I have been looking at Fairphone and Volla, and it feels like the Smartphone scene for Linux is going very strong right now.
Think of it like this: We got 3-4 end-user ready Ubports smartphones, made by IN Europe, with recent hardware, swappable battery, very good service and repairability in various formats. You can even purchase Gigaset phones (commercial equivalents of Volla) in stores/Amazon for a very good price.
The immediate orbiters of Linux smartphones like Fxtec, Planet Computers and Jolla are also based here.
I think we reached the year of the Linux phones. Atleast it is not the niche it was in 2020. I wonder how usable ubports is. If you got any experience with these phpnes on ubports, feel free to share.
Are these true Linux phones? Or are we talking Android loader/drivers then launching a Linux session? So far the only two devices i know to be true Linux phones are the Pinephone and the Librem.
Jolla is the successor to Nokia’s Maemo/Meego OS which was proper Linux. Jolla does have seamless Android emulation. They don’t do their own phones anymore, though.
This, if there’s a successor (an actual working one), it’s probably SailfishOS. Runs pretty well on my Xperia 10 III and the UI is super nice :)
Is Maemo Leste not working?
Whoosh, forgot about that :)
I honestly don’t know how well it works though, because sadly my N900 has a broken screen I can’t remove because of screws with broken heads. Any tips on how to remove those tiny tiny screws are most welcome! :)
If it’s stripped screws then maybe try different screw bits? One might get some traction. or maybe try unscrewing it with an elastic band in between that might help.
If that doesn’t work you could try some screw-extracting pliers.
If that really doesn’t work you could also try putting a small dot of superglue on the screw, let the screwdriver head dry in it then try turning it.
If that really, really doesn’t work you could try using a rotary tool/dremel/knife to cut a small line that you could use a flathead to unscrew it with.
Or do you mean like the actual head has come off? :o
No no, the head is just stripped. I’ll try with something to give traction (even though I think I already did), but your idea with some superglue is something I hadn’t considered. Cutting the screw head seems risky, but if everything else fails I guess it’s better to REALLY break the phone than it is to have it boxed away unused. Thanks for giving me hope. Next problem is where to find a replacement screw, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it ;)
Fair, yep I’ve tried a few of those methods in the past, if you’re really worried maybe take it to a specialist? I doubt it would cost much for a quick job. Good luck!
Replying from my Xperia 10 IV.
It’s purchase was a mistake.
I’m stuck on Android :(
Can you not sell it and grab a III? They are pretty cheap used/refurb now - I got 2 in good condition for £200 each.
Agreed, halium and Ubuntu Touch aren’t true Linux phones in my book. To be a true Linux phone you need to run mainline, or at least very close to it (pmOS forks, Megi kernel, etc) and do things the Linux way not the Android way (KMS/DRM/Mesa stack, ALSA/Pulse/Pipewire stack). There are some phones that are getting there thanks to postmarketOS like the OnePlus 6/6T but the ones you listed are the main true Linux phones.
Typing this from my PinePhone Pro running postmarketOS.
How’s that working these days? From time to time I dust off mine, try it a bit, and see that while there’s progress, it’s way too unstable for a daily driver. PPP even more so than old PP. I’m using a Pixel 7 running Graphene these days…
Volla has two official images, one is ubuntu mobile
Yeah but is it a low level android or is it a full Linux boot? As mentioned, the only two phones I know of that boot full Linux from scratch with Linux drivers are the Pinephone (and the Pinephone Pro) and the Librem 5. Both with their own set of issues.
It is 100% Linux with 0% Android. I had a Volla Phone X for a few weeks.
Edit: It uses vendor blobs to communicate with the hardware. Besides that, it used some lineageOS code in Halium, which is a layer between ubuntu touch and the vendor blobs.
Indeed they need Halium for it. On the other hand compare them to the nexuses and oneplus ones you had to put up with a few years ago.