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Exciting developments around Linux on Phones: Ubuntu Touch, Plasma Mobile, Halium, PinePhone, and VollaPhone

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Abstract

There have been countless attempts to dethrone Android. Many tried, many failed. But 2020 might be the year we finally see this change! https://cdn.media.ccc.de/congress/2019/h264-hd/36c3-10524-eng-deu-fra-Lightning_Talks_Day_2_hd.mp4#t=4909,5211
Exciting developments around Linux on Phones
Lightning Talk at the 36th Chaos Communication Congress
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird)
28.12.2019
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 1 / 10
About me
who i am
Jan Sprinz, 22, he/him
FOSS dev
board member @ UBports Foundation
where to find me
twitter.com/neothethird
mastodon.social/neothethird
github.com/neothethird
gitlab.com/neothethird
jan@ubports.com
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 2 / 10
Why even bother?
. . . because Android f@¢1ng sucks
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 3 / 10
Why even bother?
. . . because Android f@¢1ng sucks
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 3 / 10
Ubuntu Touch
ubuntu-touch.io
started in 2013 as the official mobile
version of Ubuntu Linux
shipped four phones and two tablets,
plus community ports
handed over to the UBports Community
in 2017
lives on as a non-profit project
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 4 / 10
KDE Plasma Mobile
plasma-mobile.org
adaptation of KDE neon for mobile
devices
not entirely ready for daily use yet, but
man, it’s cool
it’s KDE on a phone, how are you not
excited about this?
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 5 / 10
PostmarketOS
postmarketos.org
aims for longevity of existing phones
re-thinks some technical aspects
alpine-linux based rootfs
alpha state
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 6 / 10
PinePhone
pine64.org
Open Hardware
Software provided by communities
Actual Linux (“or as I’ve recently taken
to calling it, GNU plus Linux”)
Affordable price (150 USD)
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 7 / 10
Volla Phone
volla.systems
up and coming German startup
experimenting with alternative OSs
phone built in the EU
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 8 / 10
UBports Installer
github.com/ubports/ubports-installer
user-friendly cross-plattform GUI installer
originally created for Ubuntu Touch, now
bringing more OSs
join in on the fun at
github.com/ubports/ubports-installer
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 9 / 10
Thank you for listening
what we talked about
ubuntu-touch.io
plasma-mobile.org
postmarketos.org
pine64.org
volla.systems
github.com/ubports/ubports-installer
how to get in touch
twitter.com/neothethird
mastodon.social/neothethird
github.com/neothethird
gitlab.com/neothethird
jan@ubports.com
Jan Sprinz (@NeoTheThird) Exciting developments around Linux on Phones 28.12.2019 10 / 10
... Various alternative mobile operating systems are available, but installing them on third-party hardware is often too difficult for users unfamiliar with command-line tools [1]. Since most community-based projects only have very few pre-installed devices commercially available, they will remain inaccessible to users who are not technically literate enough. ...
Article
Full-text available
Installing alternative mobile operating systems on third-party hardware is often too difficult for inexperienced users. This paper outlines a brief idea how the UBports Installer could be adapted to solve this problem for all mobile operating systems in a collaborative manner. Published in The Journal of Brief Ideas.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.