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I'm reading a lot of the comments here and it seems the salient argument is that this will never replace Android or iOS because this or that. 99% sure those co

by xrd 6y ago

I'm reading a lot of the comments here and it seems the salient argument is that this will never replace Android or iOS because this or that. 99% sure those comments are correct. But still, what gets me so hot and bothered is that it looks like purism and pine are making devices that cost almost the same as my other subsidized phone (android) AND might be a viable business EVEN IF there isn't a critical mass. Linux gets better and better every year even though it will never replace Windows or OSX. The big deal here is that we might finally have an amazing phone that gives us a complete and awesome developer experience AND respects privacy and the right to tinker fully with our phones. We've had that on the desktop but NEVER on our phones. This is a sea change that seems worth getting excited about. And it doesn't matter if that doesn't destroy or beat out the alternatives. This device will never be the marketplace where app developers try to sell my kids shitty apps. Who cares. It doesn't need to be the biggest to be interesting and incredible.

blihp 6y ago
That's the right attitude, IMO. Most consumers respond to polish and 'wow!' factor. The Linux desktop doesn't even provide that compared to the competition... Linux on mobile is even further behind both from a hardware and software standpoint. For those who don't care, or are at least willing to overlook the limitations, Linux phones are becoming increasingly viable and provide a number of advantages that the average consumer doesn't value. But there are those who do so there is a market for them. I don't even use my PinePhone as a phone that much... but it's a fantastic mobile computer. I'll continue to use it and be back for the 2nd gen PinePhone.
squarefoot 6y ago
> We've had that on the desktop but NEVER on our phones. Give it some time. We've had to wait decades to see some people starting the transition from closed desktop systems to open ones, and we aren't nowhere close even to a tenth of the Windows/Mac userbase. Mobile platforms in comparison are newborns, and the industry after learning the PC lesson now is actively fighting against Open Source software and standards by producing software that refuses to run anywhere but their platforms (Whatsapp, banking software, etc) while they spend money to tight close their terminals so they can't be reflashed with Open Source operating systems, a practice that also creates pollution related issues. Time will tell; we probably need at least 5 more years and a couple killer apps that will make a significant number of users move to an open device such as the PinePhone or the Librem 5, or what device will we have by then, so that those figures can't be ignored anymore.
- xrd 6y ago
  This phone and developer experience looks like it is ready now. My point is that we don't have to use a terrible developer experience to work on an open system now and we don't need to have it be a massive economic success either. This is what we've been waiting for and it's ready to hack on.

by xrd 6y ago

blihp 6y ago

That's the right attitude, IMO. Most consumers respond to polish and 'wow!' factor. The Linux desktop doesn't even provide that compared to the competition... Linux on mobile is even further behind both from a hardware and software standpoint. For those who don't care, or are at least willing to overlook the limitations, Linux phones are becoming increasingly viable and provide a number of advantages that the average consumer doesn't value. But there are those who do so there is a market for them. I don't even use my PinePhone as a phone that much... but it's a fantastic mobile computer. I'll continue to use it and be back for the 2nd gen PinePhone.

squarefoot 6y ago

> We've had that on the desktop but NEVER on our phones. Give it some time. We've had to wait decades to see some people starting the transition from closed desktop systems to open ones, and we aren't nowhere close even to a tenth of the Windows/Mac userbase. Mobile platforms in comparison are newborns, and the industry after learning the PC lesson now is actively fighting against Open Source software and standards by producing software that refuses to run anywhere but their platforms (Whatsapp, banking software, etc) while they spend money to tight close their terminals so they can't be reflashed with Open Source operating systems, a practice that also creates pollution related issues. Time will tell; we probably need at least 5 more years and a couple killer apps that will make a significant number of users move to an open device such as the PinePhone or the Librem 5, or what device will we have by then, so that those figures can't be ignored anymore.

xrd 6y ago
This phone and developer experience looks like it is ready now. My point is that we don't have to use a terrible developer experience to work on an open system now and we don't need to have it be a massive economic success either. This is what we've been waiting for and it's ready to hack on.