Come Sail Away

[RumoredNow]

There are dedicated Sailfish phones... Hard to come by in the US and mostly nothing to wow anyone who chases spec. Also there is the radio compatibility issue.

Ports is another story. Various Android units have had quite polished ports. Back in the Nexus 4 era I was really impressed with Sailfish on that worthy device. Only issue was that Alien Dalvik didn'y come along with the port. The Sony collaboration should address that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailfish_OS#Hardware_overview

 

[nate0]

The OnePlus X has a port too I later found.

 

[editguy]

There are dedicated Sailfish phones... Hard to come by in the US and mostly nothing to wow anyone who chases spec. Also there is the radio compatibility issue.

Ports is another story. Various Android units have had quite polished ports. Back in the Nexus 4 era I was really impressed with Sailfish on that worthy device. Only issue was that Alien Dalvik didn'y come along with the port. The Sony collaboration should address that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailfish_OS#Hardware_overview

Is there still a port available for the Nexus 4? I have a barely used one that I wouldn't mind experimenting with.

 

[RumoredNow]

Is there still a port available for the Nexus 4? I have a barely used one that I wouldn't mind experimenting with.

This one seems pretty current.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/development/rom-sailfish-os-community-port-t2969823

 

[Keeptechcoolandsimple]

I've been driving it daily. Android is still Android, but the Sony skin is light and most nice touches. DTtW which I have turned off because the fingerprint reader is on and it is fast. DTtS which I do use.

I like the hardware a lot. The SD 650 seems very competent. The screen is nice and has some color tweaks.

I've not spent a lot of time with the camera yet, but that seems competent as well...

I recall my Sony Xperia Z and I agree with you on the skin. It was very near stock with minimal additions to connect to various sony products.

 

[Keeptechcoolandsimple]

When I replied to your post I found the link there and was able to copy and past the link and watch it. Sailfish reminds me of Symbian (makes sense). I used Symbian for a long time before coming to Windows phone. If I was forced to go to another OS, I believe I would feel very comfortable with Sailfish. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

I'm also reminded of BlackBerry 10 in Sailfish based on the videos. Especially how BB10 touted its active frames and an all gesture based interaction. Interesting to see how sailfish develops.

 

[editguy]

This one seems pretty current.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/development/rom-sailfish-os-community-port-t2969823

Thanks!

 

[RumoredNow]

Thanks!

Before you start... Got WugFresh? IMHO the essential Nexus Toolikit before you sail off into the flashing seas.

If you get the N4 on Sailfish, let us know what you think. Question #1 for me is do the ports now allow Alien Dalvik?

 

[editguy]

Before you start... Got WugFresh? IMHO the essential Nexus Toolikit before you sail off into the flashing seas.

If you get the N4 on Sailfish, let us know what you think. Question #1 for me is do the ports now allow Alien Dalvik?

Thanks for the info. I will definitely give feedback after I get into it. I'm just ready to start a big video job so it will have to wait until that's completed. It's a shame how work get in the way of fun. :grin:

 

[xandros9]

After a pretty long time fiddling with my friend's Turing Phone, it's now back in their possession and I have this document to show for my time. (and a video, but that's something else)

This is my sizable review of Sailfish OS 2.0.4. I go into detail with it's mechanics so its long-winded.

https://mega.nz/#!ZY0C0KoC!uOVaKl7lDJ20C-r6tVFcMNj-u_87k2rKbs4pCkwRjjU

PDF - 3.6 MB

 

[RumoredNow]

Thanks @xandros9 I'll digest that PDF over the next couple of days...

I check daily for news of the port to Xperia X. Still waiting. Still impatient.

 

[nate0]

The Xiaomi Redmi note 4 has a sailfish port now.

 

[RumoredNow]

The Xiaomi Redmi note 4 has a sailfish port now.

I assume that is community driven/compiled? Any word on Android app support?

I'd much rather have an official ROM and definitely would prefer Sony hardware over Xiaomi.


A few notes:

Jolla is releasing the ROM to Cbeta testers first. https://blog.jolla.com/sony-xperia-project-update/

I backed the wrong horse. My initial (and admittedly too quick) search found only a US F5121 and an International F5122 which is dual SIM. Seems there is a third option, the International F5121 which is single SIM. That's the one needed and I got the F5122 thinking they would just cut out support for the second SIM (whose slot doubles as SD slot anyway). I based this assumption on the lack of US model availability worldwide - the US is hardly the target audience for Sailfish at this stage in its development. I'll be correcting that error soon and securing the correct F5121. I now assume that the US version may be acceptable, but will seek the International anyway. Only difference I can tell is that the US model lacks fingerprint reader support. Unfortunately both F1521s only have half the internal storage of the F5122: down to 32GB from 64...

I'm officially off W10M at this point. Haven't touched it for a couple of months now. Android is just meh, but I've made my peace with it for now.

 

[nate0]

@RumoredNow
Yes. It is and XDA community port. I agree with you on the choice of Sony. However Sailfish is Sailfish so if you like the OS you just need to know what hardware is supported. However Xiaomi's Redmi name is of the lower end devices. The good thing about Android devices is you can have a sweet piece of hardware from anywhere (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, US), but it runs whatever skin/OS that maker wants it to have...unlock the boot loader and you can usually find a better looking and acting OS out there some where for it...

 

[RumoredNow]

I've done the community port thing before and have done the ROM shopping thing as well. If the Redmi Note 4 I could easily find on Amazon supported LTE for the US I might grab one as a stop gap. I'd probably be better served with a used Nexus 5 for that though...

I'm more excited to have an officially supported version with working Alien Dalvik. I still have some patience left in the tank. :winktongue:

 

[nate0]

Xperia X single sim is being tested too. Is that the model you listed above? Sorry for repeating info...I've never touched a Sony yet...
Edit: never mind I read the Jolla blog post and answered my own question.

 

[nate0]

@RumoredNow
Despite the delay of the sales date, how do you think this will go over for Jolla? Where is the money going exactly in support of their efforts? I am sucker for testing out new things, and might be interested in being a guinea pig if I muster up enough reason to leave my W10M devices alone for a while.

 

[RumoredNow]

@RumoredNow
Despite the delay of the sales date, how do you think this will go over for Jolla? Where is the money going exactly in support of their efforts? I am sucker for testing out new things, and might be interested in being a guinea pig if I muster up enough reason to leave my W10M devices alone for a while.

Right now I think they just need to build word of mouth and get into the blogoshpere.

The roughly $60 fee does include an EU VAT so I'm hoping the price gets shaved down for non EU purchases which would encourage more tinkerers to get involved. Where the money is going is a good question, but also somewhat moot as they have no hardware sales anymore and there are licensing fees that must be payed. I've no idea what the Russia and China deals netted them, but I'm sure another infusion of cash is needed to keep them afloat and don't begrudge them the fee.

Good news is we should have a Windows Installer courtesy of Sony. https://blog.jolla.com/sailfish-x-new-sales-start-day/ My Linux Fu is a bit weak and rusty.

The biggest draws for me are the gesture driven nature of the OS and the Live Covers. Remember, I'm a webOS ex-pat. Also the privacy forward nature of the OS is enticing for me.

I guess we will know more about pricing on October 4 and the October 11 launch is still the target.

My quandary is, do I try it out before I travel overseas (flying out October 23) or be prudent and wait till I return in November?

 

[nate0]

My quandary is, do I try it out before I travel overseas (flying out October 23) or be prudent and wait till I return in November?

By that, do you mean as a daily driver? Why not try it out, and decide if it is worthy to run it overseas. You already have a plan to not use it anyway, right?

Or are you thinking of waiting to see if they open up their market for US/CA in that amount of time?

 

[fatclue_98]

My quandary is, do I try it out before I travel overseas (flying out October 23) or be prudent and wait till I return in November?

I would definitely wait until returning. You're assuming the install will be totally glitch-free. Remember you're dealing with that little penguin and his temperamental ways.

Remember, I'm a webOS ex-pat.

Is there such a thing? I prefer to think of myself as being on an extended visa. Just yesterday I fired up the Touchpad for old times' sake and immediately felt the urge to throw my shiny new iPhone 8 and my not-so-new iPad against the wall.