
KDE’s Plasma Mobile Is Shaping Up Nicely on the PinePhone - jrepinc
https://9to5linux.com/kdes-plasma-mobile-is-shaping-nicely-on-the-pinephone
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solarkraft
Wow, I didn't think this article would succeed on HN.

What I still really weird, tbh, is that Plasma mobile seems to be some kind of
extra project, instead of just Plasma, but with extra touch features.

I say this partly because that's exactly what I'm looking for for my
convertible tablet that I use like a laptop most of the time, but in touch
mode some of the time, which Plasma desktop absolutely sucks at.

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GekkePrutser
Wow... They can now move icons around.

Seriously, if this is nowhere near the usability of Ubuntu Touch, which was
abandoned because it didn't have a chance, how can this succeed? The first
iPhone in 2007 could do this.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a truly open Linux-based smartphone OS
happen without the involvement of big business. I just don't think it's going
to happen. If anyone has a shot it's sailfish and even that was too barebones
to use last time I tried it (about 3 months ago), even with the Android
compatibility layer.

~~~
ptx
It's all in the definition of "succeed".

Can they establish a strong enough market position to participate in the game
of skimming 30% off the price all app sales for yet another walled-garden
platform? Definitely not, but that's not the goal.

Can they provide a useful system for technical users, like KDE and Linux on
the desktop? Seems like they have a good shot at it.

~~~
beatgammit
I am exactly the target market for this. I don't use many apps, and my most
used apps are either usable in the browser or easy to implement myself. I
don't need much from my phone, just calls, texts, a browser, a PDF viewer,
navigation, SSH, and decent battery life. Bonus points for apps like Signal
and Bitwarden, both of which are open source.

If I can get those features from a PinePhone, I'll ditch Android. And it seems
like I will, since I've seen demos of calls, the browser, and a terminal app,
and assurance that battery life on standby is ~12 hours with active time
around 3-5 hours. I'm sure the rest of my requirements will be in a mostly
useable state in the next few months (I saw a picture of evince on Phosh).

PinePhone and Librem 5 aren't targeting mainstream users, they're targeting a
niche group that needs or wants a smartphone and is willing to put up with a
lot of rough edges to not be spied on. And $150 is a very compelling price
point for that.

