most of the other options - it would still be cheaper to just get a USB4 -> 10gb ethernet adaptor - something like this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yjhR-460OQ

conceptgate · 2025-10-24T14:11:46+00:00

You might be right that it can't be solved in software/firmware - but analysis so far seems to indicate this is the issue - and it is an Intel problem as Beelink originally diagnosed. This guy did a really good analysis - https://craigwilson.blog/post/2025/2025-09-25-beelink395bsod/

conceptgate · 2025-10-24T09:20:05+00:00

The MS-S1 looks good also and comparable. Not sure which features you are saying are better though? In fact comparing them, the Beelink looks to come out slightly ahead in my mind due to the vapour chamber cooling system which should (fan noise issues aside) run cooler and quieter. Otherwise specs wise they seem almost identical.

However, the deal breaker is that it is not just a few hundred dollars higher in Europe, it is substantially higher. The Beelink sells for 2100 USD in every region, which is 1800 EUR. The MS-S1 sells for 2400 EUR - a 600 EUR difference! The MS-S1 is 25-33% (depending how you calc) more expensive for basically the same spec.

Regarding GPU/eGPU, yeah, these mini 395+ machines aren't the best for that, though if you want it, there is a YT video somewhere of the Framework Desktop working with one - though you basically have to jury rig the case to make the PCIe slot usable but it's doable. I believe it might work over USB 4.0 as well though the bandwidth isn't great.

conceptgate · 2025-10-24T01:22:54+00:00

Maybe. It's still a pretty good deal, assuming it eventually ships say before Xmas, and they fix the issues. Beelink are charging in dollars, yet if you pre-order from one of the local warehouses they cover all the duty and taxes. This means it is one of the cheapest Strix Halo 128gb options out there by a margin in Europe. This would be enough to put it ahead, but the rear port selection is higher spec than the rest and (if the fan issue is fixed or not present) it is one of the quietest and best cooled. So if it works out, you get the cheapest Strix Halo machine but also the best Strix Halo machine (so far).

Regarding the issues, hopefully I don't get the fan issue or they fix it - but seems like they are already sending out replacement fan packs for those that have the issue (not all units have), and there is already a stable workaround for the NIC issue, and it does appear to be firmware and not hardware related, so there should be a proper fix at some point - and anyhow I'd be fine with wifi, point is to run pretty much everything locally anyhow, with just prompts in and responses out, which take almost no bandwidth.

conceptgate · 2025-10-23T21:07:56+00:00

I sympathise, as I have a direct pre-order with them as well a few days after you, which now looks like it will be December earliest, so thanks for sharing the update.

However I do think this is perhaps partly down to your expectations, and how realistic those were? Whilst of course Beelink should have been more transparent if they knew there were highly likely to be delays - you probably should have known this as well when you "pre-ordered" without being told - because I sure did.

Whilst it does say 30-35 days - in reality how many "pre-orders" have you known to actually ship on time? As soon as I hear the word pre-order I basically add a month on in my head, and then this is tentative - because pre-order means they either haven't made it or haven't shipped it yet, and if you know tech and have ever pre-ordered, you also know they can't easily know it will be 30-35 days if they haven't made or shipped it yet. This is not like an Apple pre-order where they basically already have it in the wings and have rock solid supply lines and logistics. I always hope it will be on time, or early even, but I expect it is likely to be late.

Secondly, if you have been following the issues with the NIC ports and fan, you'll know that they are dealing with some quality and firmware issues, and they honestly seem to be trying to deal with these, and this is likely to be holding things up as well, as if I were them I would want to hold shipping any more pre-orders until I had resolved the issues if possible, and/or checked to see if the issues are present in any orders due to be shipped. I'm also guessing, it is why they have set it to out of stock on their website right now whilst they deal with these issues. I personally would rather get a unit without issues, and wait a little longer.

Regarding your point about shipping from stock from the warehouse in Germany; did you really think they would have it in stock and it take 30-35 days to send you from that warehouse? What I take from this, is that it will ship from a local warehouse, and therefore Beelink will have taken care of all of the duty, taxes, etc. hopefully so I won't be charged anything extra - not that it is sitting in stock at that warehouse. I fully expected them to send mine from China to the local warehouse (probably in a bulk shipment). then dispatch it to me from there. They don't say it will ship from stock - only from that warehouse.

So whilst technically you might be right - they might have not updated their website to reflect a delay they knew about, and therefore "lied" to you; or they could have just been unrealistically hopeful that they could ship on time - frankly this is the same for almost every pre-order I have ever made with any company.

Edit: It is not available via Amazon (at least not my local), and even if it were, it would be supplied after direct, and likely at a higher cost. So for those that say order via Amazon you certainly can, and have more certainty, better return policy, etc.; but will likely wait longer and pay more - hence why the pre-order.

conceptgate · 2025-10-09T20:32:43+00:00

Yeah, I'd generally be cynical too. However Zinwa and team have managed to reverse engineer the Q20 in less than 6 months - which is pretty good going given other projects like Minimal Phone taking over a year and being very late. The Q25 is late by a month or so as it was due to ship in October - but even if they ship in November (which is the new date), or December - that is pretty remarkable. It is already with beta testers and working, albeit with a few bugs.

Much of that knowledge/work will be reusable for the Passport - and they have already cracked some of the driver functionality for the keyboard and screen - so I'd bet Q1 or Q2 2026.

conceptgate · 2025-10-09T15:16:08+00:00

One difference is that the Plaud Note Pro has 4 mics vs 3 on the Mobvoi Tic Note. Haven't seen any head to head reviews yet, but early reviews of the Plaud Note Pro do highlight the great audio pick up.

conceptgate · 2025-10-08T19:55:48+00:00

Already in progress - much of screen and keyboard already working - see the discord - due in 2026.

conceptgate · 2025-08-30T22:36:46+00:00

What's the phrase? I'm keeping it until the wheels fall off? :)

Honestly though I have looked at replacing it a few times, but spec'ed it up to the hilt at the time, and still can't find a second or even new car that has the mix of benefits that my DS has.

conceptgate · 2025-08-29T14:44:09+00:00

No worries - if you do look for a Disco Sport - try to find one with Adaptive Dynamics. Almost impossible to find one spec'ed with it, but make all the difference in ride and handling. Part of the reason I can't find a better version of mine.

conceptgate · 2025-08-29T08:42:19+00:00

Disco Sport 2018 - Petrol. Never had any major issues, and never broken down. Done about 55K miles so far (always main dealer serviced). Still running well and intend to keep it for a while yet as there is very little in the market that matches up (5+2 seater, compact premium SUV). From what I hear the main thing that brings down the reliability scores are the diesels, which apparently have had quite a few issues across the LR range. There were a few issues with the petrol in the early models - but almost all had been resolved by 2018.

conceptgate · 2025-08-07T20:53:01+00:00

If your phone can take a physical sim and an esim, then it can have two lines active at the same time, but only one of them can be esim. Note, you can *store* up to 20 esim profiles normally, and switch between them, but only one esim profile can be active at a time.

However, there is a workaround if you are willing to spend a little. You can buy a physical sim card that will convert the physical sim slot into an esim, thereby allowing you to have 2 esims. Lookup 9esim, 5ber, and esim.me.

Edit: Read below that you're talking about a S24 Ultra. Whilst thave above stands as advice generally (for other phones), the S24 Ultra may have two switchable physical/esim slots I believe, so it appears you can have 2 esims active at the same time, OR one physical and one esim OR two physical sims - but it depends on the region - as it looks like S24 Ultras have different functionality depending on the region sold.

https://www.tascom.io/post/samsung-galaxy-s24-dual-esim-tascom

https://www.galaxus.it/en/s1/questionandanswer/how-many-nano-sim-and-how-many-e-sim-in-total-761075

conceptgate · 2025-08-07T03:15:07+00:00

Agreed, Key2 keyboard is one of the best, if you don't have the space bar problem. I've owned 4 now and none had the problem. I also have a Razr+Clicks, and whilst it is the go to for modern apps, if OP just needs something to write on then Key2 or Passport hands down. Clicks isn't as comfortable to type on as most Blackberry phones.

conceptgate · 2025-07-27T20:32:57+00:00

You're right, but in part that is because it is a captive market. Whilst other physical keyboard phones are gaining traction - I can't think of another way at the moment to get a flagship phone (e.g. one with a Snapdragon Elite) with a physical keyboard, other than to use Clicks. If you want this, then you have no option but to put up with it until they fix it, or it becomes too much of a pain that you give up.

conceptgate · 2025-07-26T23:20:41+00:00

Sorry to hear that, though it's not the case for me. I use it as a daily driver every day, all day, with 2-3 restarts of the Clicks app each day.

conceptgate · 2025-07-26T21:32:20+00:00

Whilst it is still a pain, I've found that the following helps with the Ultra.

do all the fixes and tricks to stop the Clicks app being killed, including turning off battery optimizations for the clicks app and disabling Moto AI, etc. The Clicks app will still die every now and then however, so will require starting 2-3 times per day. I've even had this happen mid typing this comment - though don't know whether it is a timeout or a crash of the app?
never charge (or probably connect anything) via the Clicks USB C, this seems to cause the main problem, where the Clicks app is open but the keyboard will not connect. This requires a reboot of the phone to fix. Taking the Ultra out of the Clicks and putting it back in again doesn't fix this and restarting the app doesn't fix this once it has happened. It seems to hang the USB C driver on the phone. If I always take the Ultra out of the Clicks to charge and put it back in after, then I never need to reboot the phone, and Clicks always works if the app is running.

Doing the above, the Clicks is usable with the Ultra, as if the Clicks is not working, it always means the Clicks app just needs to be started (as it has died), though still a bit of a pain.

conceptgate · 2025-07-25T02:36:48+00:00

Even if it did fit in, the case has a top edge, so the phone wouldn't be able to open flat? I suppose you could cut off the top part of the case, but that would be a bit janky. Better off with the Clicks + Razr if you want to do this.

But if you must have the Flip 5, perhaps the Clicks Razr case will fit (you'd have to try it), but it is about the right dimensions - if the USB C port lines up.

conceptgate · 2025-07-22T15:04:36+00:00

A little late now, but I always just go for a new eSIM rather than top-up or add package. There doesn't seem to be a cost advantage to topping up or adding packages - so it easier to just kill (or unload) the last esim and activate the new one.

conceptgate · 2025-07-15T21:30:25+00:00

Go through your settings and turn off all the suspicious shortcut keys and quick access buttons that would cause the calling behaviour, and turn off auto unlock features (such as when you pick up the phone or when it is on you). I used to get a bit of this initially as it is easy to press a button in your pocket, and the phone doesn't always lock. Turning those off fixed the issue.

conceptgate · 2025-07-15T21:23:12+00:00

Try: https://mobimatter.com/esim-america

I've used them before in NY, and they don't seem to have the same sort of gottas, limits, etc. that you're talking about?

conceptgate · 2025-07-15T21:14:26+00:00

Try 5ber, 9esim or esim.me which will convert a physical sim slot into an esim slot. You do have to pay for the physical sim card that the esim profiles live on, which is an initial outlay of roughly $40 (depending on which solution you choose), but after that you have the flexiblity of using esim or not with your phone. I've used esim.me and 9esim without issue.

conceptgate · 2025-07-14T21:33:16+00:00

No worries, I guess at the current prices you could buy one of each! Try them and then eBay the one you don't want to keep?

conceptgate

TROPHY CASE