PinePhone
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How will you evaluate the number of Pinphones with UT for the production ? Did you start a pondering about that ? Actually, you have as start point or work basis the number of members of ubports community.. Knowing that a lot are '' Pinphone addict '', it could be several for some/a lot of members..
For me it will be two -
@domubpkm To be honest, we don't have an estimate. Here is what we're thinking: late this year and early next year we will release two batches of Pinephones geared toward enthusiasts happy to accept some potential sw shortcomings. Which OS, if any, these early phones will ship with is anyone's guess at the moment - its still early in the process. Then there will be a pause in production (kind-of-forced and not up to us; CNY - which realistically lasts over a month). This will give us an idea of the interest in the device and, as a bonus, also give some time for the software to mature as phones end-up in the users hands and people report issues (perhaps you guys even help devs out in the polishing process).
Once CNY storm blows over (late Feb/ early March 2020) we may decide to ship the phones cyclically changing the OS per batch (batch 1 UT; batch 2 LuneOs; batch 3 Maemo Leste, etc.,). We are even toying with the idea of having different color back-plates for each of the projects (UT = Orange/ KDE = Green etc.,) - perhaps even with a stamped-in logos, for when a batch ships with a particular OS. The default black back-plate will obviously always be there as an option. And I hope its clear to all that you can run whatever you desire on your PinePhone ... I'm sure someone will end up running XFCE just because its possible
So what the Phones ship with doesn't really matter all that much.Anyways, we'll probably play it by the ear and see how it goes this years and early the next and take it from there. BTW, all I have written may not happen or may change - just letting you know what we're currently planning and thinking
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@PINE64 again a very clear, complete and professionnal answer : this time how the distribution process (wide view) should happen : THANK YOU !
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@PINE64 thank you for this thoughtful answer. Can't wait for the first batch
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I know it's too early to talk about this but I'd really like to see a passive audio amplifier like fairphone did for its phones
(https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/t/introducing-fairphone-2s-crafty-wooden-accessories/3783)
maybe this can also help with positioning the speaker in a strategic place -
@mymike looks like a fun add-on. Not sure its something we'll try to tackle, as we've got plenty on our plate, but we hope end users and other projects will be happy to create such and other peripherals for the PinePhone. We're trying to expose I2C (via pogo pins) on the PinePhone too, which would also open it up to various applications and custom case-backs, etc.,
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I know it's too early to talk about this but I'd really like to see a passive audio amplifier like fairphone did for its phones
maybe this can also help with positioning the speaker in a strategic place
Neat. Looks like something the 3D printing community could do for just about any phone.
we hope end users and other projects will be happy to create such and other peripherals for the PinePhone. We're trying to expose I2C (via pogo pins) on the PinePhone too, which would also open it up to various applications and custom case-backs, etc.,
I'm hoping someone - whether @PINE64 or another company - comes up with a landscape keyboard case for terminal work. So far I've used repurposed Iphone keyboard cases, connecting by Bluetooth, but that's a bit of an ugly hack.
Edit to add: that ugly hack is also complicated by the fact that I've only found landscape slider keyboards for very old Iphones, and most of them have dead batteries by now. By the time I plug them into a charger battery or other power source, I have enough hardware on my hands that I might as well just ssh in.
I did recently acquire two Iphone slider keyboard cases with working batteries, but one is a portrait keyboard so not ideal for the terminal (and also takes an oddball charge plug), and the other lacks a dedicated row for numbers. Maybe I should look into 3D printing a larger case and installing a decent battery into the five row keyboards. Or just glue a thin charger battery to the back of those keyboards.
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@PINE64 I really like the idea of having different colors for different operating systems. Would the different back-plate designs be available separately or to be treated as limited editions exclusive to each batch?
Another idea could be to have solid colors available to all and printed artwork exclusive to each batch. For instance, the first batch could have a solid purple backing with the orange Ubuntu Phone circle (like in this picture: http://refugeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Ubuntu-Phone-Wall.png).
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@trainailleur Granted the pogo pin setup works out, I am pretty sure just about everyone will be thinking of making a keyboard case-back.
@Djhg2000 Not really sure what artwork you have in mind exactly, but casting a cover in a different color (basically just different color plastic) would most certainly be less expensive. Also, we cannot use some of the artwork due to potential problems with trademarks -- that linked Ubuntu image being a good example of what we could not do
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@Djhg2000 Not really sure what artwork you have in mind exactly, but casting a cover in a different color (basically just different color plastic) would most certainly be less expensive. Also, we cannot use some of the artwork due to potential problems with trademarks -- that linked Ubuntu image being a good example of what we could not do
I only meant for the picture to be illustrative but now that I read my post again I see that I wasn't very clear about that, sorry for the confusion.
Basically I wanted to have some recognizable UI element printed on the back so that you could tell what the phone shipped with. Trademarks/copyright could certainly be an issue for some of those. Then again, a solid color should be recognizable enough to the right people.
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@Djhg2000 Ah yes. Well, it would be ideal to have a logo of the project in question molded into the plastic. How much work and how expensive that would be is some we won't know for some time. Its just an idea.
I truly hope that people will also 3D print custom back-covers (and cases) for the PinePhone.
You can always make your own vinyl skin for the case if neither of the ideas materialize -
@PINE64 A transparent one would be cool
- It´s a project where you should see whats inside, so also give transparency to the hardware hehe...My languages: 🇦🇹 🇩🇪 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
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A great metaphor, @Flohack -
@Flohack I really like the idea! Lets hope that the PCB is visible on the actual phone - the mockup has a plastic 'shield' over the fake PCB (probably holds heatsink in place), so all you'd see is black plastic + battery (not super exciting).
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@trainailleur I wonder if bluetooth on PinePhone will be fully functional, e.g. handsfree calling, bluetooth transfer, as on current devices it doesn't work. Or is it a question for Ubports rather then for PinePhone vendor?
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@trainailleur I wonder if bluetooth on PinePhone will be fully functional, e.g. handsfree calling, bluetooth transfer, as on current devices it doesn't work. Or is it a question for Ubports rather then for PinePhone vendor?
Sounds like a UBPorts question, but since it's a "status of porting" question, I'm not sure anyone would answer. It's probably best just to wait and see. Since @PINE64 have said they won't be taking any money on a widespread order until at least one OS is working on the phone (though I think they have now mentioned the possibility of a small "early adopter" batch), we should know more in plenty of time to make an informed purchase decision.
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@Stefano - as @trainailleur correctly said, this is a question for UBPorts. The hardware can obviously do all the things you asked about.
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OP updated with info that popped up on the PinePhone Wiki today:
- Dimensions now 160.5mm x 76.6mm x 9.2mm (up from 157mm x 56mm x 8.9mm)
- Base model fixed at 2 GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC, with a strong hint of a 3 GB / 64 GB version (@PINE64, can you confirm?)
- BT included by the WiFi kill switch, addition of camera kill switch, demise of speaker and USB OTG kill switches. (Those who were looking forward to the OTG kill switch for chrarging at public USB chargers might look into USB power-only filters instead.)
- $150 base price clarified to refer to 2 GB / 16 GB model.
Of note, the PinePhone will support microSD, so even the base model should have access to greatly expanded (if slow) bulk storage on SD.
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@trainailleur he he, I can neither confirm nor deny
Just kidding. This is something we've been talking about for a little while now. I am pretty sure it won't be a day one option, but yes, its coming down the line. I'll edit this comment for accuracy / additional info if need be.
