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Framework won’t be just a laptop company anymore (www.theverge.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

150 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It started with notebooks, but that wasn’t the master plan.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I love the idea of a phone that doubles as a true pocket laptop including connectivity options.

I haven't looked recently, but you might try looking at Japan. They were way ahead of the US in the palmtop form factor. I remember boggling at what they had on the market -- albeit expensive -- about twenty years ago.

Japan has also been well below the US in personal computer ownership. My guess as to explaining those two facts -- lack of personal computers, but availability of palmtops -- is that a big part of available computer use time in Japan might be when someone is on mass transit. They're willing to pay a premium for something usable there.

googles

I'm not seeing anything likely in a quick search, but there are some more-recent "UMPC" form factor devices from various companies that look kinda similar. Larger than the palmtops, so might be what you're thinking of.

https://gpd.hk/gpdpocket3

https://store.planetcom.co.uk/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I have seen the GPD devices before and if they were a bit smaller (phone sized) and had cell capability maybe that would be a good option. As is, they are not small enough to be in a separate category than the Steam Deck IMO, and I already have a Steam Deck. I also like the idea of the keyboard being detachable as sometimes the phone form factor is desirable, like when holding it up to your ear.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yup. All I need from a phone is:

calls - includes decent audio (looking at you Pinephone Pro)
texts - MMS group chat is a must
data
like 2 Android apps with low requirements (for me, it's Okta and Slack for work)
all day battery doing the above

If I could get that and be able to run full desktop applications when docked, I'm sold. The Pinephone Pro looks super cool, but I'm not sure if MMS works and battery life is apparently pretty bad. I don't even need a decent camera, though gaming a camera is useful to capture QR codes and whatnot.

I'm looking at getting a Pixel to use GrapheneOS, but I'd buy a framework phone with good hardware if it was available.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I want a phone that:

Calls - Must support VoLTE, preferably VoWiFi, audio quality has to at least be listenable but I rarely use calls for anything other than authenticators
Texts - MMS not super important, I only use texts as a last resort
Data
Waydroid support (mainly for the Discord app, possibly Teams for work)
Browser for most other services
Desktop Linux applications on-device
Good camera, doesn't have to be the best but it needs to have one
Lots of local storage, preferably expandable
Connectivity (USB-C with video out support preferably)

I already have plenty of ways of running desktop applications on big screens. I have a laptop, I have a desktop, I have a Steam Deck. However, my phone is always on me and those devices aren't. Linux phone is awesome because I can always have the applications I need literally in the palm of my hand, and if not they're just an apk or flatpak install away. I've been working on tweaks and utilities to make the experience of using desktop applications easier on mobile Linux, including a virtual mouse using the touchscreen and now working on a Phosh plugin to quickly change screen scaling. A pocket keyboard accessory would make using said desktop applications even easier. I've done quite a bit of coding, compiling, and dabbled in image editing on my mobile devices.

My daily driver phones at the moment are a OnePlus 6 running stock Android (because Linux isn't quite 100% yet) and a OnePlus 6T running postmarketOS. I got a cheap Mint SIM in both phones. Android phone for my calls, texts, camera, and occasional Google apps (mainly maps) usage. Linux phone for everything else, mainly my pocket computer on the go. I used to carry the PinePhone with keyboard, but even with the keyboard case the battery life was awful and it got super hot and it was slow. The OnePlus 6T with pmOS gets surprisingly good battery life. I can't daily drive the 6T due to the lack of VoLTE, which means calling falls back on the 2G network which they are shutting down very soon. Luckily, someone is working on reverse engineering VoLTE bringup and released a proof of concept daemon to enable it. I've successfully made VoLTE calls but it doesn't always enable and audio sometimes breaks.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I feel like the Pinephone Pro is super close to being what I want, so I think Framework could totally take it the rest of the way. They could ship with AOSP, but also support Linux mobile as well.

I'm a developer and I'm totally willing to help with the rest of the little things, but it needs to fulfill my basic requirements first. If parts are easy to replace (e.g. upgrade the camera by sliding in a new one w/ USB-C), I'd pay a premium for it even if the actual functionality kinda sucks.