Hello,
I'm still a newbie with Linux, though I'm successfully using a Linux laptop and I'm looking forward to my PineBook Pro.
Is the new PinePhone with Manjaro any closer to being something a non-developer newbie can order and successfully use? I like tinkering and learning, but I'm not a developer and don't have much in the way of developer chops. Still, I'm eager to be on board and learn new things, so I'm ready to go any time the PinePhone is ready to be something I can use to supplement my normal phone.
I'd be grateful for anyone's insights.
Best,
Graham
I would say, no.
This is far from ready for regular usage, even with basic Linux knowledge. Especially if you are used to Android or iOS phones.
I personally am working on reducing my online life, so right now, I can get basic text messages, but the phone calls do not work. I am giving up a tremendous amount of functionality with a phone to use the PinePhone, but I have decades of Linux experience and I am ready to have less features and online presence in my life.
I have the UBPorts edition. Basic text work. Phone calls with T-Mobile do not - I'm working on that  The default browser is really delicate and barely works. Navigation is there (uNav) but kind of poor by comparison.
Some kind soul just made a YouTube app for PinePhone that works pretty well!
Many Linux features are difficult, especially without a real mount point.
So, do not use this as your daily driver if you need or desire the everyday Android or iOS services.
(08-31-2020, 09:25 AM)Phillip Bell Wrote: I have the UBPorts edition. Basic text work. Phone calls with T-Mobile do not - I'm working on that The default browser is really delicate and barely works. Navigation is there (uNav) but kind of poor by comparison.
If you haven't tried Pure Maps yet, you should, and see if you like it. It's constantly improving.
It doesn´t necessarily depend on your knowdledge but on the question what you expect. The Pinephone is not a finished product yet, regardless of what OS you´re running. There are regressions after updating and the camera is esentially non-working, If you like to tinker there will probably always someone to help you. If you want a phone "just like one running Android but cooler" this is not for you.
ATM I can only make and receive calls with UB-Touch. Phosh fails and also do plasma mobile. With different flavours, but BOTH are not possible to make reliable in- and outgoing calls.
The problems on PPh are some like grave and only UB-Touch could serve with such as an daily driver...... And UB-Touch eats the battery within 4-6 hours on less or even no use.
(08-31-2020, 08:52 AM)GFreeman Wrote: Hello,
I'm still a newbie with Linux, though I'm successfully using a Linux laptop and I'm looking forward to my PineBook Pro.
Is the new PinePhone with Manjaro any closer to being something a non-developer newbie can order and successfully use? I like tinkering and learning, but I'm not a developer and don't have much in the way of developer chops. Still, I'm eager to be on board and learn new things, so I'm ready to go any time the PinePhone is ready to be something I can use to supplement my normal phone.
I'd be grateful for anyone's insights.
Best,
Graham If you like tinkering and learning you should get it. My thinking is completely opposite to @ Phillip Bell. You do not need to have experience with Linux, you only need the motivation to learn. Actually, probably the >90% of the pinephone shoppers are not developers for the OS. As in any Linux distro, the huge immensity they like to test, play around, but they are not developers.
This is a great 'toy' to experiment at the user level.
Everything you learned with your laptop you can try to apply it here.
All,
These are all very helpful replies. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Best,
Graham
Some of the operating systems do currently have all the basics.
But some are having OS to carrier problems.
You do need a few sd cards, so you can save your favorite OS.
and return to it when you need to.
BUT more people are trying the Pine phone all the time, when it is considered very good
You may find it very difficult to purchase !
They do seem to "Sell-Out" faster with each batch.
I'd lost my link to this, then found it again . . . If you haven't checked out the distro wiki page yet, it might be useful:
https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PinePh...e_Releases
You can read the "what works" for some distros and dive into the docs for others. This might be helpful in determining which one would be suited for the functionality you need now. I don't know exactly how up-to-date every distro's info is, but the edit history shows that the page is being updated frequently. When in doubt, I guess you download the image and boot the SD card and find out for yourself . . . at the least, it should be fun.
It seems to me that you aren't taking much of a risk if you order now. You can try it out, and if it doesn't have enough functionality for you to enjoy playing with it, then put it in a drawer and try it again in 3, 6, 12, 18 months as the software gets better and better. At this point, I think they have fixed all the critical hardware bugs, that would prevent you from using the phone. Maybe wait for the Manjaro version just to make sure, but at this point, most everything is going to be fixed in software, so you might as well order now.
The PinePhone is cheap enough that even if it doesn't work out as your daily phone, you can use it as a neat mini-computer or a handheld web browser or a toy for tinkering or simply an excuse for learning Linux better. It is very cheap entertainment.
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