This Espressif ESP32-Powered 4G "Smartphone," Programmed in the Arduino IDE, Packs The Essentials
This Espressif ESP32-Powered 4G "Smartphone," Programmed in the Arduino IDE, Packs The Essentials
Because Felix is wrong and hates technology and the people who make it.
They probably hate Linux and being a vegan queer furry too.
Hacking isnât about reinventing the wheel. This isnât a finished product destined for a market. Even if it was, think about the small business utilities involved in local knowledge (âlow-techâ): many small producers (farmers, shops, etc.) still use âobsoleteâ mechanisms and improvised mechanical technology. If that could reflect personal or community knowledge into real technology, even if âlow technologyâ, thatâs already a social gain for those people.
Besides that, itâs worth it for a personal project where the end goal is obtaining knowledge about how things work in the world. Not everything is about stocks, and stocks doesnât fill all of the âmarketâ also.
it can make calls, and send texts," LuckyBor writes of the project, which perhaps stretches the definition of âsmartphoneâ
⌠And you need to remove the screen to insert a sim card. Now tell me again this is not ridiculous.
Take the first one off the shelf smartfone, wipe out the entire software, replace it with bloat free, spyware free, update free equivalent and voila!
Absolutely no need to reinvent the wheel, this is a road to nowhere.
I think theyâre having more fun making it than looking for a perfect solution. The fastest way to accomplish this is just buying some flipphone from Kyocera or something.
Also itâs a prototype. It wouldnât survive in the real world in itâs current state.
I think theyâre having more fun making it than looking for a perfect solution.
Possibly, thus my point - reinventing the wheel.
I wouldnât consider it reinventing the wheel. Giant algae tanks to replace trees is reinventing the wheel. Theyâre just making a phone out of parts that would have originally been in a cheap phone at one point (before they got turned into development boards).
If I wanted to be super uncharitable, what the maker did was akin to this.

I wouldnât consider it reinventing the wheel
I do. What they are trying to create already exist. What is really needed is non intrusive software rather than hardware.
Which already exists and has existed for ages.
Lineage os (Android), e/os (Android), postmarket os (straight up Linux) would all be excellent answers for cutdown/debloatable mobile phone OSes. (also Ubuntu touch and whatever the pinephone shipped with)
Its probably a lot harder making an unintrusive os than it is making this.
This is cutdown hardware leading to simplified and cutdown software as itâs a necessity here.
This is cutdown hardware leading to simplified and cutdown software as itâs a necessity here.
I strongly disagree. Spyware, bloatware, forced updates etc are a function of profit driven choice, not the necessity.
Iâm not sure if Iâm missing something or not.
I was referring to the Arduino phone. In general youâre not wrong.
The scope of the conversation is just the phone itself.
Hardware was designed first, and then they applied software.
Hardware was designed first, and then they applied software.
You donât need to redesign a hardware. It is software which needs redesigning, within the existing hardware.
⌠And you need to remove the screen to insert a sim card. Now tell me again this is not ridiculous.
Lmao, it prob doesnât even have a working software kit, you would have to arduino some shit yourself.
I donât think you understood what this is & who is it for.
I donât think you understood what this is & who is it for.
Enlighten me, sweetie đ
*Someone makes a cool hobby project*
Internet people: âTrash. I donât approve because isnât useful to me. Fuck you and die.â
Someone: makes something completely and utterly useless.
Internet people: voice justified criticism.
Half wits: âhow dare you criticise the creators!â
many people call you useless,
You must be thinking about your parents and yourself.
Why does the end product of an electronics learning project need to be useful? Or any hobby project? Your criticism was that their hobbies should yield something useful, but whereâs the âjustificationâ for that? Whatâs wrong with just having fun?
Quarter wits: âHow dare you have funâ
Why does the end product of an electronics learning project need to be useful? Or any hobby project?
So we agree it is useless? OK.
grabs popcorn
munch munch munch
Grabs bag of dicks.
munch munch munch.

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I am not raging against anything. I am calling it useless and ridiculous because it is useless and ridiculous.
⌠And I am not your pal, mate.
but it is about software, not hardware.
Hey Bestie! Sorry, but you are absolutely wrong here. đ
There are several options for free and open source software for mobile applications, and it only works with a teeny tiny sliver of the available hardware because almost none of the hardware is even remotely open. đ
At this stage, it is absolutely about hardware that actually supports the OS community, because all the software imaginable is useless if it canât run on any available hardware! đ
Kthx, Lots of Love! đ¤Š
I like Jello! My favorite flavor is Lime, how about you? đ
Also, 4G was the dominant mobile technology for over 10 years, there are probably close to 10 BILLION 4G phones on the planet, WOW! 𤯠It sure seems like someone was able to make a phone with such hardware!
I like Mint too.
Hourra for Jolla
Pinephone is running with 4 x ARM A53 and 1 ARM Mali 400 and it still damn slow. Not reactive. ESP32 is perfect for a DIY phone, for hobbyists. Itâs not a first try. The 6G is starting 4G switch off will start in less than 2 years. Dead before to be born lol
I am really interested in where this project goes.
ESP32 projects are low powered. Not everything needs 5G and the latest Snapdragon.
Esp32 isnt really known for being low powered when talking about modules like these in general, quite the opposite really.
Nrf and others are better alternatives
The actual problem isnât at all making a 4G mini-computer: you can literally buy the necessary parts as modules and wire them together with a a half-way decent microcontroller board and an smallish LED display and then make some code for it in something like Arduino IDE (though I would recommend Platform IO + VS Code instead).
The problem is making it small (especially thin) and capable of running of batteries for days rather than hours.
For example, if youâre trying to actually solve the hard part of the problem you would be better of using a micro-controller with an ARM core rather than the ESP32 as those things are designed to use less power. Also you wouldnât be able to use boards as those things usually waste power versus designing your own.