
Pinephone – “Community Edition: PostmarketOS” Linux smartphone - fsflover
https://store.pine64.org/product-category/pinephone/
======
megous
Sad not to be mentioned, despite the update talking about a lot of my
independent work last month or so. (discovering the HW issues,
suggesting/verifying the fix, writing the USB-C/HDMI driver enabling the whole
convergence thing) But I'm very glad about the progress PinePhone is making.
The momentum is incredible.

If anyone is interested in original info from the author of the USB-C/HDMI
work, I also put useful information/observations from my work on the kernel
and PinePhone here:

[https://xnux.eu/devices/pine64-pinephone.html](https://xnux.eu/devices/pine64-pinephone.html)

The current thing on my radar is writing a power manager for the modem. :)
That will improve the standby from 24h with the modem active to ~90h.

EDIT: All is well, btw. There's just a lot of pressure on pine64's small team,
and it's hard to keep up with everything.

~~~
mkesper
Booting to Arch Linux and being accessible on WiFi in ~5 seconds

Booting to my custom init process, initializing the system and running my UI
app in ~1 second

Try that with any other smartphone...

~~~
megous
Yeah, I've improved it a bit with UI in the bootloader (still fits in 32KiB
sram, even with GUI) + flickerless/seamless display pipeline passover to the
kernel in the meantime too. :)

I've also experimented with booting to electron and having the whole phone UI
written in it...

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce9vZj1r_-E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce9vZj1r_-E)

~~~
black_puppydog
shouldn't electron UI then eat up much of the battery gains made from the
modem code?

~~~
megous
Probably not. Electron just sits there doing not much other than 2-3% CPU load
from updating the information in the header each second.

[https://megous.com/dl/tmp/a1017dd38ca6ce10.png](https://megous.com/dl/tmp/a1017dd38ca6ce10.png)

Batter gains in standby are something else. Main CPU is off, and no processes
are thus running, so it doesn't matter what SW you have, for those gains.

------
osamagirl69
I have the ubports version of the pine64 and it is still pretty rough around
the edges but the phone itself is very solid. It was recently announced that
there was an issue with the usb-c port preventing it from being able to
correctly negotiate with devices, but they have already worked out a fix [1]
which I have carried out on my device and can confirm that usb is now working.
Furthermore they are working with makerspaces to help people find someone who
can do the soldering if they are not able.

Coincidentally, they also announced a soldering iron called the 'Pinecil'[2]
which is based on the venerable TS100 but with a risc-v microprocessor running
freertos for $25.

[1]
[https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=PinePhone_v1.1_-_Bra...](https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=PinePhone_v1.1_-_Braveheart#USB-
C_CC_pins_are_pulled_to_the_GND_by_AW3512_.28VCONN_switches.29_when_VCONN_is_off)

[2] [https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-
ord...](https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-orders-and-
new-pinephone-version/)

~~~
Mediterraneo10
The UBports version of the Pinephone isn’t just rough around the edges – that
suggests that it will be a smoother experience one day, but it still needs
work. Rather, my impression is that UBports is a dead end technologically. It
is based inextricably on some 2014-era Ubuntu-specific software that even
Ubuntu moved away from. The experience of SSHing into it, tweaking system
configuration, etc. doesn’t feel like the "ordinary desktop Linux on your
phone" that everyone was hoping for.

As a former Nokia N900 owner, I was solidly disappointed by UBports. I suspect
that, for example, the PureOS port to the Pinephone may eventually give users
like myself what they are looking for. Luckily, even if your Pinephone is
branded for a specific operating system, you can replace that OS with whatever
other OS of your choosing.

~~~
AsyncAwait
The beauty of the PinePhone is that there's literally nothing tying it to
UBPorts, I've flashed Mobian[1] on mine an am supper happy with it. The Arch
builds are also coming together nicely. [2]

1 - [https://mobian-project.org](https://mobian-project.org)

2 - [https://github.com/dreemurrs-
embedded/Pine64-Arch/releases](https://github.com/dreemurrs-
embedded/Pine64-Arch/releases)

------
Abishek_Muthian
I wonder how Pine64 is going to handle the new HongKong situation, it
dissolved its company in California[1] last year due to 'Legal Mafia' and re-
established it in HongKong. The website claims to operate under China &
Malaysia laws[2].

Irrespective of HongKong situation, it was already tough to receive pre-built
smartphone shipped from China in India without paying extraordinary import
taxes; Now due to China goods blockade there's no way I'll be able to receive
this PinePhone and I'm very sad for it.

I hope Pine64 starts shipping from their Malaysia front(Which seems to be
office of their Chinese manufacturer - Syabas Technology[3]). I really want
these pure Linux phones to succeed, I'm tired of this duopoly in the
smartphone ecosystem as a consumer, developer and as an entrepreneur.

[1][https://www.reddit.com/r/PINE64official/comments/g8dqx9/pine...](https://www.reddit.com/r/PINE64official/comments/g8dqx9/pine_microsystems_inc_in_california_is_dissolved/)

[2][https://store.pine64.org/terms-of-use/](https://store.pine64.org/terms-of-
use/)

[3][https://www.reddit.com/r/PINE64official/comments/gbliyw/some...](https://www.reddit.com/r/PINE64official/comments/gbliyw/some_questions_about_pine64_hardware_in_general/)

~~~
pivic
Personally speaking, I received a Pinebook Pro a couple of days ago and I live
in Sweden. I didn't pay a penny in customs/taxes and the delivery of the
computer was 100% on time. Obviously shipping locations and times are delayed
at times, as mentioned in their big update yesterday -
[https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-
ord...](https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-orders-and-
new-pinephone-version/) \- mentions improvements on shipping to the EU, and
also impossibilities in shipping to certain countries.

~~~
Abishek_Muthian
I feel good for you albeit bit jealous; Scandinavian region seems to be the
best place to live as far as current world affairs/Geopolitical
tensions/Pandemic is concerned.

~~~
_nalply
Except maybe Sweden re pandemic.

~~~
anoncake
Deaths have flatlined.

~~~
bmn__
Meanwhile, in the reality: [https://covid.observer/se/#per-
capita](https://covid.observer/se/#per-capita)

Still growing by 2.9‰ (current 10 day average).

~~~
anoncake
Thanks, looks like there was something wrong with the data I had.

------
ForHackernews
PostmarketOS is an incredible project worth supporting:
[http://postmarketos.org/](http://postmarketos.org/)

They're trying to do for smartphones what PC-compatibles did for home
computers: deliver a standardized general-purpose operating system across
different hardware.

------
rapnie
Aral Balkan recently demonstrated running a web server from his new Pinephone
using the site.js framework he developed and live-chatting with his viewers
with it. Really cool.

He said the phone is definitely still not ready for everyday use, but great
for devs obviously.

[https://ar.al/2020/07/12/live-stream-a-web-site-on-your-
phon...](https://ar.al/2020/07/12/live-stream-a-web-site-on-your-phone-with-
site.js/)

~~~
ipnon
The possibilities with an open phone are awesome.

~~~
boring_twenties
I don't think you need an open for this, you could just install nginx under
Termux, or even not under it.

~~~
sschueller
You do as Google is breaking termux in the next Android.

~~~
mathfailure
Your link doesn't work.

~~~
fanatic2pope
[https://github.com/termux/termux-
app/issues/1072](https://github.com/termux/termux-app/issues/1072)

~~~
boring_twenties
Ah, crap

------
stx
This is what I had hoped Android would be when I first heard about it before
it was fully available. It looks like the OS still needs polish but not bad.
And only $200 with a dock.

Here is a video walkthrough I found on youtube. I am not sure how up to date
it is.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjaJJ6o-mbM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjaJJ6o-mbM)

~~~
choward
Me too. I just assumed I would be able to treat it like the computer it is.
For some reason everything has to be different just because I can make phone
calls with it?

~~~
jiggunjer
Modems and ARM did complicate things.

~~~
choward
I guess, but I can treat my raspberry pi like a normal computer. And I still
don't what having a modem has to do with anything since my computer in the
90's had a modem.

~~~
jiggunjer
You can't treat a pi like a normal pc? You can't put a usb drive in a new pi
and boot into an OS installer. You have to use their _custom_ system of
flashing the sd card. That's after someone specifically crosscompiled a distro
targeting pi hardware.

------
eointierney
This is an awesome piece of kit. I have one.

I used to have an N900. This is better.

Our community of doers who celebrate freedom by doing are amazing. This is
almost, but not quite, the last piece of our autonomous puzzle.

Very soon now we'll have fully distributed jurisdictional priority, and we'll
use this kind of tech to measure we're doing it right. We will demonstrate
right of appeal to each other.

I love hacker news

~~~
morganvachon
> _I used to have an N900. This is better._

I've had a couple of them, they were way ahead of their time. The hardware had
a few bugs but the form factor and keyboard were amazing, and the camera was
very nice. I actually preferred the resistive touch screen on a slider like
that, it made for fewer accidental touches, and it was very precise for stylus
use.

There's a (stalled?) project[1] to swap out the main board with a modern,
supported replacement, keeping the rest of the hardware the same. I'd love to
see the interest in the Pinephone cause that project to wake up again.
PostmarketOS would be a good fit for the Neo900.

[1] [https://neo900.org](https://neo900.org)

------
stjo
As someone not in the free smartphone world (yet) - what is going on? What are
those UBports and Braveheart versions people are talking about? How's the
software stack. Is GTK/QT usable with touch? How's the battery life? Any
progress on making open modem?

~~~
blihp
The Braveheart edition was pre-release (v1.1) hardware with no OS
preinstalled. The Community Editions (CE) are based on release hardware with
$10 of the purchase price going to the distro that gets preinstalled. The
first one, that many here have in hand currently, was the UBports CE which was
the v1.2 hardware with UBports preinstalled. The model you can currently order
is the PostmarketOS CE which will be based on the v1.2a hardware (fixes an
annoying USB hardware bug and I believe a low-brightness flickering bug as
well in v1.2) So while they're different revs of the hardware, it's still the
same phone with h/w bug fixes.

Define usable ;-) The distros are all very much a work in progress as even
basic things like power management and device drivers still under very active
development. The hardware of the Pinephone feels pretty solid and the software
is just about at a 'hacker friendly' stage where you're not having to deal
with fundamental annoyances at the system level. It's still a long way from
being 'daily driver' ready though.

------
aquaticsunset
Ah, the HN hug. Poor site.

I have a lot of optimism for this phone. I don't know whether to buy one of
these, or wait for the "GA" version to come out. I'm most interested in
running Plasma Mobile but being able to "distro hop" on a cell phone is pretty
awesome.

~~~
megous
1.2a feels to me like GA. There's not much HW wise that I'd consider an issue
anymore.

There are things that could be better, like having a different WiFi chip, that
would have a better [actual mainline] driver support with working power
management. Not sure how likely that is. Probably not much.

------
ipnon
Maybe I'm showing my age, but this is the first release of a phone I have been
eagerly awaiting.

~~~
Nursie
Openmoko Freerunner ;)

Had one many years ago. Great idea but not a livable-with phone. Put me off
dev phones possibly forever.

Didn't stop me getting an N900 at launch though. Great little piece of kit.

~~~
seba_dos1
Ha, Openmoko Neo Freerunner was my first smartphone :) It managed to play the
role of "livable-with phone" well enough for me though (but not without some
effort of course). Then moved to Nokia N900 and only now I'm switching from it
to Librem 5.

~~~
Nursie
Wow you kept that N900 alive for a long time!

Mine effectively died after about three years, the USB charging port came
loose and the only way I had to charge it was removing the battery and
charging externally.

The freerunner was just a little too pre-market for me. I remember installing
various different OS and frontend packages and trying lots of things out. It
would have been fine but for one failing - whatever I installed, incoming
calls would often just be silent. A phone that can't take calls is a step too
far!

~~~
seba_dos1
Well, I have cheated a bit, it's a third one if I count right and I still have
some spares... :D

Freerunner sure needed some attention to make it work, but with workarounds
and hw fixes for the infamous #1024 and call buzz issues it was a pretty great
device. I would have used it longer if not for unbearable GPU performance that
drove me towards N900 (damned glamo :))

------
RealStickman_
I ordered the UBports version a few months back and it recently arrived. At
the moment I'm running Mobian, basically Debian for the PinePhone. There are a
lot of rough edges still, but it just feels great to have the ability to
tinker with your phone in the same way you tinker with your linux box.

~~~
gbrown
Are you using it as a daily driver?

~~~
RealStickman_
No, I'm stillnusing my OnePlus 3 as a daily driver. I'm in the process of
finding similar programs to the ones I regularly use on the PinePhone so I can
eventually try using it for a day.

~~~
padraic7a
If you do find suitable software it's good to know that you could then install
Ubuntu Touch on the OnePlus3 for a higher powered experience:
[https://forums.ubports.com/topic/3253/oneplus-3-3t/542](https://forums.ubports.com/topic/3253/oneplus-3-3t/542)

~~~
RealStickman_
I honestly don't want to do that for two main reasons.

1\. Apps like Revolut and others I rely on don't work on Ubuntu Touch to my
knowledge.

2\. Ubuntu Touch is not 100% customizable either. The rootfs for example is
mounted as read only with no ability to change that. My ext4 sd card could not
be mounted through any gui from what I tried. Mounting it through the terminal
worked, but when I put it into fstab (and imo "fixed" the read only rootfs)
the changes were reset on the next boot. That was the point where I decided to
switch to mobian.

------
fsflover
If you are wondering, what you can already do with this phone:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH3RbrwhNd8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH3RbrwhNd8)
(but this is Ubuntu Touch)

------
anotheryou
Has logo on back and comes with a usb-c hub:

[https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-
ord...](https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-orders-and-
new-pinephone-version/)

imgur backup of the essential banner:
[https://i.imgur.com/XteJmBp.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/XteJmBp.jpg)

> Introducing PinePhone Convergence Package with postmarketOS CE featuring 3GB
> RAM/ 32GB eMMC and a USB-C dock for $199; available alongside regular
> PinePhone postmarketOS CE for $149

~~~
MartijnBraam
Here's also a demo of the dock in action I recorded a while back:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBeza4UNOm8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBeza4UNOm8)

------
feteru
Woah, USB C dock included with the Convergence version looks really cool.
Definitely would close the convergence gap further than just using all the
same cable for my devices to actually being able to use docks and similar
distros/software!

~~~
boring_twenties
Dang it, now I want that.

Anyone want to buy my Braveheart?

~~~
yjftsjthsd-h
Sounds like you can patch the braveheart if you have a soldering iron and
bravery:

> While we’re discussing this topic, let me tackle the elephant in the room
> and acknowledge that a design flaw in PCBA rev. 1.1 and 1.2 prevents this
> functionality (please see relevant documentation related to CC pin) on
> Braveheart and UBports CE phones. Thankfully the fix to the problem – the
> removal of two small components from the PCBA – is relatively simple to
> perform for someone with good soldering skills. At the same time I recognize
> that many community members, myself included, are not capable of completing
> this operation. To this end, we will set up a chain of local (in your
> geographic area) workshops, makerspaces or individual technicians capable of
> performing this fix, so you can send your 1.1 / 1.2 phone to them to
> complete the repair.

([https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-
ord...](https://www.pine64.org/2020/07/15/july-updatepmos-ce-pre-orders-and-
new-pinephone-version/))

------
anonymousiam
The preinstalled postmarketOS software build which ships with this edition of
the PinePhone is an Alpha software build. This effectively mean that while
core functionality of the PinePhone – such as telephone calls, SMS messages,
LTE, GPS, GPU acceleration, etc. – is operational, it is also an ongoing
effort, and thus the device cannot be considered as a consumer-ready product.

------
pengaru
_Still_ waiting for my UBports CE pinephone to arrive, which they sent a
shipping update for _weeks_ after I tried canceling my order which they
completely ignored without any acknowledgement.

Right now I am incredibly disappointed with pine64 in terms of their customer
relations.

~~~
AsyncAwait
It's worth noting that it's a fairly small team doing an increadable amount of
work. They've mentioned being overwhelmed with queries, even it this update.
It's not Apple or Samsung. I'd be patient, maybe ping them once more just in
case they missed it, try the forums instead of email as well.

------
akerro
This looks really sweet, hopefully they succeed, but

>Device Warranty: 30 Days

that's not legal in the EU right? minimum is 1 year for businesses and 2 years
for consumers?

~~~
remix2000
> EU consumer rules cover goods and services that have been bought in the EU.
> However, if you buy from a non-EU online trader who has specifically
> targeted EU consumers you should also be covered by EU rules, but you may
> find it difficult to assert your rights with a trader who is based outside
> the EU.

IANAL, but it seems to me like PINE is not "specifically targeting EU
consumers".

Nonetheless, such a short warranty period is rather embarrassing for a niche
product sought for mainly by folks disappointed with mainstream products'
profit-oriented fragile design and poor support cycle. Heck, it even has
"postmarket" in its name :P

Source:
[https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/sho...](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/shopping-
consumer-rights/index_en.htm)

More information:
[https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/gua...](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-
returns/index_en.htm)

------
TekMol
Is there a way to run Debian on the PinePhone?

I don't mean a debian based OS that is maintained by someone else, but
something that is maintained by and can be downloaded from Debian?

If it boots and gives me a shell, I would be happy. I don't need a GUI or
phone specific software. If I can have a real linux computer in my pocket,
that would be great.

~~~
digi59404
There Mobian which IMO is as close to a supported Debian OS on Pinephonr as
you can get. [https://mobian-project.org/](https://mobian-project.org/)

~~~
TekMol
Regarding to my question, that means "No", right?

As far as I can see, Mobian is maintained by Matrix.org whom I never heard of
before.

The reason I would like to use Debian is that it is maintained by the Debian
foundation who have an excellent history of trustworthiness and reliability.

Why can't one install Debian on the PinePhone?

~~~
dsr_
Because nobody has done that yet. Go over to debian-devel, talk to the Debian
ARM people and the Debian installer people, and you can help bring Debian to
the PinePhone.

~~~
slezyr
Actually, mobian does exactly this... That guy isn't THAT interested to spend
5 mins of his time to solve HIS problem.

[https://gitlab.com/mobian1/mobian-
recipes/-/blob/master/root...](https://gitlab.com/mobian1/mobian-
recipes/-/blob/master/rootfs.yaml#L13)

------
ekianjo
Here is a hands on review of the recent ubports community edition of the
pinephone: [https://boilingsteam.com/pinephone-community-edition-ce-
revi...](https://boilingsteam.com/pinephone-community-edition-ce-review/)

------
aitchnyu
Would this be killed by security requirements? My company allows email on my
Android only if I install MS Intune which made me choose a longer passcode and
doesnt allow unlocked screen while charging. Banking apps prevent rooted
phones. Will major apps boycott this platform?

~~~
megous
My guess is that major apps will simply ignore Linux phones, until they get
noticeable adoption.

The web is the only saving grace for any of the upstart mobile devices and new
operating system projects, when it comes to compatibility with incumbent/major
apps.

That's also why open protocols/APIs/formats, data portability, are important.
So that people who care can write an independent clients. One of the banks I
use has an open, docummented JSON API for end users (as a basic feature of the
regular bank account, that everyone gets access to by default). I can easily
write a bank app for that, to be able to do some basic account overview and
wire transfer payments.

It's not a locked down platform, so if security means that everything has to
be signed/verified/locked down and unmodifiable by the user, then it will not
pass.

~~~
mondoshawan
Which bank is this? I've been looking for one that exposes an API for years.

~~~
tpxl
In theory there is EU regulation so all EU banks should expose this. I'm not
sure where it went in practice though.

~~~
Freak_NL
I think that (PSD2) only applies to having an API that allows users to grant
access to their account to third party apps. Actually using that API yourself
seems impossible, as banks want only vetted third parties to actually use the
API.

It means you get the freedom to choose a different pre-approved proprietary
app to access your bank account (which will probably make its money from
selling a nicely detailed advertising profile based on your transactions), not
the freedom to interface with your bank with an open API.

Also, because of the strong authentication requirement from PSD2 (amongst
others), you won't get to do banking in an app except on an Android or IOS
smartphone. Add to this the ongoing drive from banks and governments alike to
push authentication even on a normal computer to smartphones (i.e., you use
their proprietary app on an Android/IOS smartphone to authenticate when you
access them via a web browser on a normal computer), and the picture becomes
really bleak for any alternative smartphone OS.

The current trend, at least seen from the Netherlands, is: you submit to an
Android or IOS smartphone, and you get to do things like banking or accessing
your digital healthcare dossier online. If you don't, then you are classified
as digitally illiterate, and are nudged towards having people near you assume
those tasks in your name by delegation — basically the strategy for elderly or
the mentally incapable. The third option, authentication using discrete
hardware such as card readers (currently an option for many banks) or
something like WebAuthn is something banks would really like to get rid of
because of the cost of maintaining multiple authentication methods, and hey,
everybody owns an Android/IOS smartphone anyway, so why not .. ?

~~~
megous
Pretty much. I had some hope about PSD2, until I read about it.

Very useless, unless you just want to give your data to more third parties.

In addition EU also broke all my bank scraping scripts (except for the
mentioned bank, that still has the same API it had for years already and
doesn't require two factor auth, just an api key) by enforcing two-factor
(well not really, just SMS auth, it's not like I can use any other 2nd factor,
or make my own).

So in addition to helping third-party data slurpers, they also broke the
first-party data access with the latest regulation.

------
acd
Very happy too work done on an a phone with open boot loader. That you can run
Linux on Pinephone. A smart phone is just a smaller sized computer. Computers
should be allowed to boot any operating system to be promoting computational
freedom. Further consumer competition laws should Be changed to mandate open
boot loaders and hardware specifications. With open source software hardware
devices can be used longer and its thus better for the planet and environment.
Closed source is not so environmentally friendly in that it will more often
lead to hardware not getting software updates.

Great work Pinephone team!

------
A4ET8a8uTh0
I purchased mine a while ago, but the excitement with Covid resulted in me
still waiting ( although it is on the way now ). I am excited. I am not sure
it will be a daily driver, but we need something outside current practical
duopoly.

------
rudolph9
How hard do you think it would be to configure the phone using Guix or NixOS?

~~~
weikju
[https://mobile.nixos.org/devices/pine64-pinephone-
braveheart...](https://mobile.nixos.org/devices/pine64-pinephone-
braveheart.html)

No idea how usable out of the box that is of course...

~~~
rudolph9
Nice! I regularly dig through NixOS docs, follow them on twitter, chat on the
IRC channel and this is the first time I've come across the mobile-nixos
stuff!!

------
PudgePacket
Could PWA's be installed on a phone like this, through browsers like chrome or
firefox? That would greatly lower the barrier to entry to "develop" for them!

------
snvzz
Many OSs have put effort into supporting these devices.

I don't like the "powered by Linux" and "postmarketOS" branding in the device.

What if I buy it to run netbsd on it?

~~~
avery42
You can buy an unbranded back cover separately [0], but for now they're doing
production runs to support the different software projects.

[0]: [https://store.pine64.org/product/pinephone-back-
cover/](https://store.pine64.org/product/pinephone-back-cover/)

------
pmlnr
I thought this is The One. The I saw the specs: 5.95 inches display.

Another brick.

Please, please, please: make phones smaller. The Nexus 4 was the largest that
actually fit a pocket.

~~~
hoistbypetard
> The Nexus 4 was the largest that actually fit a pocket.

Depends what you mean by "a pocket"? I think the iPhone 8+ is very close to
the same size as the PinePhone and noticeably bigger than Nexus 4.

It fits comfortably into the pockets on most pants, shorts, jackets and
sweatshirts I own. Maybe I tend to wear things with big pockets? If so, it's
not intentional.

~~~
RealStickman_
I actually started to measure pockets with my phone and buy based on that.
(5.5' OP3, but the PinePhone usually fits in the same pockets)

------
josteink
So I’m done waiting, and just had to order one. Even went for the convergence
edition.

Not expecting a daily driver, but probably the most fun tech gadget of 2020.

------
kgwxd
Is there any kind of navigation app for this?

~~~
avery42
I haven't had a chance to try it too extensively, but I've heard good things
about Pure Maps [0] (linking to UBPorts app store since it has screenshots).

[0]: [https://open-store.io/app/pure-maps.jonnius](https://open-
store.io/app/pure-maps.jonnius)

------
pepijndevos
I'm really looking forward to get one of these things when they come with
decent warranty and without dead pixels. I'm as eager as anyone to get away
from the walled garden duopoly, but since it's not suitable as a daily driver
yet, maybe I'll be able to restrain myself and not buy it.

------
svnpenn
Site is dead slow...

    
    
        PS C:\> Measure-Command {curl.exe -I https://store.pine64.org/product-category/pinephone}
        TotalSeconds      : 23.2096005

~~~
hundchenkatze
Yeah, their site has always been abysmal to use.

edit: to be fair as others pointed out, it's likely that I've mainly ended up
on their store after/during the hug of death from hn/reddit.

~~~
Shared404
I've only ever seen it slow directly following an HN/Reddit post.

It may never have been _instant_ loading, but it's always felt fairly
responsive to me.

------
throwawaysea
I want to support open phone development and alternatives to the Google/Apple
smartphone duopoly. Can I use this phone with US carriers like Verizon?

------
nanomonkey
What hold me and most of my friends back from switching to a phone like this
is that Signal is unlikely to work on it for quite some time.

~~~
padraic7a
Ubports Ubuntu Touch has a Signal port up and running. It's called Axocotl:
[https://github.com/nanu-c/axolotl/](https://github.com/nanu-c/axolotl/)

It's not fully functioning but you can see what's working fairly quickly;

~~~
nanomonkey
Thanks!

------
tamrix
Does anyone know where they're manufactured?

------
1MachineElf
Is there a way to do GPS navigation on a PostmarketOS device like this?

------
LibertyBeta
Hopefully this will lead to an improved PineTab as well!

~~~
ggm
I would love that. and a future eInk device.

------
coronadisaster
Who will let you activate this phone on their network? I know that my provider
won't even if the phone is compatible (Comcast/Xfinity). but I am trying to
move away from this cancer company.

------
bdz
> Device Warranty: 30 Days

rip

That's an instant turn off.

~~~
int_19h
This is not a consumer product at this point. It's for hackers, by hackers.

------
codecamper
No NFC? I guess Google / Apple pay could never run on such a device. :(

~~~
remix2000
Moreover, neither will NFC U2F dongles! That thing alone already disqualifies
the phone for me. Both PINE and Librem lack this and some other essential
functionalities. If anyone ever manages to create a sufficiently modern free
smartphone, I'm buying it right away. I think it might happen in China, as
recent ban on Google Play may force Chinese companies to fight for customers
disappointed with Apple's and Google's unethical policies. I wouldn't be
surprised if I woke up one day and hear of China launching a fully operative
postmarketOS variant of one of their flagship phones made exclusively for
export to the West.

~~~
avery42
There’s been work on adding wireless charging to the phone using the pogo pins
on the back, maybe something similar could be done to make a back cover with
NFC?

------
collyw
Can someone give me a TLDR on the OS? (The website isn't great, it's more
about hardware specs). Will it run Andorid apps? I bought an Ubuntu phone but
it was a bit disappointing, mainly because of the lack of software available.

------
zerfall
As someone that has been waiting for their RMA process with a Pinebook Pro for
more than a month now I am incredibly disappointed with their customer
service.

Getting any kind of response from then can take two to three days and all you
get is "thank you for your understanding and patience" while they "wait for
the manufacturer to provide replacement parts".

~~~
plus
While that's unfortunate, I think it would be best if you re-calibrated your
expectations. The Pinebook Pro is not a consumer product; it is an enthusiast
product being sold with minimal profit margins. The PBP is produced in China
and shipped out from Hong Kong in batches rather infrequently (maybe about
once per month). To the best of my knowledge, they don't really have a
"customer service" team. Taken together, these things obviously do not lead to
an optimal consumer experience, but this is to be expected for such
inexpensive low-volume niche products.

