Gemini-android-kernel-3.18 Alternatives

gemini-android-kernel-3.18 reviews and mentions

• Ask HN: Anyone tried/know non Librem 5 PinePhone for Mobile Linux hardware?
  2 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 28 Nov 2021

  > the Cosmo's mobile linux hardware

  I haven't used a Cosmo; perhaps it's better. I do, however, own a Gemini (the first generation of that series), which is the reason I don't own a Cosmo.

  > https://store.planetcom.co.uk/products/gemini-pda-1

  This is actually a great example with which to answer your question. So this device, the Gemini, sells today, in 2021, for $680.00 (or right now $400 with a black Friday deal). The most recent Android version for it is an Android 8.1 image from 2019[0], using a kernel that doesn't even try to match upstream, also last touched in 2019[1]. Now, they ship an official Debian image, which is super cool! Of course, it still uses the same ancient out-of-tree kernel, and they somehow managed to ship an official image with apt broken. To reiterate: This is the best software officially available for that device, which they are still selling for $680. Okay, so forget the vendor; maybe others have filled in its failures? Well... XDA is dead [2], and PMOS is doing better but the device is still mostly broken[3] and running the same ancient kernel[4].

  So: Having owned a Gemini, I decided that unless I had some specific reason to think the situation was going to be better, I wasn't going to waste money on another Planet Computers product. And to your general question, AFAIK this is the reason in general why Pine and Librem as such a big deal: The software doesn't suck; you have an actual hope for getting updates and things working nicely. Hallium might let you use something better than Android, but it still kinda sucks because it just lets you bolt a nicer userspace to the awful base that the vendors ship.

  [0] https://support.planetcom.co.uk/index.php/Gemini_Firmware

  [1] https://github.com/dguidipc/gemini-android-kernel-3.18

  [2] https://forum.xda-developers.com/f/planet-gemini-pda-roms-ke...

  [3] https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Planet_Computers_Gemini_P...

  [4] https://gitlab.com/postmarketOS/pmaports/-/blob/master/devic...