[kwlug-disc] Minimal Phone: E-ink screen, qwerty keyboard

[Doug Moen]

I run GrapheneOS.org on a Pixel, and I recommend it. The distro is purpose built for the Pixel (including an open source Pixel camera app they built that is claimed to have full parity with Google camera), and it's high quality with a strong security focus.

I didn't choose Calyx because they claim a privacy and security focus without giving much information about what they are doing to make Android more secure, whereas the Graphene web site has a ton of technical details about the security changes they've made and which changes were upstreamed to Google. I get multiple security updates each month, and some of these updates are published by Graphene first, before they make it into Google Android. Graphene is just a more serious and credible project. Calyx supports a wider range of hardware (including the Fairphone!), but Graphene will tell you exactly what features the Fairphone hardware and firmware are missing that are  needed to support the Graphene security guarantees.

The other choice that looks interesting (which I haven't tried) is DivestOS.org. It has a strong privacy and security focus, and supports a wider range of devices than just Pixel. At the time I bought my phone, the DivestOS web site advised me to use GrapheneOS if I was buying a Pixel. Which I did. That advice has now been removed, and now they recommend the Pixel if you are buying a new device to run DivestOS.

I have five privacy-enhanced browsers installed on Graphene OS, including the Mull browser developed by DivestOS. Unfortunately the heightened privacy protections (in part copied from TorBrowser) break the webmail site I use, so I don't use Mull.

Calyx uses MicroG to run google play apps. Both GrapheneOS and DivestOS recommend against using MicroG, although the two projects give different reasons why you shouldn't run it. GrapheneOS says it breaks the GrapheneOS security model. DivestOS says that it violates your privacy. I believe you can install MicroG on both GrapheneOS and DivestOS, it's just not supported or recommended.

On Fri, Mar 22, 2024, at 12:34 PM, Mark Steffen wrote:
> Sorry to hijack, is the best way to run degoogled AOSP still to buy a 
> pixel and flash something like Calyx onto it?
>
> On 2024-03-22 12:15 p.m., Doug Moen wrote:
>> Cool project. The software isn't open source, and they don't claim otherwise. It is "full android" including the Google app store, which is closed source.
>>
>> I run a pure open source Android distro on my phone, with no google services running, but that means no play store. I use the Fdroid app store instead.
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 21, 2024, at 4:17 PM, Steve Izma wrote:
>>> The campaign owners don't claim that this is open hardware, and I
>>> assume many people are skeptical that Android is open source, but
>>> people (like me) may be interested in this phone because of the
>>> e-ink screen and qwerty keyboard:
>>> <https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-minimal-phone-first-e-ink-qwerty-phone#>
>>>
>>> I've put in for one and they've got a crunch on to reach their
>>> funding goal. They've offered a deal if backers share a certain
>>> link that attracts other buyers, but I'm not using that. I just
>>> think it would be unfortunate if they don't reach their goal,
>>> because I think we need alternatives to the mainstream smartphone.
>>> These campaigns are always a risk, obviously.
>>>
>>> 	-- Steve
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Steve Izma
>>> -
>>> Home: 35 Locust St., Kitchener, Ontario, Canada  N2H 1W6
>>> E-mail: sizma at golden.net  cellphone: 519-998-2684
>>>
>>> ==
>>> The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best – and
>>> therefore never scrutinize or question.
>>>      -- Stephen Jay Gould, *Full House: The Spread of Excellence
>>>         from Plato to Darwin*, 1996
>>>
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