PinePhone Keyboard update [April 24/04]

[Luke]

Looks sick, thanks for the update!

I know having different layouts and different keycaps to fit every bill is expensive so I'm guessing the answer for those questions is no, but I'm gonna ask them anyway

- Will there be tactile bumps on the F and J keycaps?

- Will a version with blank keycaps be available (like the prototype)?

- In the future, would a version with an ortholinear layout be possible?

- no.
- you'd have to make a compelling argument for it. It is very likely that we'll offer language-pack keycaps, but I personally don't fully understand the appeal of blank keys. But I'm all ears. The keycaps will be laser-etched, so in theory setting aside 1/100 sets and not etching them isn't exactly difficult. 
- no. If anything - and I'm not saying it will happen - an ANSI layout in the future is a plausibility, maybe. But this is granted the keyboard sells like hot cakes.

[megous]

Please make the schematics for the battery/charging circuit and expected connection to the pinephone available for community feedback.

Physically it looks nice. Time to start thinking about landsacape mode for p-boot and I2C support for menu navigation via keyboard keys.

[Luke]

Please make the schematics for the battery/charging circuit and expected connection to the pinephone available for community feedback.

Physically it looks nice. Time to start thinking about landsacape mode for p-boot and I2C support for menu navigation via keyboard keys.

For sure I also know that @xalius wants to review it.
And yes, I was actually hoping to see a p-boot update!

Anyways, when the schematic will be made available you'll be one of the first to know - thats for sure.

[preflex]

I could imagine myself awkwardly holding it up to my ear; is there something I'm missing that would make using the earpiece completely impossible to use and not just a bit more difficult?

Not on the hardware side.  I wouldn't put it past the phosh devs to go out of their way to disable it for no reason at all.

[pfeerick]

Looks great Luke. Glad to see progress is being made. It certainly made me laugh though when I saw that the keyboard was thicker than the phone... it makes perfect sense though when you realise there's a battery as well as the keyboard there though. It's nice how the pinephone seems to snap in as if it were a replacement back panel.

How does this charge (as I notice there's no picture of the right side)? Does it have any priority in which battery charges first? (i.e charge the pinephone battery before the keyboard battery) Is there any room for future expansion... i.e. can the lora backplate be integrated into that as well? wireless charging?

[lot378]

That's ... quite the brick! Beefy.

Not sure I like the bevelled edge around the keyboard. The fourth photo side view of the power and volume buttons with the keyboard closed the bevel looks odd. An edge flush with the phone/lid would look better. And the gaps either side of the hinge could be smaller to help occlude the hinge bar.

It would be good if there was a Thinkpad TrackPoint style red-button in the middle of the keyboard to move a mouse pointer.

[moodroid]

I could imagine myself awkwardly holding it up to my ear; is there something I'm missing that would make using the earpiece completely impossible to use and not just a bit more difficult?

Thanks for asking that, as that's exactly what I was wondering too. In the video, it looks like the hinge opens to almost 180 degrees, so if I was holding the phone in my right hand when making a call, it would just mean that the keyboard would stick out another few inches in front of me. Other than perhaps obscuring my vision a little, I can't understand why this would be a big deal for the occasional phone call?

@Luke - is there any reason that you said "You can obviously still make/ take calls on loudspeaker", as that sort of implies that what me and @citrons have described would for some reason be impossible? Could we have some official confirmation that the phone speaker and mic are still functional when the keyboard is attached please?

[Luke]

@moodroid I refer you back to you original answer on this topic. Of course, the earpiece still works with the keyboard attached, but you probably will get a few weird looks if you put that contraption up to your face in public.
Mechanically/ electrically the only things affected are: i2c for keyboard communication and the charging circuitry stuff -- nothing to do with sound routing. 

So the definitive answer on this subject for all eternity is: you CAN still use the earpiece on the handset with the keyboard attached, but using the loudspeaker, BT headset or wired headphones is just much sane. Think of it as a PDA with a modem in this configuration.

[moodroid]

@moodroid I refer you back to you original answer on this topic. Of course, the earpiece still works with the keyboard attached, but you probably will get a few weird looks if you put that contraption up to your face in public.
Mechanically/ electrically the only things affected are: i2c for keyboard communication and the charging circuitry stuff -- nothing to do with sound routing. 

So the definitive answer on this subject for all eternity is: you CAN still use the earpiece on the handset with the keyboard attached, but using the loudspeaker, BT headset or wired headphones is just much sane. Think of it as a PDA with a modem in this configuration.

Thanks for the clarrification, Luke. The insane option sounds fine to me though. Can't wait to get my keyboard

[sbus]

Are there any plans to add a mouse pointer?