Another manufacturer is trying to break into the smartphone industry, and this time around, it’s a company from Germany called Linshof. It plans on making its debut with the Linshof i8, an oddly designed octagon-shaped Android smartphone.
According to Dr. Tomas Bencik, the CEO of Linshof, “i8 is everything you need it to be and goes beyond a consumer device. It’s a true business tool. It meets enterprise-grade security requirements and runs smoothly, even while using the most demanding programs.”
True enough, the i8 does have the specifications to back that up with an octa-core processor clocked at 2.1GHz and 3GB of RAM. Linshof, however, did not specify the type of processor.
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Other specifications include a 3100mAh battery and a 5-inch 1080p display that is either a Super AMOLED or IPS unit, depending on the market. Storage wise, it has a whopping 80GB of storage, but only 16GB is used for apps while the other 64GB is for media. Linshof does say the 16GB memory will be significantly faster than the 64GB one, so it’s possible the i8 will ship with a 64GB microSD card. Either that, or the i8 has a second memory module built-in.
In terms of software, the i8 will run Android 5.0 Lollipop with the Linshof UI. This UI seems to move the notification bar that is typically at the top of the screen to the bottom instead. It also comes with an optional tile-based UI akin to a Windows phone. Interestingly, there will be a “Linux option” for the i8. We’re not entirely sure what this means, but it could be a version of Ubuntu.
The Linshof i8 is priced at US$380 (about RM1270) and has been given a Q1 2015 release date. Take caution though, this company is relatively unknown up till now, so there’s no telling if they will ever deliver this product.
(Source: Linshof via GSMArena, Tom’s Hardware)
