[Replicant] regarding future

[Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli]

On Sat, 1 Oct 2016 21:44:31 +0000
E L <livin8up at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Friends at replicant,
Hi,
The contact mailing list is for private inquiries only.

This seem to be a non-private question, so I forwarded to the mailing
list.

> I have a quick question for you. How close do you think you are for
> implementing wifi into the replicant OS on the galaxy s2 / s3 ?
This requires to replace the non-free WiFi firmware.

> also in terms of performance long term support and most active
> development would you say that is on galaxy s2 or the galaxy s3 ? I
> just want to ensure I buy the device that is being worked on the most
> so its supported for my newbie like needs.
Given that Wolfgang has the Galaxy S3 and is working on porting
Replicant to Android 6, and is also trying to mainline that device in
Linux, I would bet on the Galaxy S3.

Some other devices that are not (fully) supported by Replicant yet are
also attractive:
- The LG Optimus black (p970):
  - Free software bootloader
  - Non-free WiFi/Bluetooth firmwares => WiFi/Bluetooth won't work.
  - Some support in mainline u-boot (no display support though).
  - Some very early/basic support in Linux: No display, sound, etc.
    The display seem non-trivial to support in Linux, so there is a
    risk that it will never be done.
  - Work to port it on Replicant hasn't started yet.
    Since we want to use mainline Linux, we also need the display,
    sound, etc to work in it first.
  - Undocumented GPS[1].
- The GTA04 (revisions > A3 [2]):
  - Free software bootloader (not upstreamed).
  - Non-free WiFi/Bluetooth firmwares => WiFi/Bluetooth won't work.
  - Good support in mainline Linux. Probably not totally complete.
  - Very well documented, schematics published by the manufacturer.

References:
-----------
[1]https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/BCM4751
[2]The A3 and earlier were meant for early developers and have some
   hardware issues. As for the A3:
   - The modem cannot be powered off which makes it consume power when
     the phone is off.
   - The modem is only available as a software sound card, and hardware
     routing of the audio is not available.
   The revisions before the A3 were very early bring-up devices and are
   probably not usable.

Denis.
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