Phone Calls and Upgrades?

[ethereal]

So from what I understand the mobile edition of the pyra can have internet access, but it currently doesn't come with phone talk support, and we have to wait on a software update for that.

Will phone support software be included when the pyra preorders ship? Will you just be able to download an update that supports talking by the time the pyras preorders ship?

So what will talking on the pyra look like? Will it look like someone whispering into a taco? Do you have videos on what it looks like?


Can we get a simple definitive YES; phone talk will work by the time we receive our preorders?



Can we get some sort of list on what mobile carriers will work with the pyra, and what ones won't?

 

[slaeshjag]

Making phone calls currently works from a shellscript.

The amount of polish done on that software will depend a lot on what whoever gets prototypes does with it, if anything at all.

 

[levi]

Nobody can say if calls will work, unless someone has already done it - as far as I know the cases for the prototype orders arrived the other week, so units should be going out soon if not already. But I think at its basis it'll just be a matter of catting an AT code into the modem then echo piping microphone input into, for making calls at least. Receiving calls will need some sort of daemon process to monitor the modem, so that'll likely be somewhere down the line after we get the first public units, I'd estimate. A full featured all singing all dancing interface with a GUI and contacts and things you'd expect from even from a dumb phone will probably take a while longer.

Only one video of a running Pyra exists at the moment, and it doesn't cover taco talking. In my estimation, it will be infeasible, so I'd advise anyone planning to use their Pyra as a phone to start looking at headsets, if they don't already have one. Wired or bluetooth ones should work.

So overall, probably NOT - I doubt the Pyra will be really usable as a phone by the time public preorders come out. But I am a pessimist in these things, and always like to be pleasantly surprised.

Where are you based? Most European operators should work. Most American ones won't, but a significant minority of them will.

Edit: Slaeshjag beat me to it. Nice!

 

[rygD]

As with the Pandora, most of the software side of things will be community driven. Because of that it may be hard to get a yes or no like you want. You could always try to lend a hand to make sure it is ready when the first mass produced units ship. If ED or hns work on calls that means less time (and maybe money) toward basic functionality.

I thought @Askarus mentioned he was going to make a pic of talking at the Pyra (I may have misunderstood). For my use it will usually look like having a wired headset attached, just like when I listen to music.

As for the companies you can use, in Europe it sounds like most companies should work fine. In the US, with the US version, it might work on two of the major carriers networks, however that assumes they will allow it to be used for voice and such. You may have more luck with the little companies that piggy back on their networks. So far I think there has only been one person that got a definitive yes, and I believe that was on Cricket. There is still a chance that the information isn't good. As for the rest of the world, I don't know. There are a couple threads, and I think a wiki page, where all of this is covered.

 

[WizardStan]

Nobody can say if calls will work, unless someone has already done it

ED mentioned that he and Nikolaus had tested the voice features on a dummy board. Unless Nikolaus completely screwed something up moving the circuits from the dummy to the final board I don't see any reason it wouldn't continue working.

Can we get some sort of list on what mobile carriers will work with the pyra, and what ones won't?

A definitive list would be very difficult to produce. We know what carrier bands and formats it supports, and you can look up that information for specific companies you're interested in and see if there's a match. There's a short-list of the top few carriers in different regions and whether they should work or not, but I think it's been buried in a sea of other posts. We really should make a wiki page, people can start populating it themselves with carriers they're interested in.

 

[ible]

this is not the wiki page you are looking for:
https://www.pyra-handheld.com/wiki/index.php?title=Modem

and definitely not this:
https://www.pyra-handheld.com/wiki/...ibility_is_there_with_the_Pyra_cell_module.3F

or this...
https://www.pyra-handheld.com/wiki/index.php?title=Carrier_Compatibility

 

[rygD]

I thought there was another wiki page. Perhaps it was that last link before it was edited. I will poke around later.

Thanks for all your work and the links.

 

[Askarus]

I thought @Askarus mentioned he was going to make a pic of talking at the Pyra (I may have misunderstood). For my use it will usually look like having a wired headset attached, just like when I listen to music.

Think I finally have to do that then...
As ED is in Greece I can't do it today. Only with a Pandora if that would be fine for you

 

[rygD]

Think I finally have to do that then...
As ED is in Greece I can't do it today. Only with a Pandora if that would be fine for you

We can wait for you to get some hands on time with the/a prototype for authenticity. It would be awesome if you could actually be making a call (so you could report back on how well it is working when you use it like that).

I don't plan on using it like that, but I keep seeing people asking about it, so I think we need your help on this, when you get time.
[doublepost=1467010073,1467009952][/doublepost]On second thought, maybe these people just want to know what they will look like, so the Pandora may be fine.

 

[Grench]

I thought @Askarus mentioned he was going to make a pic of talking at the Pyra (I may have misunderstood). For my use it will usually look like having a wired headset attached, just like when I listen to music.

Or, someday when the software stack can handle it, just use a bluetooth headset. I have one of these I plan to use:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Bluetooth-Pocket-Talker-HM5000/dp/B0057WX864

Someday - after bluetooth headsets are figured out - after telephony in general is figured out - after mobile data is figured out - after drivers are figured out - after prototypes ship to devs - after the last board changes are figured out - after the board testing is finalized. Probably after a few more steps I couldn't think of on the spot too.

So - you're unlikely to get full functioning telephony capabilities on the day the Pyra ships. But, all indications point to this as being something that is likely coming down the road. "When" might be at, days, weeks, months or even a year or more after Pyras ship.

 

[hns]

Phone GUI options:
* QtMoko.net
* Replicant.us
* FreeSmartPhone.org
All projects need some work to be adapted/ported to Pyra but work on similar devices. So it is not inventing something new, just a lot of work...

 

[pyrat]

Phone GUI options:
* QtMoko.net
* Replicant.us
* FreeSmartPhone.org
All projects need some work to be adapted/ported to Pyra but work on similar devices. So it is not inventing something new, just a lot of work...

Note to (a better) self: and probably some of those can work on emulators or desktop linux. So one could start now to help these projects, without waiting to have a Pyra or dev board, and still help make telephony on the Pyra happen sooner. For example I've heard there's ongoing work on repackaging and forward porting QtMoko. Surely the others can use some help too. Of course part of the work will need a Pyra to be done. But maybe not all.

 

[Yoyobuae]

For carrier compatibility this site has pretty complete info:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/

The Pyra modem is compatible with:

PLS8-E:
Penta Band LTE: 800/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz;
FDD-Band (20,8,3,7,1); Tri Band UMTS (WCDMA):
900/1800/2100 MHz; FDD-Band (8,3,1);
Dual Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 900/1800 MHz

PLS8-US:
Quad Band LTE: 700/850/AWS (1700/2100)/1900 MHz;
FDD-Band (17,5,4,2); Tri Band UMTS (WCDMA): 850/AWS
(1700/2100)/1900 MHz; FDD-Band (5,4,2)
Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Best is to check the band number (for UTMS, LTE), because different bands may use the same frequency but that doesn't mean they are compatible.

So in my case I got the US model meaning it's compatible with LTE bands 17, 5, 4, 2 and UTMS bands 5, 4 and 2.

In my country there's only one operator supporting LTE band 2 (two others support LTE band 28, which is not compatible)

But they all support UTMS band 5 and/or 2. So I definitely will have UTMS support.

For GSM they all support either 850 or 1800 or 1900, so that should work too.

 

[rygD]

Or, someday when the software stack can handle it, just use a bluetooth headset. I have one of these I plan to use:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Bluetooth-Pocket-Talker-HM5000/dp/B0057WX864

I have one of those too, purchased after you mentioned them awhile ago.
In places where headphones/headsets are impractical this is probably one of the better options, and it looks better too, I just prefer wired stuff.