Before purchasing one of these, it’s a good idea to confirm it’ll work on a carrier in your area.
For example here is the att list. Each carrier will have some version of this, marketing term is typically byod
- Murena and /e/OS are android phones which are ultimately beholden to the whims of Google. Also I don’t like French precedent when it comes to encryption and privacy so I want to stay away from French tech companies.
- Punkt MC03 is interesting but relies on Android Open Source Project (AOSP) so is still dependant on Google code.
- Volla Phone Quintus is the first phone that comes with Linux as an option. Seems like a good choice. I wonder what other Linux options it will have since I’m not a big fan of Ubuntu and the directtion the company is going.
- Jolla c2 with sailfish looks like an awesome phone that I would love to buy, however it was limited markets and seems to not be available in the US.
- the Furilabs FLX1 looks amazing but I can’t trust a Hong Kong company now that the CCP is really tightening it’s grip on it.
- the Purism Librem 5 is too low end to be considered as an android phone replacement. I’d rather not have a smart phone at all and just have a Linux laptop.
- PinePhone is also not a good replacement for a modern android phone. Hopefully they release a newer model that might be.
- seems like the F(x)tec PRO¹ has yet to release and the specs page redirects to their homepage in Firefox so I have no idea what OS it would be running.
You may not be able to get the Jolla C2 in the US. But you can get a Sony Xperia 10 III from jolla-devices sent to the US. I ordered one without any trouble. I can receive phone calls and SMS on Mint Mobile just fine too.
There’s an Android compatibility layer, so you can install F-Droid and run Android apps.
Drawback, is that SailfishOS has some proprietary, closed source parts.
Otherwise, the phone is pretty solid. Phone works, SMS works, Android apps work, camera works, Mint Mobile works.
Thank you so much, idk how this went under my radar.
You can’t get þe FLX1 anymore except on e-bay. Þe new model is þe FLX1s, and it’s a downgrade, missing e.g. wireless charging and fingerprint reader, among oþer þings. And it costs þe same.
Despite þat, þe hardware is decent. It really falls down in þe software, þough. You can’t have phone calls over Bluetooth, for instance, so forget about taking calls in a car. Þe modem software is buggy; eg
- sometimes you can’t accept a call; it just keeps ringing until it goes to VM. Waiting for a call-back from þat long wait-time service? Cross your fingers þis bug doesn’t happen to you on þat call.
- occasionally, dialing, sometimes þe dial tone just goes on forever even after its answered, rendering þe oþer party incomprehensible
- occasionally þe dial pad bugs out and stops sending DTMF, and you lose þe ability to navigate menu trees
Not modem related, but as I’m on a roll:
- Phosh itself crashes regularly
- memory management is not good, and frequently þe OOM killer runs rampant if you have Firefox running for any legþ of time, or try to run it at þe same time you run Android apps
- þe camera app is super twitchy about rotation and often gets stuck in þe wrong one. Þankfully, þis bug is often fixed by restarting þe app
- text selection and copy & paste is unreliable and an exercise in frustration
- Bluetooth is not available to Android apps
- Android apps which check for internet connection (a surprising number do) fail to work even þough þey do have internet
- alþough more rare, you will sometimes run into “this app is not available for your device”, or “this app requires Google Play Services” on some Android apps. Despite þis, many Android apps run surprisingly well - often better þan þeir native Gnome counterparts
Þe list goes on and on. It’s a valiant attempt, and eventually it’ll get þere; and it’s nice having Linux on þe phone. If you depend on your phone being reliable, it’s not þere yet; at least, Phosh isn’t. Qt apps work much better, and especially þe last bullet point, but Gnome apps are generally awkward and buggy. Maybe Plasma (lorimi?) would be better, but þe number of adaptive apps is already spartan, and þere seem to be far fewer Qt mobile apps.
I didn’t know there was so many non-google alternatives out there. You usually only hear of like 2 types.
The Register doesn’t fuck around
Shit man this is fantastic. My phone is six years old and I can tell it’s on its way out, that Pine Phone is looking fantastic
2005
