PINE64

We initially hoped to open PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition pre-orders earlier this month, but the factory encountered minor problems which had to be resolved prior to production starting. Such hiccups are common and expected, and normally a ten-day delay isn’t a major problem. However, with the Chinese New Year starting on February 1st the January production and shipping windows have now shrunk to just a handful of days. We’ve therefore been impatiently awaiting the factory’s green light per our policy that “(…) we [only] take pre-orders for [devices] once production is securely underway”. Thankfully the ‘go-ahead’ signal arrived earlier today.

• Lukasz Erecinski
• 7 Comments

The keyboard case works with both the PinePhone and PinePhone Pro and features a clam-shell design. It uses pogo pins located on the phone’s midsection and attaches by replacing the default back cover. When folded, the phone’s screen and the keyboard rest securely against each other. The hinge features a 180° design, which not only allows for two-hand typing on a surface but also for comfortable thumb-typing when fully extended. The etched keycaps can be easily relocated for alternate layouts such as AZERTY or QWERTZ. The keyboard case runs an open firmware, which means that anyone with the know-how can alter existing functions or add new ones. The bottom (keyboard) and top (phone) sections of the assembly are well-balanced thanks to the large, 6000mAh, internal battery capable of charging the PinePhone (Pro) during operation. The internal battery effectively triples the phone’s battery life. The internal keyboard battery can be manually toggled on/off and the keyboard’s battery charge level can be read in the supported OSes; the keyboard remains functional with the battery fully depleted.

• Lukasz Erecinski
• 26 Comments

People pick up a PinePhone for the freedom to choose an operating system, to enjoy privacy by default, and to truly own the device they purchase. From the moment a PinePhone departs from our warehouse we no longer have any insight into what happens to it. I frequently get asked questions about PinePhone’s user base, the percentage of people daily-driving it, and the most popular operating systems on our platform. I have no real answers to offer to these questions. Today I am turning to you for help to paint a picture of the PinePhone community by volunteering answers.

• Lukasz Erecinski
• 168 Comments

Seasonal greetings from the PINE64 community team! In the last community update of 2021 we’ll take a look at progress made this year and discuss potential avenues to explore in 2022.

• Lukasz Erecinski
• 16 Comments

Is it truly November already? Is it just me, or is this year flying by at warp speed? This month’s update focuses on initial impressions of the PinePhone Pro and production keyboard. We’re also going to take a look at the SOQuartz Blade hostboard and discuss InfiniTime 1.7 release.

• Lukasz Erecinski
• 11 Comments