The community around Linux phones is interesting. The phones do sell to a lot of people, but it seems a lot of those people come back to complain that Linux phones isn't what they expected it is. For some reason all the distributions for the PinePhone are bending over backwards
Given the above I find it to be no surprise that many (the majority) of PinePhone buyers/fans/onlookers have no interest or skill to improve the device or service: they’re here because they’re fedup by some part of the current status quo and don’t want to wait for a more mature offering (which by the way would negate a lot of Martin’s initial complaints).
This is 100% where I am. I’m sick to death of everything I own trying to suck up personal data and then use it to manipulate me for profit. It’s like having a sociopathic lover who knows everything about you and is hell-bent on ruthlessly exploiting you. I will not stand for it; I demand control of my data and my hardware.
The mobile space is where this is the worst. I run a custom Android ROM, but as a “mere” superuser who’s not a professional coder, there’s only so much I can do in an environment that’s fundamentally structured against me. I fervently want open source mobile hardware to succeed, and I don’t have any relevant technical skills to contribute.
I don’t know what to do other than buy the hardware to show that there’s support for this. Do you have suggestions?
I just got the Fairphone 3+ and the first impression is fantastic!
Putting lineage os (no google) on it took about 10 minutes, the built quality feels very solid, and it’s lighter than my old Samsung S9+ (which I’m about to sell).
After a day of light use the battery is at 86%.
it reminds me a lot of the Nexus 5 but naturally better and bigger screen.
Just chiming in a bit late, the other recommendations of Ubuntu Touch and/or Fairphone + donating are great ideas.
I cant get a Fairphone as they don’t work well in the USA, and when the major carriers sunset their 2G/3G might not work at all - I’ve considered using one on WiFi only but don’t know how well that will work yet.
That’s also my reservation on buying another device for Ubuntu Touch as well, and VoLTE is device specific - the PinePhone having VoLTE solves that for me.
I’d also recommend to report bugs and the like actively if you have the time, providing good examples helps iron things out for other users and the maintainers.
This is 100% where I am. I’m sick to death of everything I own trying to suck up personal data and then use it to manipulate me for profit. It’s like having a sociopathic lover who knows everything about you and is hell-bent on ruthlessly exploiting you. I will not stand for it; I demand control of my data and my hardware.
The mobile space is where this is the worst. I run a custom Android ROM, but as a “mere” superuser who’s not a professional coder, there’s only so much I can do in an environment that’s fundamentally structured against me. I fervently want open source mobile hardware to succeed, and I don’t have any relevant technical skills to contribute.
I don’t know what to do other than buy the hardware to show that there’s support for this. Do you have suggestions?
Get a used Android phone that supports Ubuntu Touch and donate your savings to the Ubports foundation.
Eidt: Buying a PinePhone does not help with the software issue described in the OP, as Pine64 does only minimal software development themselves.
Recommendation very much appreciated. It looks like a Fairphone running Ubuntu Touch could be exactly what I want.
I just got the Fairphone 3+ and the first impression is fantastic!
Putting lineage os (no google) on it took about 10 minutes, the built quality feels very solid, and it’s lighter than my old Samsung S9+ (which I’m about to sell).
After a day of light use the battery is at 86%.
it reminds me a lot of the Nexus 5 but naturally better and bigger screen.
Definitely would recommend it so far!
what’s the camera like on the Fairphone using lineageOS
I think it is the stock camera. The app isn’t overly fancy.
On the hardware side it seems decent. It’s 48mp. Not a photo geek, but it works fine for my purposes:
family pics, pics for reminders, etc
Just chiming in a bit late, the other recommendations of Ubuntu Touch and/or Fairphone + donating are great ideas.
I cant get a Fairphone as they don’t work well in the USA, and when the major carriers sunset their 2G/3G might not work at all - I’ve considered using one on WiFi only but don’t know how well that will work yet.
That’s also my reservation on buying another device for Ubuntu Touch as well, and VoLTE is device specific - the PinePhone having VoLTE solves that for me.
I’d also recommend to report bugs and the like actively if you have the time, providing good examples helps iron things out for other users and the maintainers.