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Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
Smartphone users are usually torn between the two choice — Android or iOS. Their dominance is such that other competing OS like Windows, BlackBerry OS, or Symbian have almost been abandoned.Those who don't want either of them can opt for Pine64's Linux phone dubbed the PinePhone which offers good hardware and software at an affordable rate of $149.
The phone's specs aren't great, but it does include a headphone jack (I wonder if it's capable of using the JACK audio system?) and the article notes that it may provide physical switches for disabling various components. The company behind it, Pine64, also produce the PineBook Linux laptop, which also use an ARM processor.
Source: https://fossbytes.com/pinephone-linux-smartphone-149/
Related: Kickstarter: Pine A64, Cheaper and More Powerful than Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
(Score: 4, Funny) by captain normal on Friday February 01 2019, @11:01PM (7 children)
"How are they doing this for so much cheaper and faster than the Librem 5?"
According to to picture in TFA, they forgo li-Ion batteries for 2 AAA batteries.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 02 2019, @03:05AM
I would love a phone with replaceable batteries.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday February 02 2019, @04:45AM (1 child)
I'm not sure if I care if it uses 2 AAA batteries, if it can operate while plugged into a charger, at $149 this is starting to be an attractive WiFi connected control pad for stuff, even if you never use the phone.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 02 2019, @03:06PM
Smartphones are crippled in more than one way. Today I set up an old PC that is barely half as powerful as my current smartphone, even when considering the arm vs. x86 performance. I have an old smartphone whose battery is dodo, I could have used it instead of the pc and wifi router combo, but no, even attached to DC it will seek power from the battery and shut down randomly. Talk about tariffs, I'd stick a 100% STUPID CONSUMER DONT BUY THIS tax on this crap.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 02 2019, @04:49PM (3 children)
Just for info, you can get AA and AAA lithium ion rechargeable batteries.
https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Lithium-Batteries-1000mWh-High-Capacity-2pcs-Material/dp/B07DV92VK2/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549125783&sr=1-7&keywords=aaa+lithium+rechargeable+batteries [amazon.com]
Some of my emergency lighting at work uses battery packs, consisting of 3 lithium ion AAA batteries wired together in parallel. With incandescent bulbs they were only good for two or three hours, but with our newer LED lights, they're good for most of a day.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday February 03 2019, @09:06PM (2 children)
I have an old cordless phone. (The kind that is NOT a cellphone but connects wirelessly to a home base station that itself connects to a telephone exchange a long pair of wires) It uses AAA NiMH batteries. The local battery racks in drugstores no longer stock these. Instead they have lithium ion batteries. Is there any chance they are safely compatible?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday February 03 2019, @09:25PM (1 child)
I would say "yes". Double check voltages of the batteries - if they match, you're good to go! As far as I know, AAA is always equal to AAA in voltage, the major difference being in capacity.
(Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 04 2019, @12:06PM
And safe charge rates. What is perfectly acceptable for one battery can equal kaboom for another.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.