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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by jeena@jemmy.jeena.net to c/technology@lemmy.world

Today 10 years ago I went to Poland to buy a Phone with pre installed #Firefox OS on. The Phone was a Alcatel One, so very shitty. Two years later I installed Firefox OS on my Nexus 5 instead.

It was a very good concept, but sadly rolled out on too shitty hardware so it never caught on.

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[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 33 points 1 year ago

If you are still interesting in Linux phone, consider looking at PinePhone Pro. I would recommend it only for experience users and the phone experience is far from Android, but software is catching up. Check @linuxphones

P.S. writing this comment from PPP :)

[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 4 points 1 year ago

Or SailfishOS! Has Android layer where apps can run seamlessly (without some hardware stuff support, like fingerprint etc.).

[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Want to mention that on GNU/Linux we also have Waydroid that provides Android app support :)

[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 2 points 1 year ago

I know about that, but from my experience nothing really compares to the ease of use of the SFOS AlienDalvik. Though something may have changed since I last checked (1.5 years ago).

[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I mostly wrote it for other readers.

Also used both, I would say they are similar. But Waydroid can't forward notifications to the main OS as in Sailfish. Sad that AlienDalvik is not FOSS :(

[-] Freesoftwareenjoyer@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

How is PinePhone Pro now? It's been over a year since its release and reading on reddit a few months ago it still seemed behind the original PinePhone. I would like to upgrade to the Pro version, but I'm worried it will be another year for it to be stable.

[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

I think its on par with the original PP now. I also own PP and I would recommend to upgrade, performance is way better.

But if you do, I would recommend to use megi's u-boot fork to improve your battery life.

[-] Freesoftwareenjoyer@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

That's cool! So there aren't any issues with phone calls anymore? I think people complained about audio quality, but I guess my PinePhone also has some issues like that.

But if you do, I would recommend to use megi’s u-boot fork to improve your battery life.

Doesn't everything use Tow-Boot now?

[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

No call issues at all, I daily drive it.

Doesn’t everything use Tow-Boot now?

Yes, but it's a distribution of U-Boot and it some releases behind. Megi recently implemented many cool features for U-Boot for PPP and it will take time until they appear in Tow-Boot. So I would recommend to use provided binaries from Megi for now, see his blog for more details: https://xnux.eu/log/091.html.

[-] Freesoftwareenjoyer@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Didn't know about this, thanks!

[-] darcy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago
[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 year ago

Sorry, forgot that I need to use exclamation mark: !linuxphones@lemmy.ml

[-] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago

Nah. just not properly linked instance.

[-] jeanma@lemmy.ninja 3 points 1 year ago

I know about the PinePhone Pro and I am quite experienced.
But even hardcore hairy dude like Drew Devault disavowed it (source).

[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

It seems that the main complaint is calls and SMS. I use different distro (Arch, btw) with FOSS firmware for the modem and calls / SMS work fine for me.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago

Are there any foss options for non-tech people?

[-] Shatur@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If you mean GNU/Linux - no. But you can buy a phone that supports Lineage OS. It's Android distribution, so you will have everything you used to have on your phone and the OS will be fully FOSS.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Thank you. This seems to be the best option at the moment. Right now I’m stuck on iPhone which I bought without realizing how restrictive their OS was. However I don’t have the budget or interest in buying a new device currently, so I’m just keeping an eye on my options.

this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2023
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