PinePhone

trainailleur

@3arn0wl said in PinePhone:

Thanks for this @trainailleur.

I think this is really quite exciting!!

You're welcome. Me too. I pre-ordered the Ubuntu Edge (RIP) and Librem 5 in the first hours of their crowdfunding, but they were both too expensive to attract casual interest. Quite apart from my own interest in it, the PinePhone looks to be the non-Android Linux phone I'll finally be able to recommend to people less willing to gamble much money on unfamiliar and still-developing hardware/software stacks.

advocatux

@trainailleur thank you for posting that. Do you have any info about the camera specifications? Maybe they'll be the same than the devkit camera (?) that's "2mpx and 5mpx front / back cameras" now.

trainailleur

@advocatux said in PinePhone:

@trainailleur thank you for posting that. Do you have any info about the camera specifications? Maybe they'll be the same than the devkit camera (?) that's "2mpx and 5mpx front / back cameras" now.

You're quite welcome. I thought people here might be as interested in that info as I was.

I haven't seen anything about the cameras yet, but I'll post it here if I do.

advocatux

@trainailleur great. Thanks again

PINE64

What do you guys want to know about the cams ? I'll find out for you.

advocatux

@PINE64 everything you can get. Megapixels, resolution, lens, aperture...

WLBI

@PINE64
Camera quality is important for me, that's why I switched back to Samsung S8 with Android, after using the Ubuntu phone for many years.
If the video quality is poor, it's useless for me and I always have to carry two phones, or a phone and an extra camera.

PINE64

@WLBI Without even knowing the details that @advocatux asked for (I'll hear back from China office on Monday), I can tell you now that in terms of photo quality (hardware) the PinePhone will be no match for your Samsung S8. I expect picture quality to be closer to the iphone 5 -- some of this obviously depends on software, which is something I cannot comment on.

advocatux

@PINE64 that would be more than enough for me, thanks. When I want to take HQ pictures I use a real camera

ernest

@PINE64 Sounds really interesting, I'm going to wait a bit more to change my phone.

Operating wise, it's going to be : Who ever is going to port on it ? Will you sell it with an operating system ?

PINE64

@ernest We're working with many different projects to deliver a number of Linux OS'. The Phone will sell with an OS - we currently aim to ship the PinePhone with Ubuntu Touch. But as with any FOSS hardware, you'll be able to install whatever you want from from the OS' that will be available and more (you can run a standard desktop Linux for instance ... for whatever reason).

domubpkm

@PINE64 Thanks for info. Questions : 2GB memory, it could be more ? worldwide shipping ? (i'm from France). You will inform us for the launch date of pre-orders?

Josele13

@PINE64 I have seen the specifications of the phone, I like it very much. I particularly don't like high-end phones, but I do like a minimum in phone hardware,
i use two sim cards, one for my work and one for private use. many people do the same as me, now i use a Bq E 4.5 and i am delighted,

An excessively large screen is annoying, I think I would stick with the 5.7 inch screen, and it's big.

I think that to have good family photos you need a 13 Mpx or 16 Mpx camera.

I also think that makes the product more expensive, that's normal, I'd pay 200€ or 240€ for those specifications, like mid-high range mobile phones.

Could it be that with the same phone there are two ranges?

two SIM cards
Camera 13Mpx or 16 Mpx

greetings...

UniSuperBox

@Josele13

The Allwinner A64 supports up to a 5Mpx camera. You can't do any more without changing the SOC. Let's get through one generation of hardware at $149 before we think of more opportunities.

PINE64

@domubpkm There will be world-wide shipping. As for RAM - the SOC supports up-to 3GB of LPDDR3 memory. So yes, in theory there could be more, but lets see if the devs are content with the current specs. If we buy more RAM then we will have to spend less on other components, so if the experience is solid with 2GB of RAM then its better to spend the money on better plastic, LCD panels, battery, etc., I hope this makes sense.

@Josele13 as @UniSuperBox said, lets take one step at a time. We think that the best chance to have a significant adoption of the PinePhone (and exposure to Linux on a phone in general) is by making a solid device, that performs well, and is inexpensive. As it currently stands, even the majority of Linux enthusiasts do not consider Linux on a Phone as a replacement for their iOS or Android daily driver - this is the reality of things. There is, however, a good chance that the same people will be willing to pick up the PinePhone... even if its just out of curiosity. This in turn will lead to exposure to the Linux phone OS platform such as Ubuntu Touch and help it grow.
The more people interested, the bigger the market, the more reasonable it is to create a higher-end device One thing at a time.

domubpkm

@PINE64 OK. I wish you the best success for the pinephone in all aspects !

A Former User

Really looking forward to this and seeing UT running on it!

Photojoe4

Is there a way to confirm that the Pinephone will work as well "out of the box" as my Nexus 5 running Ubuntu Touch? In other words, would I be losing any functionality by switching to it when it comes out?

trainailleur

Updated the first post twice today:

First to remove the imaginary LTE Band 6 I had somehow inserted into the network band list. (Oops. )
Second to add the note that the modem will be soldered in place to keep the phone thin.

The EC-25G Pine64 have chosen has good worldwide band support. From what I can tell, the variations of the Gemalto PLS8 modem Purism have announced for the Librem 5 have far less band coverage, so it is good for travelers that Purism have also announced the modem to be user replaceable.

PINE64

One thing is missing from your feature-set @trainailleur (and its my fault, as I originally failed to include it in my announcement post), namely GPS and GLONASS (as well as BT/WiFi ... but thats a given).

[edit] also due to thefts of data via OTG in public charging areas, we will likely include a hardware switch for OTG