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Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

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Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#141

Post by martinald »

commoner wrote: post #78
martinald wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But do apps like Uber, WhatsApp etc work ok on it?

Uber and WhatsApp work well on /e/ and other Android distributions with microG. For microG compatibility, Plexus rates Uber 3 out of 4 (good), and WhatsApp 4 out of 4 (perfect). - Plexus: https://plexus.techlore.tech/ I can confirm that the map in Uber can be janky at times, but the app is otherwise fully functional. Both the Uber web app and the Lyft app (4 out of 4 on Plexus) work flawlessly.

Great, I didn't realise this had moved on so much.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#142

Post by martinald »

imiric wrote: post #111
martinald wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But do apps like Uber, WhatsApp etc work ok on it?

I specifically use /e/ because of its seamless microG integration. Even banking apps work great on it.

Impressive. Do push notifications work in these kind of apps?

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#143

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

autoexec wrote: post #99
0xbadcafebee wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's like a trope now where a tech person builds a thing that bothers them but nobody else, and meanwhile most people are like "I just want to do X, why is it so hard". Like why does my Android phone take up 15GB just for system files? I care about having free space more than data privacy. Security would sure be nice too, seeing as I use banking apps from this thing. Call me crazy, but I think most people car…

> Call me crazy, but I think most people care less about Nike knowing what their shoe size is They don't care because they don't understand. "Most people" think their shoe size or what ad they see doesn't matter because they're right, those things don't matter. What matters is that all of the data being collected about them will be used against them at every opportunity so that other people can get more money and pow…

This is exactly what my original comment was talking about.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#144

Post by 22c »

fezfight wrote: post #27
commoner wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Organic Maps has a simple user interface that makes it a more similar FOSS replacement for Magic Earth. - Organic Maps: https://organicmaps.app OsmAnd is a heavyweight with more features, including an advanced OSM editor, trip recording, Mapillary street view, and other plugins, for those that need them. - OsmAnd: https://osmand.net

I can vouch that organic maps is really quite nice, straight forward and familiar. OSMAnd is more fun, in my opinion, because of all the features but if you're looking for familiar, organic maps is the way to go.

What I'd really like is for all OSM apps to agree on a place to store the offline OSM data.

I don't mind having multiple navigation apps with different strengths/weaknesses but I don't want to download several gigs of offline maps for each app I might use.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#145

Post by yabatopia »

rglullis wrote: post #62
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #39

This is unrelated from the rest of the project, but why do open source projects in general have such inexplicably bad marketing? To the degree where you can't believe that somebody actually thought this would work? To the degree you can't believe someone with no marketing experience could be this inept? What is /e/? How is it pronounced? What does it mean? How do I tell people about it? Does it stick out in a Google…

Do you need good marketing to guide your decisions? Do you need someone else validating your choices? Why do you care about "good marketing"? > How do I tell people about it? "hey, the website is https://e.foundation , here is the link" That was not so hard, was it?

I’ve tried to search for supported Samsung devices, especially the S20 FE, and it’s a nightmare to find anything relevant using Google. Google Search ignores /e/, making it all but impossible to find anything about the /e/ project.

I can relate to the OP, /e/ is nit a very handy name for Google searches. It’s like it doesn’t exist. What’s the point of a name you can’t Google, or pronounce?

In case someone might have the same question: the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is not supported. In fact all recent Samsung devices are not supported. Support for new Samsung smartphones seems to have halted, most recent model in the S-family is the S10, released more than 3 years ago.

Does anyone know why recent Samsung devices are unsupported? After all, Samsung is one of the biggest smartphone makers. It seems odd to ignore such large user base.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#147

Post by nickzana »

colordrops wrote: post #146

So will Google pull the rug out from under this if it starts getting real traction?

Google Pixels generally have the best support for alternate OSes, especially from a security POV. See CalyxOS and GrapheneOS, which primarily/only support Pixels thanks to their ability to re-lock the bootloader.

I doubt third party Android distributions pose any real threat to Google given that 99% of people will stick to the default.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#148

Post by autoexec »

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #143
autoexec wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Call me crazy, but I think most people care less about Nike knowing what their shoe size is They don't care because they don't understand. "Most people" think their shoe size or what ad they see doesn't matter because they're right, those things don't matter. What matters is that all of the data being collected about them will be used against them at every opportunity so that other people can get more money and pow…

This is exactly what my original comment was talking about.

Tech people are talking about it because we understand the problems. The rest of the population will catch up as they become aware of it. I'm not sure how to accelerate that though. One thing I know we need to do is to be better about protecting children's data. We shouldn't be requiring them to sign up for google accounts and handing out locked down Chromebooks to students. We should be teaching them from an early age about the consequences of handing over their data.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#149

Post by Ank_S »

commoner wrote: post #123
alestainer wrote: post #121

/e/ docs say it uses Android keyboard, wouldn't that be a source of a data leak?

The "Android Keyboard (AOSP)"[1] in /e/ is a fork of the LineageOS keyboard.[2] Neither of these keyboards have network access. This is different from the keyboards that are preloaded on some Android phones, such as Gboard and Samsung Keyboard, which do connect to the internet. [1] https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/android_packages_inputmetho... [2] https://github.com/LineageOS/android_packages_inputmethods_L...

Sadly, most of newer smartphones are getting shipped with more default google apps like Phone, Messaging & Keyboard.

AOSP alternatives of these apps works well, but manufacturers are choosing/forced to choose more Google apps as default which is really sad.

I don't want Google updating "Phone" app every few days.

Re: Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones

#150

Post by arcanemachined »

bornfreddy wrote: post #100
fsflover wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mobian. I'm not using MMS; according to [0], it's in beta state. [0] https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=pinephone

Can you share the current state with regards to basic functions (phone calls, SMS, mobile data)? Does it work reliably?

Pinephone users don't tend to mention that the phone is about as powerful as a Galaxy S3. So keep that in mind.
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