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KaiOS

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Re: KaiOS

#21

Post by tdewitt »

coconut_crab wrote: post #14

The new Nokia tough phone has just what I need: 4G, GPS, water and dust proof, minus all the distraction of a smart phone. It's a pity I can't build my own version of Firefox OS for it, the close integration of Google service makes me wary of using it ..

I'm in the same boat. That phone looks physically perfect for my needs but I don't use WhatsApp, Facebook or most of the Google ecosystem (the exceptions being gmail and calendar for work). I would pay more than what they're asking to have a build without all of that.

Re: KaiOS

#22

Post by bArray »

Can we just build phones with a basic x86/AMD64 architecture and a small BIOS so we can load any OS onto them easily from a micro SD? I recently tried to get Halium boot running for my mobile, it's nigh on impossible if it's more than a few years old. (This was in an attempt to load Ubuntu OS onto it.)

Why does it have to be this difficult to try a different OS, when loading an OS onto a new laptop is so relatively easy? It shouldn't be so difficult to get basic functionality up and running.

Re: KaiOS

#23

Post by CaptainZapp »

5trokerac3 wrote: post #8

> As of February 2018, KaiOS Technologies has partnered with Airfind, Facebook, Google, Twitter... The Nokia KaiOS devices come with built in Google services, which instantly disqualify them for me. I don't trust that information from those phones aren't being seeded to Google.

It's not only that.

I really gave it a shot and I'd be totally willing to accept a phone with reduced functionality as long as I can use it as a hotspot.

The problem is that that thing is so buggy and error prone that it's borderline unusable.

Initially it could do Umlauts (Language setting is German), but can't anymore since it ran a software update. Email (very primitive, but would have been fine for on the road) is broken.

Add to that the force install of Twitter with said update and a lot more niggling annoyances.

The only useful feature (and the reason I got it to begin with) is the 4G hotspot so at least it's still usable with another device. But the overall experience is so frustrating that I'm just waiting for the breaking point to get an iPhone, since there reallay doesn't seem to be any alternative if you're even slightly privacy concious.

Re: KaiOS

#25

Post by nickpsecurity »

bArray wrote: post #22

Can we just build phones with a basic x86/AMD64 architecture and a small BIOS so we can load any OS onto them easily from a micro SD? I recently tried to get Halium boot running for my mobile, it's nigh on impossible if it's more than a few years old. (This was in an attempt to load Ubuntu OS onto it.) Why does it have to be this difficult to try a different OS, when loading an OS onto a new laptop is so relatively e…

The Nokia 9000 had a 286:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_9000_Communicator

Re: KaiOS

#26

Post by akhilcacharya »

bArray wrote: post #22

Can we just build phones with a basic x86/AMD64 architecture and a small BIOS so we can load any OS onto them easily from a micro SD? I recently tried to get Halium boot running for my mobile, it's nigh on impossible if it's more than a few years old. (This was in an attempt to load Ubuntu OS onto it.) Why does it have to be this difficult to try a different OS, when loading an OS onto a new laptop is so relatively e…

If you can do that today with a battery life of over 8 hours (and OS drivers for the cellular modems) I'll be impressed.

Re: KaiOS

#27

Post by Freak_NL »

bArray wrote: post #22

Can we just build phones with a basic x86/AMD64 architecture and a small BIOS so we can load any OS onto them easily from a micro SD? I recently tried to get Halium boot running for my mobile, it's nigh on impossible if it's more than a few years old. (This was in an attempt to load Ubuntu OS onto it.) Why does it have to be this difficult to try a different OS, when loading an OS onto a new laptop is so relatively e…

The problem isn't technical. It's about control (not the user's obviously), and 'must-have' apps that run only on Android and IOS.

Re: KaiOS

#28

Post by postcynical »

projektfu wrote: post #17

KaiOS supports WhatsApp in India, but not everywhere else yet. That’s probably the one application keeping me on a smartphone.

It is supported now and installable via the Kaios AppStore. I got Whatsapp running on my nokia 8110 4G, after some fiddling and updating.

Re: KaiOS

#29

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

It's remarkable what KaiOS has achieved when the behemoths like Microsoft, Blackberry who tried to become the 3rd player in the smartphone OS wars failed. KaiOS is now holds the 2nd position in India.

Cyanogenmod had a slim chance to pull off what KaiOS did, as it took a similar first approach but failed miserably with its exclusivity agreement with two companies (OnePlus & Micromax)!

But the growth of KaiOS came from Reliance Jio telecom in India, which sold for ~20 USD returnable deposit, cheap LTE data, upgradable to newer models and of course unlimited voice calls. The feature set in Jio Phone may not be comparable to even decade old android, but the target population were getting their first Internet/computing device.

Reliance Jio has invested in KaiOS with 16% stake, KaiOS probably had no choice. WhatsApp was 'THE' most 'missed' app on JioPhone 1 which was eventually rectified in the future iterations. Reliance likely has an exclusivity with WhatsApp on that, since WhatsApp doesn't seem to be available on KaiOS in other regions.

Reliance Jio might access developing market outside India in the future, bringing with itself the JioPhone and the KaiOS.

Re: KaiOS

#30

Post by pjmlp »

mikece wrote: post #2

While I really like the idea of a feature phone that can has some smarts, can function as a WiFi hotspot, and has battery life to allow charging only once a week, if there's no ability to write apps that are compiled to binary code then I have to wonder how much the JavaScript VM powering aps is going to drain the battery compared to an app that was written in C/C++.

There is always the option to JIT cache. It doesn't need to be always compiled from scratch.

Now if they bother with such optimization is another matter.

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