- cross-posted to:
- libre_hardware
- foss@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- libre_hardware
- foss@beehaw.org
geteilt von: https://feddit.de/post/3048730
Github link: https://github.com/Dakkaron/Fairberry
Here’s a video of it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDb8_ld9gOQ
I’ve been using it for almost two years now, and I’m not going back.
It’s based on a spare Blackberry Q10 keyboard and a custom Arduino-compatible board that reads the keyboard matrix and outputs it as USB HID to the phone. From the viewpoint of the phone, it’s just a regular USB keyboard, so no special software is needed.
But I do use a custom virtual keyboard to have just two rows of symbols that are not natively on the keyboard, as I didn’t want to add another layer of rarely used symbols that I’d have to memorize.
(On the image you can see Ubuntu with XFCE4 running on it. I chose Ubuntu because it’s what was easiest to get running in a chroot jail on the phone. I’m using VNC to display the GUI. I even managed to get FEX (x86/x64 emulator) and Wine running, so it runs x86/x64 Linux and Windows apps.)
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Long phone is looooooooooong.
Thanks, this is amazing^^
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=6-1Ue0FFrHY
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this is co cool
I’m surprised that there isn’t already a simple thumb keyboard with a USB-C plug at the top that you can just buy on Amazon. I would think that what you’ve done here would be super helpful for lots of people.
I would love an foldable case with a keyboard on one side. Like a little Laptop. Would be so neat.
Edit, something like this:
The only thing on the market that kinda resembles this is the keyboard for the Pinephone. I’ve been considering hacking one of these and making them compatible with other phones.
Or the Gemini PDA/Fxtec Pro1-X.
These are not attachments, that’s why I didn’t reference them.
Ah, valid point.
Do you know if Linux is installable on any phone that can be unlocked? Last time I tried Linux on a phone was Ubuntu touch on a nexus 4.
Kinda, yes and no, depinding on what you mean.
Native desktop Linux on bare metal, that’s not possible, afaik. At least I have never seen anyone do that, so I don’t think that’s possible. Only very specific phones that are designed for this (e.g. the Pinephone) can do this.
Specialized phone Linux distros like Ubuntu Touch or PostmarketOS can be installed on any phone that someone ported the OS to. This is by far not every phone, but there are some phones where that is possible.
Running a real desktop Linux in a chroot jail is something every rooted phone is able to do. Here, the phone’s regular Linux kernel is used to run the userland of the desktop Linux in a separated file system. From the user’s viewpoint this is real Linux, but the Kernel that is used is the Android kernel. Also, the whole Android userland is running at the same time. This means, you can e.g. see (and kill) Linux processes from Android and vice versa. You can access the UI of the chrooted Linux using either a VNC or an X11 app, and the CLI either over SSH or directly over a command from the Android CLI.
The last option is using e.g. Termux to run a desktop Linux in a proot jail. This works similar to chroot, but doesn’t require root. The downsides are that you don’t have root inside the desktop Linux and afaik it only works until Android 11. Otherwise you get similar results as with chroot, only slower and without requireing root.
I went with the chroot option, which works great. I even managed to get FEX (an x86/x64 emulator) to run, which, together with Wine even allows me to run Windows programs on my phone (slowly).
Termux used to rock but nowdays installing stuff is very hit or miss.
Android already contains Linux, and you can run a GNU operating system such as Ubuntu on that existing Linux, which is what OP is doing.
That looks absolutely perfect! Man I miss real keyboards on phones
Yessss… Damn… With Linux on it too. I’d love that.
I was looking for something like it for years. Or a HTC Desire Z style case with a slideout keyboard, even Bluetooth.
I miss texting in landscape.
Ah, the Desire Z was amazing. Used to play doom and pokemon in it as well, the keyboard worked great as a controller.
Wow that’s great! I don’t see myself needing something like this, but it’s a cool tech nonetheless! Great job!
My first android phone was one with a physical slide out keyboard and damnit I really miss that. This is brilliant.
I wonder if I could load a newer OS on that old phone.
Depending on the phone, there might be some custom ROM or something like PostmarketOS.
Removed by mod
Stay close to meeeee~
Amazing!
Gosh i really want physical Keyboards in Smartphones back…
Yeah, me too. But since there’s nothing decent on the market, I had to make it myself.
Marry me!
But seriously, I love hardware keyboards and this looks like a very interesting project. It’s a pretty big compromise compared with BB phones (you pretty much have to remove the keyboard to put the phone in your pocket or charge it, right?) but I would totally use one if I could get something like this for my phone. Why no one is simply making keyboard cases? Phone case with a bluetooth keyboard doesn’t look like a very expensive/complicate project.
Marry me!
Thanks for the offer, but you are too late for that ;)
It’s a pretty big compromise compared with BB phones (you pretty much have to remove the keyboard to put the phone in your pocket or charge it, right?)
I don’t remove the keyboard when I put it in my pocket. But for charging it needs to be removed, since I didn’t add pass-through charging to the whole thing. Pass through charging is really complicated and I already spent a lot of time on this.
but I would totally use one if I could get something like this for my phone.
If you got some CAD skills, you can just adjust the case for any phone you like. It should even work with an iPhone, you just need to use a Lightning-to-USB-OTG solder connector instead of the USB-C-to-OTG solder connector I am using.
But yeah, that’s a concept issue here. The case needs to be adjusted for every specific phone. So if anyone was do do this commercially, they’d probably have to pick 2-3 different devices to support and that’s it.
Why no one is simply making keyboard cases? Phone case with a bluetooth keyboard doesn’t look like a very expensive/complicate project.
There are a few issues. The device-specificity is one, but another one is that Blackberry still had some patents on phone keyboards and they just sold them to a patent troll company. Might not be a big issue for a large company, but experimental accessories are usually made by small companies who are happy to output just a few tens of thousands of units max. And for a little company like that, paying off a patent troll is too expensive to make it worthwhile.
Also, small keyboards are surprisingly hard (read expensive) to make on a small scale. I got lucky that there are still enough BBQ10 spare keyboards around, but the total supply isn’t exactly huge and I wouldn’t bet a company on that kind of supply.
So if you want one, make yourself one before the BBQ10 spare keyboards are gone.
I actually still have some BB phones in a box (I’m not sure if my old Q10 is there but definitely a BB Key). What I lack are CAD skills. But I will take a look. Maybe it’s easier than I think.
Also, I remember the issue with BB patents and I think the problem was that this company used exact copy of BB keyboards. Like the keys were exactly the same shape. If someone would just make a small BT keyboard it would probably avoid patent issues. You do have small BT keyboards for tablets after all. Just making it even smaller shouldn’t be a patent violation.
My thing is only compatible with the Q10 keyboard. The others have different connectors.
I made a script that generates a case for you, if you want to go the easy route. That case just isn’t exactly great compared to the hand-designed one. It works though, and all you need to input is the measurements of your phone.
Also, I remember the issue with BB patents and I think the problem was that this company used exact copy of BB keyboards. Like the keys were exactly the same shape. If someone would just make a small BT keyboard it would probably avoid patent issues. You do have small BT keyboards for tablets after all. Just making it even smaller shouldn’t be a patent violation.
Their patents are all specifically for keyboards on phones. So selling a Blackberry keyboard as an external keyboard is fine, attaching it to a phone is covered by the patents.
When Ryan Seacrest tried to make a very similar product (Typo keyboard for the iPhone), he was sued over these three patents:
- https://patents.google.com/patent/US7629964B2/en (expired by now), which is generally about keyboards on phones
- https://patents.google.com/patent/USD685775S1/en, a design patent which patents a device that broadly looks like a blackberry phone (with a keyboard in portrait orientation), expires in 2027
- https://patents.google.com/patent/US8162552B2/en, which patents phone keyboards with ramped keys, expires in 2031
So right now it’s possible to make a phone with a keyboard, as long as it doesn’t kinda roughly look like a Blackberry and as long as it doesn’t use Blackberry’s improved, shaped keycaps.
All these patents specifically refer to phones/“handheld communication devices”.
New cases with slide out keyboards like the old LG Ally incoming? 😂
Sadly not. Coming from a Droid 4, a side sliding keyboard was my first approach (actually my first 8 prototypes were some form of side slide keyboard) but it’s impossible due to the center of gravity. On all keyboard phones, the mainboard and battery where in the keyboard part, with only the light screen on the top half. With a keyboard attachment that’s not possible.
So I gave up and made this here, and it just worked great. I would still prefer a side sliding keyboard, but I fear it’s not possible to make a decent one.
That’s an impressive project indeed.
And here all I can cynically think is “Great, finally a way to make the FP4 a bit more unwieldy and hard to hold with small hands, that had always been way too easy before!”
It’s actually not too bad. It’s worse to put it into a small pocket ;)
I fear, this whole thing would be 100% incompatible with woman’s trousers.
Pretty sure most phones are. Wtf is it with women’s clothes and those bullshit micro pockets anyway?
It’s totally stupid. About every woman I know complains (and rightfully so) about these micro pockets. Still nobody in the clothes industry can’t be bothered to just put a few centimeters of extra cloth onto the pockets to make them actually useful.
Aren’t women’s trousers well-known for not having pockets? Not happening there!
Either no pockets or pockets that are ridiculously shallow and narrow. Like I (M) can fit my whole hand up to my wrist with lots of room left over. Women’s pants can fit just their four fingers if they’re lucky.
x86 apps? Awesome.
It won’t run Crysis, but if performance is not a criterium, it does work.
I love the idea of my Fairphone running XFCE lol. Good job OP
I’d buy it!
Trust me, this is an exceptionally apt reference to BlackBerry (2023). Based on my lack of upvotes I assume not many people have seen it yet 😅
Nah, haven’t seen it yet. Sorry…
Without spoiling anything:
He portrays the founder of BlackBerry and is obsessed with having physical keyboards on phones
Thanks!
