Letalis Sonus
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The OMAP5 has a similar DSP than the OMAP3, albeit less powerful IIRC.
How is it as a phone?
- Thread starter steppenroth
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WizardStan
Mega GP Mania
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The only issue I've had with skype feedback is when doing speaker-phone calls; if I put on my headphones the issue goes away. I'm assuming the Pyra might suffer the same, but if you're holding it phone-like the microphone won't be able to hear the speaker so it wouldn't be a problem.
levi
Still fresh, damnit!
Yes, if you're using headphones there is no feedback problem, because the headphones are too quiet and too far away for the microphone to pick up. The windows build is clearly trying to do some echo cancellation as evidenced by all the times it goes wrong and it starts squawking at you. The linux build doesn't do that, but it does result in you hearing your own voice if the microphone can hear the speakers, which is rather disconcerting, and rather noisy.
I guess that does mean for the Pyra that you don't actually need a headset to get around the feedback problem. Plain headphones and using the built-in microphone should also work.
I guess that does mean for the Pyra that you don't actually need a headset to get around the feedback problem. Plain headphones and using the built-in microphone should also work.
rygD
Nihilistic Mystic
My wired handset is just a decent clone of a modular type G (works with real Western Electric/Bell hardware, and all parts I swapped worked fine in either the original or the clone). It doesn't have any buttons or other extras added on. The connector on the other end of the cable is the smaller size for older cell fones, so I would need an adaptor, or, since the cable is modular, I could find/make one for smartphones and the Pyra and swap it out. I am pretty sure you can make the same sort of thing with some basic skills and tools and an original WE handset. Due to the size, these handsets aren't really practical except in a stationary location (where you may have a real fone, so just forward to that, but not as fun).
For me, a regular wired headset will probably be what I use most of the time, although I still have that Bluetooth handset waiting around for my Pyra if I ever need to present myself as more "professional", or for those times when fumbling around with cables will be a headache, and I just need to answer my calls. Depending on how things go in the next month or so I might try to pass it along to someone that will have more use for it if I am not going to be traveling a lot or working in one of those offices where people really care about appearances.
AndiTheBest
Active Member
thx for the hint. I have tried
but dont get the webrtc module running which seems working better. I think it could be included when building the OS for the pyra.
b_o_b
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I agree, but there are bluetooth dialers that might solve it (imo bluetooth headsets are pretty clumsy in practice).
You still have to carry around another device though and I am not sure about the quality and battery life. Hope to see someone give something like this a try after Pyra is lauched.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mobile-Phon...-Galaxy-note-7-0-10-1-ipad-mini-/162477080567
second exodous
Advanced Member
I think the best way to use the Pyra as a phone is paired with a headset and a smart watch. Smart watch to get notifications/to answer and a headset for voice. Not that I'd be embarrassed taking the Pyra out of my pocket but you'd be like those people who always put their phone on speaker to talk, no matter where they are.
Also, wasn't all the Maemo open sourced? Didn't it include all the phone stuff? If so surely some of that can be used.
Also, wasn't all the Maemo open sourced? Didn't it include all the phone stuff? If so surely some of that can be used.
@b_o_b thank you so much for pointing me to that device! I have been looking for hours on dealextreme and similar pages to find something like that, but gave up. All devices that seemed like I would want to use them were either only compatible with proprietary apps or too small and meant to be worn like blue tooth headsets with a tiny dial pad embedded into them. Lacking the correct term to search for was giving me terrible result... blue tooth handset didn't quite cover it.
I definitely plan to use my pyra as a phone and will try to do anything to switch from using smart phones. I hate android and all the other crap too, I find the UI experience enraging and all the crippled linux rape that android is. Was really enthusiastic at first when it came out, but have gone through several phones and other boxes since.
Still having a compatibility layer for android apps would be nice, I'd like to use signal and a few apps like that. But that seems to be ways off from happening. A bunch of functional script with AT commands will do I guess
let's see where we can go from there.
@AndiTheBest your experiments are really cool! Excited to see what you will come up with.
I definitely plan to use my pyra as a phone and will try to do anything to switch from using smart phones. I hate android and all the other crap too, I find the UI experience enraging and all the crippled linux rape that android is. Was really enthusiastic at first when it came out, but have gone through several phones and other boxes since.
Still having a compatibility layer for android apps would be nice, I'd like to use signal and a few apps like that. But that seems to be ways off from happening. A bunch of functional script with AT commands will do I guess
let's see where we can go from there.@AndiTheBest your experiments are really cool! Excited to see what you will come up with.
levi
Still fresh, damnit!
Which smartwatch should we get though? Now that the pebble is no more thank to fitbit, it leaves the android phone makers watches alone doesn't it, and those will only talk to android as far as I know. Maybe the standards can be reverse engineered, especially if the relevant bits of android are open source, but I've not heard of any projects to do this yet. I expect licensing will be a problem in actually shipping it with debian say, but there's nothing stopping an end user using it as far as I know.
b_o_b
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Indeed, you need to add dialer to your search. I like this one even more:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Bluet...af1d633&pid=100623&rk=1&rkt=5&sd=162477080567
Not a lot of choice though and as far as I know not one of them is created by a well known company. Could be total crap.
AndiTheBest
Active Member
second exodous
Advanced Member
Yeah, I will miss my Pebble time when the battery dies, it already is down to half the life it used to have. Yeah, maybe with that project someone will make a open source pebble type watch. You can't tell me that if someone made a watch that had user replaceable battery that used an open source OS it wouldn't become the most funded project on kickstarter. I think Pebble was just making their watches too nice, smart watches are a niche market to begin with and trying to compete with Google and Apple was too much. There are plenty of people that just want a watch that tells time along with receiving notifications. I know people with iwatches and android watches and think 'why does it need to do all that? Is it really worth the need to charge it once a day?'
I don't think there would be any licensing issues with making a program on the Pyra to communicate with a Android watch though.
Grench
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I had an idea along those lines - a Solar e-ink watch that only updates the display if you tap on it once. I.e. a tiny spring makes contact to tell the watch to update the display. It would have a low power BT radio that only turns on and checks the phone/host if/when the tap happens. No, it would not work for immediate alerts. But - no charger, cable, etc. Maybe have it check for 'alerts' every X minutes?
I have a multi year old Seiko Solar flight chronograph that runs fine off of office lights. I figure that if they can do that for a continuous mechanical movement, the solar tech should be 'good enough' to update a 20mm diameter e-ink screen several times a day.
But yeah - all of these 'watches' that have come out with color screens, constant connections and a constant need to recharge them - it's a bit silly and feature overkill. They're so clunky that they make my Seiko flight watch look svelte.
I have a multi year old Seiko Solar flight chronograph that runs fine off of office lights. I figure that if they can do that for a continuous mechanical movement, the solar tech should be 'good enough' to update a 20mm diameter e-ink screen several times a day.
But yeah - all of these 'watches' that have come out with color screens, constant connections and a constant need to recharge them - it's a bit silly and feature overkill. They're so clunky that they make my Seiko flight watch look svelte.
I asked about android watch support once..... Anyway, pairing with some other device for notifications, and maybe the pymote from another thread for replies would be how a pyra phone could work for me, not being much of a voice caller. Seriously thinking about upgrading my order.....
second exodous
Advanced Member
This is why I think the Pandora as a phone will work for me. I have a job that doesn't require me to voice talk that often, which is beneficial, when things are communicated with text then I can look at the logs and find exactly what I said/what I need to do. With family I really don't talk much in the day, it is text during the day and then I call back at night.
So if voice works even if it is inconvenient then that is good enough. I mainly communicate through text anyway. I really like how with my pebble time I read a text and then can do voice to text by talking to my watch and then hitting send, not needing to pull out my phone at all. If I can't do that then it isn't that awkward pulling out my Pyra to type a text.
I'm really excited not to depend on Android or iOS, to have a full OS. 99.9% of use on Android and iOS is time wasted anyway.
rygD
Nihilistic Mystic
I don't like having things stuck to my wrist, but this would be the type of thing I would want if I could tolerate it strapped to me and wanted it to check messages of whatever. I can't say it would win against a mechanical watch in the useless things I might want competition. Add a light to it somehow, too (that is a function my antique and mechanical watches lack).
Neelix
Insecticidal Maniac
I really like the look of those bluetooth diallers. The smart watch solution doesn't appeal to me at all, but I do like the idea of a small hand-held unit I can use to access the phone functions while the Pyra stays closed in my bag.
-Neelix
-Neelix
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other options for connectivity:
