from the why-else-do-they-call-them-KEYboards? dept.
Happy New Year, the keyboard and cases are here!:
The keyboard case works with both the PinePhone and PinePhone Pro and features a clam-shell design. It uses pogo pins located on the phone's midsection and attaches by replacing the default back cover. When folded, the phone's screen and the keyboard rest securely against each other. The hinge features a 180° design, which not only allows for two-hand typing on a surface but also for comfortable thumb-typing when fully extended. The etched keycaps can be easily relocated for alternate layouts such as AZERTY or QWERTZ. The keyboard case runs an open firmware, which means that anyone with the know-how can alter existing functions or add new ones. The bottom (keyboard) and top (phone) sections of the assembly are well-balanced thanks to the large, 6000mAh, internal battery capable of charging the PinePhone (Pro) during operation. The internal battery effectively triples the phone's battery life. The internal keyboard battery can be manually toggled on/off and the keyboard's battery charge level can be read in the supported OSes; the keyboard remains functional with the battery fully depleted.
You do not lose access to the PinePhone (Pro)'s USB-C port, speaker, microphone, or any external features, such as volume and lock buttons, with the keyboard attached. There is also a cut-out for the camera, torch, and headphone jack. The USB-C port on the keyboard is capable of powering both the keyboard and PinePhone (Pro) simultaneously. This means that you can plug in a USB mouse, a USB-C dongle, or some other peripheral while the phone and keyboard's internal battery charge. Please keep in mind that the keyboard case transforms the PinePhone (Pro) into a PDA, which means that taking calls will likely prove awkward without a wired or wireless headset connected.
There are more details -- and specifications -- in the linked story.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @12:02PM
C'mon, new year? That's OLD news.
At least cover the Rock 5.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 10 2022, @02:38PM
Tell us about the Pine Garden (like Apple's Walled Garden) and locked app store that you need to hand your phone number over to use.
It doesn't have one? O.M.G.! How will this company survive?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 10 2022, @04:45PM (1 child)
I have been looking at the Librem or PinePhone as my next phone, and a keyboard attachment is a big checkmark in the plus column for me. I've been trying to get used to on-screen typing with the Pixel 3 I got as a gift last year, but I hate it. I'll concede that the quality of the camera is high, but having to re-learn the interface every six month when Google designers whimsically think they need to hide even more functionality with every system update just pisses me off. No, they are not clever or artistic, but rather have no grasp of what the UI should do.
Being able to maintain settings and interfaces such that my productivity is maximized has been one of the gifts Linux keeps giving on the desktop. When Ubuntu wanted to get cute and force the userbase to use the abysmal Unity desktop or the slooooooow Gnome3 desktop, I and many others flipped them the bird and ripped it out for XFCE or one of its fine equivalents. The same thing has not really been possible for smartphones yet, though.
Customizing the phone's system, blocking endless spyware and malware, and shutting down battery-killing cruft are capabilities I am keen to get.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 10 2022, @05:02PM
I have been "pining" for real Linux on a Smartphone since Nokia bought Qt going on 15 years ago now.
The Android treadmill, meanwhile, has gone through at least a dozen "upgrades" each seemingly determined to break ALL the features I would implement in the previous iteration "for user security."
If 2022 is really "the year of Linux on the Smartphone" then let us all take a moment and pray for a lack of application software breaking upgrades in its future.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by The Vocal Minority on Tuesday January 11 2022, @05:18AM
This is nice, but I asked Santa for MMS support.