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From what I can tell, this is the same HW, but without a different distro pre-loaded.
I'm super-stoked to try out the different distros, and will definitely give Manjaro a shot too :)
I personally would avoid anything Manjaro related due to recurring controversies around the project leadership: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/hxpj87/change_in_man... I wish PinePhone would partner with Arch or Debian instead.
I wish PinePhone would partner with Arch or Debian instead. Word. Debian is great! In the past when I see people using Ubuntu, I always wondered why? It is so interesting how people in tech just fall into the fashion trap.
As someone (still) using Ubuntu today, I have 1 simple answer: OOB experience.
Back in the days, I could insert a Ubuntu live-CD (remember CDs?), and have a fully working system, including proprietary graphics-driver and wifi-firmware. And installing from that Live-CD gave me the same experience once installed.
Basically, it was a machine 100% ready to use, with everything autodetected, with absolutely zero manual effort.
Debian otoh required me to hook up a wired network connection (because those had free drivers), and then manually track down which packages contained the proprietary drivers and firmware I needed.
That single thing made a world of difference to me back then, and it still does today.
I've got an (old) Samsung Galaxy S4 that I've stuck with because it suits my needs and it still works well. Knowing that it will eventually die, I guess I have two questions I'd love to have answered by Pinephone owners: 1) Is a Pinephone a viable alternative either iOS or Android? 2) How do you get it connected to carrier X?
> 1) Is a Pinephone a viable alternative either iOS or Android?
A Pinephone will never support all the proprietary apps (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Fortnite, etc). In order to be viable, I would say a phone needs to support phone calls, SMS, MMS, camera, GPS/Navigation, and have a fast and snappy web browser. Currently the Pinephone supports everything except MMS (which is necessary for "texting" pictures and groups). Because you will not have access to FB Messenger, Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, etc on a Pinephone, you will have to you SMS/MMS for communication if you want to interoperate with people from the mainstream.
2) For T-Mobile based carriers in the US, you just stick in the simcard.
I personally would avoid anything Manjaro related due to recurring controversies around the project leadership: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/hxpj87/change_in_man... I wish PinePhone would partner with Arch or Debian instead.
I wish PinePhone would partner with Arch or Debian instead. Word. Debian is great! In the past when I see people using Ubuntu, I always wondered why? It is so interesting how people in tech just fall into the fashion trap.
Because I don't have a wired internet connection, and my wifi adapter requires proprietary drivers. If I could just download and install from an ISO like I can with Ubuntu, I'd switch to Debian in a heartbeat, but I don't feel like having to do manual workarounds just to get a running Linux distro.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
T-Mobile and Verizon should allow any modern device. Verizon used to need a activation conponent for the CDMA radio but modern devices just use LTE and voLTE. They did have a visual voicemail blob that used to be pulled in, but now they follow spec and don't require anything special. Sprint (which is now T-Mobile) has required an activation app for their CDMA devices called SprintDM. Without it, phone will not activa…
In Europe, GSM is still being used. I heard in they are being phased out. Anyone knows how that will affect old nokia type of phones?
On the other hand there must be quite a lot of embedded devices using only GSM. For example, this year the elevator maintenance company offered our housing company GSM emergency phone units to replace landline-based ones. WCDMA-supported units would have cost a few thousand euros more.
As someone who has always made fun of "year of linux on desktop", I want to say this move will finally pave a way for the next decade to end with "year of linux on mobile". Using a popular distro will be the push linux needed on phone. While Manjaro users themselves (IMHO) aren't really developers, this is gateway to get Arch people involved. Arch is a very vibrant community with a lot of people who try to contribute…
That Android contains the Linux (R) kernel is no mere "claim", rather it is the truth. Also, obviously, Android is not what anyone was thinking of when they say "Linux". This confusion stems from people using the term "Linux" both to refer to a kernel (the original and still accepted meaning) and to refer to an operating system combining said kernel with the GNU userspace.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish PinePhone would partner with Arch or Debian instead. Word. Debian is great! In the past when I see people using Ubuntu, I always wondered why? It is so interesting how people in tech just fall into the fashion trap.
> In the past when I see people using Ubuntu, I always wondered why? Because I don't have a wired internet connection, and my wifi adapter requires proprietary drivers. If I could just download and install from an ISO like I can with Ubuntu, I'd switch to Debian in a heartbeat, but I don't feel like having to do manual workarounds just to get a running Linux distro.
I see several comments questioning the choice of Manjaro on PinePhone, but as the name suggests it's Community Edition after all; Those who want Manjaro on smartphone, now have a device to develop for . I think, the way Pine64 is pushing these CE devices is smart and definitely a positive step for overall pure Linux smartphone ecosystem. But, I'm also hearing great things about Mobian[1] on PinePhone and AFAIK it's b…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Do these support Android apps? They do not, at least not yet. They may support anbox at some point, but that's not a given. > How would I develop a native app for one of these? The same as you would for any Linux distro. I would check out Plasma Mobile, as they have toolkit's and a workflow already in place is my understanding.
> They do not, at least not yet. And hopefully never. Almost all Android apps rely on the closed-source GMS for essential functionality (eg: push notifications). There will need to be an open alternative to GMS if the goal is to support Android apps but a better idea would be to abandon Android as template basis going forward.
There is a very fine repository of fully-free Android apps hosted at https://f-droid.org.
Further, I would argue that "almost all" Android apps that are free software can easily be tweaked to not rely on Google Play Services. Non-free Android apps will not be made any better by becoming nonfree GNU/Linux apps.
I've got an (old) Samsung Galaxy S4 that I've stuck with because it suits my needs and it still works well. Knowing that it will eventually die, I guess I have two questions I'd love to have answered by Pinephone owners: 1) Is a Pinephone a viable alternative either iOS or Android? 2) How do you get it connected to carrier X?
Disclaimer: I do not (yet) have my Pinephone. > 1) Is a Pinephone a viable alternative either iOS or Android? A Pinephone will never support all the proprietary apps (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Fortnite, etc). In order to be viable, I would say a phone needs to support phone calls, SMS, MMS, camera, GPS/Navigation, and have a fast and snappy web browser. Currently the Pinephone supports everything except…