If you are as old as the editor, you may remember that Sony once launched a Sony CMD-Z5 flip phone before merging with Ericsson (the next-generation CMD-Z18 launched in Taiwan), this phone Introduced in 2000, it is equipped with a short antenna and physical numeric keys, without a camera lens, and the screen also uses grayscale liquid crystal. The big selling point of the Sony CMD-Z5 is the Jog-dial wheel on the side of the machine, which replaces the physical arrow keys to control the menu. The editor also uses this Jog Dial to play the built-in fishing game.
Unexpectedly, more than 20 years have passed. Now a YouTuber has modified this phone into a smart phone using Android 9. However, unlike what everyone thinks is that the old mobile phone hardware can run the Android system, he actually uses the DIY method of “new wine in old bottles”.
According to the explanation of YouTube channel Befinitiv, he disassembled a Gocomma W5 smart watch using Android 9 and installed it in the body of the Sony CMD-Z5. Befinitiv replaced the original watch interface with Nova Launcher, and installed Fluid Navigation Gestures so that the interface has “Android Sambo” Back, Home and Recent buttons.
It can be seen from the video that the Jog-dial and physical number keys of the phone are no longer valid, and the screen will not open after the cover is flipped. You must turn the screen on by yourself. Simply put, replace the case of the Android watch with a Sony CMD-Z5. But since the Gocomma W5 smart watch he used to modify can insert a SIM card to make calls, it is essentially a phone. For actual performance, you can refer to Befinitiv’s video explanation.
Source: befinitiv