ubuntu touch

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Pine64 news roundup: PinePhone Keyboard goes on sale in September, Ubuntu Touch 20.04 is coming, visual voicemail arrives, PineNote E Ink tablet revealed

by Brad Linder No Comments on Pine64 news roundup: PinePhone Keyboard goes on sale in September, Ubuntu Touch 20.04 is coming, visual voicemail arrives, PineNote E Ink tablet revealed

The PinePhone Keyboard is an accessory that essentially turns Pine64’s inexpensive Linux smartphone into a tiny Linux laptop. It’s been under development since last year, and you’ll be able to order one soon – Pine64 has announced that the hardware and firmware has been finalized, and the PinePhone Keyboard will go on sale in late […]

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News roundup: PinePhone keyboard, mainline Linux kernel, and Waydroid

by Brad Linder 2 Comments on News roundup: PinePhone keyboard, mainline Linux kernel, and Waydroid

Development of the PinePhone keyboard has just about wrapped up, and this accessory for the $150 Linux-friendly phone should be available soon for around $50. The hardware has been finalized and sent out to a number of folks for testing, and megi has created open source firmware for the keyboard that will be loaded at […]

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UBPorts plans to bring VoLTE and Voice over WiFi support to Ubuntu Touch

by Brad Linder No Comments on UBPorts plans to bring VoLTE and Voice over WiFi support to Ubuntu Touch

Most smartphones have the hardware necessary to make Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls, delivering lower latency and better audio quality than phone calls that don’t use the technology. If you’re using an Android or iOS phone, then all you need to take advantage of VoLTE is a mobile network that supports the feature. But if […]

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Lilbits: Windows 11 inches closer, MediaTek’s new smartphone chips, and Linux smartphone news

by Brad Linder 1 Comment on Lilbits: Windows 11 inches closer, MediaTek’s new smartphone chips, and Linux smartphone news

Microsoft has rolled out another preview build of Windows 11, and while it’s mostly bug fixes, there are a few design tweaks and a new entertainment widget (which is basically just an ad for movies in the Microsoft Store). Meanwhile, MediaTek has unveiled two new smartphone processors with an emphasis on high-quality camera and display […]

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Ubuntu Touch OTA 18 brings improved performance for older devices, among other updates

by Brad Linder No Comments on Ubuntu Touch OTA 18 brings improved performance for older devices, among other updates

The developers of Ubuntu Touch have released their 18th stable update to the GNU/Linux distribution for smartphones and tablets. One of the key changes in Ubuntu Touch OTA-18? The folks at UBPorts say it “almost always feels feaster” than the previous release on the same device. That’s especially important for older hardware with aging specs. […]

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Volla Phone X rugged phone is available for pre-order with Ubuntu Touch or Android

by Brad Linder 6 Comments on Volla Phone X rugged phone is available for pre-order with Ubuntu Touch or Android

The folks behind the Volla Phone are now taking pre-orders for a second phone that will also be available with a choice of Android or Ubuntu Touch operating systems pre-installed. As expected, the new Volla Phone X is a rugged smartphone with similar specs to the company’s first phone, but a more durable body. It also […]

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News Roundup: Hardware-accelerated video on the PinePhone, themes on the Librem 5

by Brad Linder No Comments on News Roundup: Hardware-accelerated video on the PinePhone, themes on the Librem 5

It’s been a busy few weeks in the Linux phone space (and a busy few weeks outside of it, which is why I haven’t had time to write much – but follow @linuxsmartphone on Twitter for more timely updates). Here’s a roundup of some recent news. Phosh 0.12.0 released [Purism] Updates to this open source, […]

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Ubuntu Touch OTA-17 brings initial support for NFC and other improvements (coming May 12, available for testing now)

by Brad Linder No Comments on Ubuntu Touch OTA-17 brings initial support for NFC and other improvements (coming May 12, available for testing now)

The UBPorts team is set to roll out the next update to Ubuntu Touch on May 12th. While Ubuntu Touch OTA-17 won’t have as many user-facing changes as some previous builds of the operating system, there are still some goodies baked in, particularly for folks with a couple of specific devices. For example, Ubuntu Touch […]

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Lillbits: Acer’s rugged laptop and tablet, B&O’s bookshelf speaker, and Dell divests VMWare

by Brad Linder No Comments on Lillbits: Acer’s rugged laptop and tablet, B&O’s bookshelf speaker, and Dell divests VMWare

Acer launched its first rugged laptops and tablets under the Acer Enduro brand last summer, and now the company is updating the line with a new 4.1 pound, 14 inch laptop with an IP53 certification for water and dust resistance and a MIL-STD-810H tested design and a 10 inch rugged tablet with the same certifications. […]

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Ubuntu Touch for the PinePhone is moving to a new kernel for better hardware support

by Brad Linder 4 Comments on Ubuntu Touch for the PinePhone is moving to a new kernel for better hardware support

Ubuntu Touch can run on dozens of smartphones that originally shipped with Android thanks to the Halium tool that allows the Linux distribution to communicate with the hardware in those phones using Android drivers. But if you’re running Ubuntu Touch on a PinePhone, you don’t need Halium since the phone supports mainline Linux kernels or […]

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Lilbits: Chip shortage, Pebble smartwatch afterlife, and mining Bitcoin with a Game Boy

by Brad Linder 1 Comment on Lilbits: Chip shortage, Pebble smartwatch afterlife, and mining Bitcoin with a Game Boy

The global chip shortage is leading to product delays and price increases for a wide range of products including automobiles, game consoles, and single board computers. And it could continue through much of 2021, and possibly into next year or beyond. There are a number of factors contributing to the shortage – rising demand for […]

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Ubuntu Touch port for the Fairphone 3 running Android 10

by Brad Linder No Comments on Ubuntu Touch port for the Fairphone 3 running Android 10

The Fairphone 3 is a smartphone manufactured using ethically-sourced materials when possible and designed to be repairable – the phone’s maker sells replacement parts and even a camera upgrade module that essentially turns the phone into a Fairphone 3+. While the Fairphone 3 ships with Android software, the bootloader is unlockable and you can install […]