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I'm eagerly awaiting for the Pyra to get ready. It's not perfect, it's far from free hardware, and it's not a very good form factor for a phone replacement. Bu

by nextos 11y ago

I'm eagerly awaiting for the Pyra to get ready. It's not perfect, it's far from free hardware, and it's not a very good form factor for a phone replacement. But I rarely take any calls, so it's good enough for me. And the ability to install whatever OS I want trumps everything else. I'm tired of phones where updates depend on capricious manufacturers. I want a real Linux and not a bunch of apps. I can't wait to see a tiling window manager running on that thing.

ekianjo 11y ago
> And the ability to install whatever OS I want trumps everything else. Agree, along with the ability of actually developing and compiling, and running your software directly on the same device. There's just nothing else out there in this kind of form factor.
- nextos 11y ago
  I'm still hoping Jolla and/or Nokia bring back a N900-like device.
  - robin_reala 11y ago
    http://neo900.org http://neo900.org ?
    - nextos 11y ago
      It's cool, but maybe too expensive and underpowered?
      - gherkin0 11y ago
        > It's cool, but maybe too expensive and underpowered? I feel like that would come with the territory of a niche, small-batch device. They wouldn't be large enough to benefit from economies of scale, and they're not bringing in enough money to employ teams of engineers to optimize and refresh the hardware regularly.
      - benologist 11y ago
        Pyra is too. €290 vs €480 vs ... substantially-comparable devices for like $100 on Amazon today.
        ekianjo 11y ago
        Well, Freedom does not come for cheap. And most 100 USD devices you refer to are non-upgradable or have no long term support.
      - skykooler 11y ago
        That's the issue with any device like this with small production runs - you can't get the same bulk discounts on components for a few hundred devices as you can when making, say, 10,000. Unfortunately, larger runs require larger investments, and most people who are interested in these projects do not have the resources to back such a big project.
  - wolfgke 11y ago
    What was so good about the N900? (serious question: I have often read in the internet that people loved the N900 very much and about the very political reasons why it was abandonded, but hardly anything about the reasons why N900's fanboys found it so great).
    - sonnyp 11y ago
      Linux, keyboard.
      - ZenoArrow 11y ago
        Also... True multitasking, tons of storage (32GB + MicroSD), accurate stylus input. But like sonnyp suggested, mostly that it was a full Debian-based Linux experience with a decent keyboard. It wasn't perfect (I seem to remember the battery life wasn't great), but it was a great device, more like a Swiss army knife than a phone. Wish Nokia had done a full release of the N950 (the N9 with a hardware keyboard, only released to developers, with a weaker screen than the N9) as that was shaping up to be even better than the N900. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N950 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N950
tra3 11y ago
I dont mean to be dense, but are you expecting to use this a smart phone replacement? A mobile workstation - laptop replacement?

by nextos 11y ago

ekianjo 11y ago

> And the ability to install whatever OS I want trumps everything else. Agree, along with the ability of actually developing and compiling, and running your software directly on the same device. There's just nothing else out there in this kind of form factor.

nextos 11y ago
I'm still hoping Jolla and/or Nokia bring back a N900-like device.
- robin_reala 11y ago
  http://neo900.org http://neo900.org ?
  - nextos 11y ago
    It's cool, but maybe too expensive and underpowered?
    - gherkin0 11y ago
      > It's cool, but maybe too expensive and underpowered? I feel like that would come with the territory of a niche, small-batch device. They wouldn't be large enough to benefit from economies of scale, and they're not bringing in enough money to employ teams of engineers to optimize and refresh the hardware regularly.
    - benologist 11y ago
      Pyra is too. €290 vs €480 vs ... substantially-comparable devices for like $100 on Amazon today.
      - ekianjo 11y ago
        Well, Freedom does not come for cheap. And most 100 USD devices you refer to are non-upgradable or have no long term support.
    - skykooler 11y ago
      That's the issue with any device like this with small production runs - you can't get the same bulk discounts on components for a few hundred devices as you can when making, say, 10,000. Unfortunately, larger runs require larger investments, and most people who are interested in these projects do not have the resources to back such a big project.
- wolfgke 11y ago
  What was so good about the N900? (serious question: I have often read in the internet that people loved the N900 very much and about the very political reasons why it was abandonded, but hardly anything about the reasons why N900's fanboys found it so great).
  - sonnyp 11y ago
    Linux, keyboard.
    - ZenoArrow 11y ago
      Also... True multitasking, tons of storage (32GB + MicroSD), accurate stylus input. But like sonnyp suggested, mostly that it was a full Debian-based Linux experience with a decent keyboard. It wasn't perfect (I seem to remember the battery life wasn't great), but it was a great device, more like a Swiss army knife than a phone. Wish Nokia had done a full release of the N950 (the N9 with a hardware keyboard, only released to developers, with a weaker screen than the N9) as that was shaping up to be even better than the N900. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N950 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N950

tra3 11y ago

I dont mean to be dense, but are you expecting to use this a smart phone replacement? A mobile workstation - laptop replacement?