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Will Linux phones stay around this time?

linmob.net

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Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#91

Post by esperent »

ericlewis wrote: post #70
Lev1a wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Motorola [...] bloatware What do you mean? I've had a couple Motorola phones from the G series (G1 and G4 and currently an AndroidOne) and AFAICT it's been pretty much stock Android apart from: - an app for support enquiries (with diagnostic functionality for the screen, sensors etc.) which I've actually used before, - one app you could opt-in to to get something like product newsletters from Motorola (I don't care…

It’s bloat because those don’t need to be there.

It just seems strange for you to single out Motorola which is one of the companies with the least bloatware unstalled.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#94

Post by lostmsu »

fuzxi wrote: post #85
lostmsu wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you like for Email on your phone from the Linux world? A web browser? Contacts app? These are essentials for the phone. What about an RSS client?

>What would you like for Email on your phone from the Linux world? Thunderbird >A web browser? Firefox/Chromium >Contacts app? kAddressBook

> Thunderbird, kAddressBook

Interface totally unacceptable on mobile.

> Firefox/Chromium

Android has both

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#95

Post by lostmsu »

trystero wrote: post #79
lostmsu wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you like for Email on your phone from the Linux world? A web browser? Contacts app? These are essentials for the phone. What about an RSS client?

There are lots of very good open source alternatives (K9 Mail, OsmAnd, Element/Matrix, Firefox of course, etc.). Take a look at f-droid.org.

The parent was saying he wants Linux (as in desktop) apps on his phone. My point exactly is that they are much worse than Android ones in mobile scenarios.

Many would need UI to be rewritten from scratch.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#96

Post by Ma8ee »

serf wrote: post #50
robolange wrote: post #19

Openmoko failed for so much more than financial reasons. It's been a while since I've thought of that fiasco, but my memories: * The leadership was terrible. They had no clue what it took to make a mass market product. They just assumed that they would sell hardware and a community would provide a working operating system and apps magically. * The hardware was buggy. There was one issue that if you let the battery dr…

>I was so done with it that I just dropped it in the trash (after wiping it, of course). next time you have an urge to throw a battery-equipped device into the trash(!?), consider donation. you may not like the device but someone out there may be thrilled at the chance to de-solder some useful components.

Or at least send all electronics for recycling. Those precious metals don’t belong in landfills.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#97

Post by sgc »

benatkin wrote: post #36
perardi wrote: post #35

So how would a Linux phone possibly gain momentum? I have no idea how it solves any job to be done for almost anyone. Does it have the apps I want, including for my bank? Does it have a great camera? Does it have fantastic battery life? Right now, the answer to all of that is definitely not , and it becomes a chicken and an egg problem, where you don’t have the investment to build all that. And don’t give me the obvi…

You may have a point, but Android and Apple phones are also, quite frankly, garbage. I open the maps app on my Android phone, and I get a bunch of ads littered around, for places like 7/11, even for locations that are closed! I have a 64gb phone and the map for the city I'm in could be quite easily downloaded, but nope, it must contain Google's malware.

You can download maps in the maps app. I download a pretty large area because I drive a lot. Not that it takes away from your point, but at least there is that.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#98

Post by mastrsushi »

If you convince consumers to switch over to FOSS for ethical reasons like surveillance and avoiding influential algorithms then you have something compelling. But at the moment the world is glued to proprietary social media.

I'd love if users would flee Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. They are such simple concepts that can obviously be replicated, but those established companies already have the users at their control.

There needs to be focus on convincing users to move away from these services. There also needs to be more funding for social media alternatives. Rather than FOSS developer attention going into reimplementing Android apps from 2011 or God knows what these people in the Linux phone community are thinking.

Those are some pretty big steps before we even think of Linux for phones, assuming ethical reasons are the interest.

I don't understand this interest in Linux on phones. It doesn't make a difference for anyone outside of the tech hobbyist realm.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#99

Post by pabs3 »

robolange wrote: post #59
heavyset_go wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the same era, I had Nokia's N770, N810 and N900. All three were based on Linux, and they were great. I also had the Palm Pre and Pre 2, both of which were based on Linux (and apps were made with HTML, CSS, and JS in 2009!), and those were also great.

After getting rid of my Freerunner, I had one of the the first Android phones (HTC?) briefly, then got a Nokia N900. I liked the OS, although it's my memory that it wasn't as fully open sourced as the OpenMoko. I did enjoy it, even though the device always felt too thick to be comfortable in my pocket, and the touchscreen cracked badly after a minor impact. I ended up using a cheap Nokia candybar phone for a year or…

Maemo Leste continues to develop Maemo:

https://maemo-leste.github.io/

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#100

Post by balp »

heavyset_go wrote: post #58
dehrmann wrote: post #31

What's the benefit to a true Linux phone over running LineageOS? LineageOS at least is essentially Android, so the ecosystem is there.

Android apps are becoming more and more dependent on the closed source blobs that Google ships with Android devices, so some apps might not work without them. Although microG exists, it isn't perfect and some apps still won't run with it. A Linux phone can forgo Google's userspace libraries for Android, and if they're really needed, Android can just run in a container like with Anbox. Instead, it can ship with the ty…

You can write most of your app in any language, it's only some UI and startup code that needs to be in the javalike languages.
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