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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @05:45AM (1 child)
I would pay extra to have this.
I never use GPS. Ever. I never want the chip to be activated.
Yet, if I open Google Maps it always turns the GPS on for a moment, captures my data, and sends it to Google. Forget making this type of action illegal. It should be impossible.
I do not own or fully control the OS on my phone.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 03 2019, @06:58AM
GPS does not hurt your privacy alone. The problem is when you have internet/cellular at the same time.
Even without GPS, your location can be estimated with cellular, wifi, etc.