Linmob

> I feel like these low spec ARM CPUs are basically the 6502 and z80 of the late 80s of our day.

For sure and don't get me wrong, somebody motivated to do so could get a lot out of it still. I'm still impressed on a (mostly) weekly basis by the progress being made for Linux on mobiles: https://linmob.net/

> Still technically usable, but far outclassed by contemporary hardware, yet finding their way into the hands of hobbyists.

Kind of reminds me of the early Raspberry Pi devices that were 'technically' able to replace a desktop - but would you? Probably not.

For $300-$400 it's probably a little on the high-end for a hobbyist device too. Bare in mind the early PineBook, PinePhone and PineTab were each $100 or so with similar specs.

> I have been writing and doing a number of videos about the PinePhone on https://linmob.net.

Thanks for posting - have had a hard time finding quality reviews & will definitely check out at length

Also the “Purism Phosh” pro-tip on the interface is much appreciated. Had no idea you could actually do multiple interfaces (like with a Linux Box) but I guess that makes sense.

My impression is they’re really spearheading the open-source functionality all at once in these smartphone devices & at the moment, it’s too new / may be a lot rn to tie together all the loose-ends of its potential .. am hopeful with each iteration, the Pinephone will be a more solid / reliable phone.

Looking forward to giving it a go

As a person that spends way too much time on these efforts[0], here's what makes the phone still worthwhile to me despite being slow and at times buggy: It's nice to be in an ecosystem that does not have ad frameworks, that does not nudge you into using iCloud or where you have to use Play Services (or invest time into building around not having them (and more than once, did that for years)) for apps to work properly.

(That aside, I have not had the problems OP describes - but the worst problems with PinePhone (outside of highly experimental software) I suffered through where with Manjaro.)

[0]: https://linmob.net, https://linuxphoneapps.org

Do you have a source on the GPL violations? I went looking as I suspected as such but i only got as far as https://linmob.net/2021/01/31/linbits30-weekly-linux-phone-news-week4.html there's a single mention of it and the linked tweet has been deleted.

If they don't release the source and the custom drivers and patches they use to power the device then they'll probably be in violation of GPL but I'm not sure of the specifics tbh. I do agree that something like this will definitely help the development of touch screen devices on Linux.

1. Buy a device, https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices#Main . I suggest the PinePhone if you want something with decent power management in the next few months, or PinePhone Pro if you're willing to wait a few months for decent power management.

2. Find good programs on https://linmobapps.frama.io/

3. Figure out what functionality you're missing. Contribute improvements.

Keep in touch with the community at https://linmob.net/

Advice for anyone considering it:

* There are rough edges, but the basics are there: calling/SMS/4G/WiFi/audio/browsing/suspend.

* If you want to try it, put https://xnux.eu/p-boot-demo/ on an SD card and plug that into your PinePhone. That has a bunch of different distros and UIs on it.

* To keep up to date, follow https://www.pine64.org/blog/ and https://linmob.net/

I'm excited to use a community driven phone!