PinePhone with keyboard


mrpalmtop said:
Instead, if you want to type on the move, just hold the device securely in one palm and then type with the dominant hand. I can type quite quickly in this manner since I can use all of my fingers instead of just two thumbs.
Click to expand...

I have tried and I found it really weird. Only Zaurus has a poper size to fit on palm hand, all the other are too big, but Zaurus keyboard is designed for thumb typing IMO (keys are hard for other fingers).

And I found hand position, holding machine in palm, to be painful and not in line for proper typing or reading. And I don't type faster in that way.

Sorry, no option for me. Your hand can be different ;)

The only pocket computer with keyboard I have used sometimes in that way is HP-48 series (and only sometimes becuause most times I used it in a desk while doing math or other activities) and some smartphones, precisely because they are portrait/vertical designed, while all other pocket computers mentioned are landscape/horizontal designed.
 
I have a Pine Phone as well now. I've only had time to put PostmarketOS Plasma on it. It's definitely buggy but my experience was somewhat better.

Allegedly, Ubuntu Touch is on better shape but I haven't had time to experiment with it.
 
I think if they put in an optical trackpoint between the keys near the top right hand corner which works like the one on the gpd pocket 2 it would be nice. How does the pinephone soc and gpu compare with the pyra by the way?
 
arthur-thompson said:
How does the pinephone soc and gpu compare with the pyra by the way?
Click to expand...

64-bit Cortex-A53 CPUs in Pinephone are less powerful than 32-bit Cortex-A15 CPUs in Pyra.

Cortex-A15 is a high performance (for its time in ARM world) 32-bit out-of-order execution CPU reaching like 3.5 to 4.01 DMIPS/MHz, while Cortex-A53 is a low performance 64-bit in-order execution CPU reaching only like 2.3 DMIPS/MHz.

But Cortex-A53 can run 64-bit software, and Pinephone has 4 Cortex-A53 at 1.8 GHz, while Pyra only has 2 Cortex-A15 at up to 1.5 GHz. So in single thread Pyra would be more powerful (5,25 to 6 DMIPS) than Pinephone (4,14 DMIPS) while in multi thread Pinephone would win (10,5-12 DMIPS for Pyra vs 16,56 DMIPS for Pinephone). Of course this is very weak theory, because DMIPS isn't an exact nor clear indicate of powerful and caches size/speed and memory size are very important.

Pinephone only has 2GB of RAM, while Pyra can have 4GB.

On other side Cortex-A53 is Spectre free while Cortex-A15, for its out-of-order execution, is affected by Spectre.

About GPUs I have no idea.

PD: Of course, the best form to test performance is in real hard with real soft :)
 
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Looks like the PinePhone keyboard is one of the next things on their radar to work on. My interest is now piqued.

www.pine64.org

Update: new hacktober gear

Let me begin this month’s community update by teasing the November update, in which I’ll talk about the next generation of SoCs and our plans for the future. If you haven’t done so yet, then now is the right time to subscribe to our blog and follow the news on the PINE64 Telegram news channel.
www.pine64.org www.pine64.org
 
ClockworkCoder said:
Looks like the PinePhone keyboard is one of the next things on their radar to work on. My interest is now piqued.

www.pine64.org

Update: new hacktober gear

Let me begin this month’s community update by teasing the November update, in which I’ll talk about the next generation of SoCs and our plans for the future. If you haven’t done so yet, then now is the right time to subscribe to our blog and follow the news on the PINE64 Telegram news channel.
www.pine64.org www.pine64.org
Click to expand...

I guess that render is very schematic ? As someone said there the hinges seem too small and I don't understand why the keyboard doesn't use all the space.
Couldn't they have either more keys or taller keys ? In the pyra there are buttons and game controls between the screen and the keyboard, but in that PinePhone render
it looks like it's just plastic there ?
 
It looks to me almost like a first sketch. It's not exactly a practical design, but the fact that they're bringing it up again is interesting... may be quite a while before we see anything more substantial though, I guess...
 
The one marked pinephone keyboard render? That's not a schematic in any real sense, it's a render designed to indicate the final form. I guess they're using an off-the-shelf part for the keyboard, which was probably designed for a blackberry type phone where the keyboard goes alongside the screen for a taller unit. Similarly the 'pencil' soldering iron looks to be using the case from a $5 alibaba cheapy. I've no idea what's going on with the hinge there though.

Edit: Yes, as ClockworkCoder puts it, it might not be the final final form, but an initial render. Still a suggestion as a final form, but one you kind of expect to change over time.
 
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ClockworkCoder said:
Looks like the PinePhone keyboard is one of the next things on their radar to work on. My interest is now piqued.

www.pine64.org

Update: new hacktober gear

Let me begin this month’s community update by teasing the November update, in which I’ll talk about the next generation of SoCs and our plans for the future. If you haven’t done so yet, then now is the right time to subscribe to our blog and follow the news on the PINE64 Telegram news channel.
www.pine64.org www.pine64.org
Click to expand...

Yep that's why I bought a pmOS edition a while back.

Regarding the render. Seems like they basically put it out for bid. Once the prototype is done, provided it is to their liking, they will award the contract so expect that render to be very much changed from the final form.

It's an interesting way to do business that I have really mostly seen from a Government. Pine must be awarding a large production amount or most companies wouldn't consider doing it that way.
 
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From Pine64 December Update:

Next up we have a lot of hardware topics to cover. Let me start with some good news for all of you who have been waiting for a PinePhone keyboard. After a lengthy back-and-forth and numerous design changes, we have now firmly settled on a design and signed a contract with a highly reputable and specialized keyboard vendor. Design-wise, we’ve gone a full circle and in the end decided on a PSION5-like ‘Vulcano’ key type keyboard, which will attach and interface with the PinePhone via the pogo pins. The keyboard will also feature a high-capacity (5000-6000mAh) battery. Aside from the obvious attribute of extending the device’s operating time, the battery also acts as a counter-balance for the phone when it is fitted with the keyboard and sat on a flat surface. This will be a high-quality peripheral and we expect it to be a highly desirable add-on for the PinePhone.
Click to expand...

and

Granted this enablement goes well, I think it is reasonable to expect the keyboard to be available in the Pine Store and regional stores sometime soon after the Chinese New Year (late February or early March 2021). We expect the PinePhone keyboard to cost somewhere in the $50 range in the Pine Store.
Click to expand...

Plus news for Qi charging module.

Thanks to @Swordfish II for the reference!
 
And - according to the january update - the PinePhone keyboard should be available in April:

.....
In terms of hardware, we’re well on our way to build the keyboard prototype. We’re currently exploring and prototyping options for including a large battery into the body of the keyboard. In short, we’re working on squeezing in as large of a battery as possible into the keyboard body. We have also finally been given a time-frame for delivery from the design-house and factory; as things stand today, the PinePhone keyboard should be available in April this year. As most of you already know, the keyboard will interface with the PinePhone using the pogo pins, which means that it will attach and replace the back case. We realized that this will be cumbersome to remove and insert SD cards, so we’ve sourced a breakout board for SD cards that will make the task easier with the keyboard attached. For the time being, I leave you with render of the keys and a suggested keyboard layout. Please let us know what you think in the comments section. .....
Click to expand...
 
Probably the final layout:

EsCgGAoWMAMGpQ8
 
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