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PinePhone Pro [GNU/Linux smartphone] has been discontinued

(social.treehouse.systems)
172 points fsflover | 1 comments | 28 Aug 25 16:05 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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Ezhik ◴[28 Aug 25 17:36 UTC] No.45054838[source]▶
I'm so sad I couldn't get my hands on that Psion-like keyboard for it.
replies(1): >>45054876 #
mlok ◴[28 Aug 25 17:40 UTC] No.45054876[source]▶
Oh they look really cool : https://pine64.org/documentation/Phone_Accessories/Keyboard/
replies(1): >>45055400 #
ge96 ◴[28 Aug 25 18:30 UTC] No.45055400[source]▶
This is one of those things seems cool but is it (usability)?

My own opinion, I bought a Toshiba Libretto CT50 and the keyboard is really cool but also so small/hard to use.

replies(3): >>45056392 #>>45056945 #>>45057144 #
1. ikkun ◴[28 Aug 25 21:17 UTC] No.45057144[source]▶
they discontinued it because of quality control reasons, which tracks with my experience. the key mechanism is weird, a circular membrane around plastic posts, and it makes some of the keys (especially the top row) constantly miss inputs. there's a 3D printed shim 'fix' but that barely helped me. off-center keypresses also bind really badly. the pogo pins that connect to the phone are flaky, which can make it lose connection and require a reboot. like the keys, there's a shim you can use (putting some paper behind the contacts) which only sort of helps.

a benefit of the keyboard case is the battery it has that extends the phone's battery, which is nice, but it's an odd setup too. the charge controller on it was originally designed for a power bank and seems like a bit of a crude solution that's lead to multiple issues, like how you could damage the phone having it plugged into USB while the keyboard case is connected. it's slow to charge too, often it can't even keep up with the phone during use.