12-15-2021, 01:57 PM
(12-12-2021, 10:56 AM)holycow Wrote: Hi, thanks for the follow up. I am indeed. I used to be able to type really fast when Blackberries were a thing and then got an Android and have never been able to recover any typing speed at all.
I hear you. That keyboard is quite hard to replicate nicely though. You might find yourself spending quite some time just investigating different switches for the right feel.
(12-12-2021, 10:56 AM)holycow Wrote: I have wanted to test out and play with keyboard layouts and we are now at a place where others have figured out the packaging and software pieces that it seems like it might be time to try and figure out if I can move a few pieces around and dremel into a case an ugly attempt to see how well a thumb keyboard might actually work on a fully converged device.
I don't think you will easily replace the screen on a PinePhone. The tolerances are ultra-tight.
I would suggest to build an expansion board for a module instead: https://www.pine64.org/sopine/
You can then also get the baseboard (note the LiPo battery support): https://www.pine64.org/baseboard/
I imagine you could find a nice LCD hat and then look to build a custom complimentary PCB that connects via the header/USB port, having your keyboard iterations. Initially you could 3D print the case too. This would give you something feasible to work on top of.
You could then eventually build out your own baseboard with the keyboard already added. If you drop the Ethernet, eMMC, IR, GPIO, camera and HDMI you would have a lot of space to work with.
(12-12-2021, 10:56 AM)holycow Wrote: I have a ton of research to complete and a bunch of iterations to go through as time allows but would love to hear what you might be working on, for sure. Feel free to post here or message me any time.
EDIT: I missed the PDA vs Blackberry qualifier. I am looking more for a blackberry style input option rather than a pda in the sense of Palmpilot or similar. I would like to solve the issue of speed + accuracy of text input on a mobile devices for my usecase.
I am working towards a PDA, a process I have so far documented here: https://coffeespace.org.uk/projects/linu...art-3.html
It's based on an ESP32. I did look at adapting the PineCube, but it was too much of a pain. I am currently looking to avoid having to deal with hardware as I don't have time for it - and want something working out of the box to develop useful software. It might end up being useful for the PineDio project.