linmob

I totally agree. Establishing a sustainable niche is enough.

You could start it, and I would be happy to tell people about it :-)

There are multiple programming languages that can be used, as evidenced by the wide variety of apps listed on https://LINMOBapps.frama.io

Besides Python there’s C, C++, Java, Go, Rust and and ... anything that has toolkit bindings basically. I plan to add the main programming languages per app in a future revision of the list.

It works reasonably well, as long as you don’t “over-split” your screen.

FVWM sounds interesting. Would you like to share details of your setup? If so, I would like to interview you for my blog https://linmob.net!

Is it publicly available? If so, may I list it on https://LINMOBapps.frama.io?

For Smartphones, LuneOS carries on the legacy of webOS. I made a video about it running on the PinePhone a while back: https://linmob.net/videos/#LuneOS

Anbox is supported in various distributions, see e.g. https://odysee.com/@linmob:3/manjaro-daily-dev-builds-for-pi....

Video chat on the PinePhone is "early work in progress" at best, see https://marius.bloggt-in-braunschweig.de/2021/03/04/pinephon....

If you want to play with some of the UIs and apps, check out the devices postmarketOS supports [0]. Especially Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) support is looking pretty good, and the devices are quite affordable used (low to middle double figures, or you may even have one already!). Generally, postmarketOS is just awesome, the abilities of their pmbootstrap tool alone are amazing.

[0] https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices

Let me reply to that by listing existing apps listed on http://appl.ist:

- NewPipe > FreeTube, AudioTube

- Podcast app/music app > GNOME Podcasts, GPodder/Lollypop, Elisa

- Maps > PureMaps, GNOME Maps

- AndOTP > Keysmith, GNOME Authenticator, Two-Factor-Keychain, Numberstation

- Signal (and/or Matrix) > Axolotl / various, Nheko feels most complete currently

- Orgzly > Emacs maybe?

- Email > Geary (I still use Evolution though)

- Good browser support > Angelfish, desktop Firefox has been adapted nicely, once Chromiums Wayland supports matures it will also be a viable option (it’s very fast, but has annoying issues with text input currently)

You definitely have a point, and it‘s a pity that (desktop) Firefox recently dropped its haphazard support for Progressive Web Apps making that alternative even more unlikely to happen.

On the other hand, I would not call the App Selection shitty, see https://LINMOBapps.frama.io.

Like I wrote in my recent update [0], LTT did not even bother to get the specs right. There was another review [1] this week that did a much better job imho.

[0] https://linmob.net/2021/03/21/linbits37-weekly-linux-phone-n...

[1] https://media.kaitaia.life/videos/watch/f072045c-b713-48c6-9...

Read carefully. USD 149 gets you 2GB RAM/16 GB eMMC, USD 199 3GB RAM/32 GB eMMC.

IMHO, it does not have to change the duopoly, as long as it creates sustainable options for those who want to escape that duopoly. In that way it‘s already a success.

Depends on the stack you are using. I maintain an App List [0] that lists existing apps, which might help with getting an idea of the dominant frameworks. That said, popular technologies like Flutter are also coming to Linux Phones.

[0] https://LINMOBapps.frama.io

IIRC, it essentially boils down to:

- closed source software running on the LTE modem,

- proprietary firmware for the Realtek bluetooth/WiFi chip

- optional firmware for camera autofocus.

Yes, it does. Although, caveat: Not every one of the distributions listed under [0] does. MMS is difficult though, it still has to be properly implemented in the GNOME-ish software stack that bases on ModemManager instead of Ofono.

Regarding the Librem 5: The final hardware (Evergreen) supports calls and SMS reliably. Unfortunately its battery life is still a bit lackluster.

[0] https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=PinePhone_Software_R...

Nope, the hardware has not changed since the Manjaro Community Edition, Rev 1.2b. This one has a different magnetometer, part nr AF8133L instead of LIS3MDL which was not available; I am not sure if that warrants calling this one v1.2c or not.

Confirming these settings at first launch is something that mostly annoys users. Remember: Most users just install software via Flatpak because this way they don't have to compile it themselves, deal with a tarball or use an outdated release their distribution ships.

Also, if you want to review or change these settings, you can use Flatseal[0]. Arguably, it should be installed by default.

The problem with flatkill.org is that it leads to users rather downloading a random deb off the internet or an AppImage than using Flatpak, which both have worse security stories.

[0] https://github.com/tchx84/Flatseal

Living somewhere where MMS is not used, I have not been following this to closely. There have been various scripts that apparently work well enough. At least for the Phosh/Gnome on Mobile side this issue [0] is the one to watch.

[0] https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/chatty/-/issues/30#note_14822...

Don't forget Axolotl[0], an unofficial client for Ubuntu Touch that has been unofficially packaged up for Debian (and that package can in turn be installed with a PKGBUILD script on Arch and Manjaro). A working official client would be a lot better though.

[0] https://github.com/nanu-c/axolotl

If you want to, you can have that; just take postmarketOSs new stable release when it's out with your prefered mobile shell and put the bare minimum of apps you want/need on there and you'll be set.

As for KaiOS, I doubt we'll see that soon, as IIRC like FirefoxOS it's designed to run on Android kernels. With GloDroid being mostly dormant and incomplete, I doubt we can pull that off.

Have you tried Arch Linux ARM/DanctNIX?

Pricing is tough to guesstimate right now with the component shortage. Given that hardware has not changed in a while, I don't see what should hold you back from getting it now, and the remaining hardware bugs are acceptible.[0]

The experience has improved quite a bit since I got my first PinePhone in June. That said, this device is never going to be really fast. It's acceptible now, though, and it turns out, that you can adjust to things being a little slow every then and now. Most distributions don't use the acceleration capabilities the SoC offer as much as they could, and there are other areas where improvements for battery life and smoothness are still happening. It's been serving me fine as my only smartphone on weekends (and as a secondary device on workdays).

I've been tracking the Linux Phone landscape on my blog[1], in multiple videos[2]. I have also adopted an App List, to list all the apps that run on these nascent Linux Distributions and are optimized for smartphones.[3]

BTW: The coolest feature is that you can just put another distribution on a microSDHC/XC card and boot it. Like this you can carry multiple phone operating systems that fit certain circumstances.

[0] https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/PinePhone_v1.2b

[1] https://linmob.net

[2] https://linmob.net/videos/

[3] http://appl.ist

Another nice OS for the N900 is Maemo Leste (https://leste.meamo.org), which is basically the same software as ran originally, but modernized; sadly, when I last tried it, it still lacked a GUI for key features like calls and texts.

Yes, that’s my reason. Also, it’s rather easy to run your favorite Linux distribution on ChromeOS devices compared to Android hardware.

As a PinePhone and Librem 5 owner, I should be psyched by this, as a tablet running a Linux distribution that looks nice could really help the overall Linux on touchscreen devices ecosystem.

I am not too excited though:

1. With their current, x86_64 only release, GPL violations have been alleged.

2. PowerVR graphics make mainlining this device unlikely, meaning that it’s going to be stuck on a Vendor kernel and libhybris, as that Vendor kernel has likely been released with Android devices in mind. This is OK, but it’s not good long term.

3. Their marketing is a bit over the top, full of lofty claims that often aren’t technically true as has already been discussed here.

Don’t forget all the Chrome OS tablets (yes, I am willing to call these Linux tablets), like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet.

Their stack is (currently) based on KDE Plasma, but they have not released source code (IIRC) for JingOS 0.6 and thus are violating the GPL already.

Regarding community activity: I think there‘s a lot going on, I had no problem to write my weekly update for my blog (https://linmob.net) for 37 times now and I have trouble testing and adding all the software projects to http://appl.ist).

Like everything these days, the active community seems to be more scattered, while PINE64 has a forum, this not really the central place Maemo.org seemed to be (I could not afford a N900 at the time). There are multiple subreddits, Twitter, the fediverse, chat rooms (and all the distributions have their own channels) – all this makes it hard to make sure to not miss out.