Show HN: A modern port of Linux to a ten-year-old QWERTY phone

49 points by tmzt 1mo ago ↗ HN

I ported modern Linux to a ten-year-old HTC QWERTY phone as a handheld terminal.

I wrote it up here: https://tmzt.github.io/blog/a-modern-port-of-linux-to-a-ten-...

You can see the code here: https://github.com/tmzt/linux-stable-msm-dtsi

10 comments

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> The history and context are included in the git history and you can see the progression, different approaches, and other details.

As someone interested in this area: thank you

elsig60 1mo ago ↗

Good write up. interesting idea. thank you

ktallett 1mo ago ↗

The fact this phone is 15 years old and has seen minimal obvious replacements is such a shame. I love this work!

abeyer 1mo ago ↗

The unihertz titan series is decent for a more modern option. It's a blackberry style keyboard instead of the slide out type, which is a bit of a shift, but still pretty usable.

[dead] kotberg 1mo ago ↗

[dead]

d3Xt3r 1mo ago ↗

The HTC Evo 4G isn't a QWERTY phone though? https://www.gsmarena.com/htc_evo_4g-3427.php

Even doing a Google search for "Sprint EVO 4G" doesn't reveal a keyboard.

Do you have the gsmarena link to the exact model?

Edit: Did further digging, seems like you're talking about the HTC EVO Shift 4G. If so, you should update your blog with the correct model name.

https://www.gsmarena.com/htc_evo_shift_4g-3702.php

xyru 1mo ago ↗

I’ve wanted something similar for me, and just ordered one of these devices. I’ll be tracking your project closely!

roundabout-host 1mo ago ↗

I would love to see a UEFI phone (for standardised hardware support, without Device Tree) with a keyboard.

BorisMelnik 1mo ago ↗

agree, none of us ever wanted to type on a piece of glass

marysol5 1mo ago ↗

>but with a Wimax radio

That's a blast from the past, I remember WiMax being touted as the data saviour