I know most, or at least many, people either need or at least desire quite a number of mobile apps as well as mobile access almost everywhere. Bandwidth needs have made 5G or something like it spawn but though 5G has increased bandwidth it also is hampered by shorter range which necessitates many more towers and that's going to take substantial time and money to accomplish. I'm wondering if many users can get by with wifi as the number of wifi hotspots increases, especially near major metropolitan areas where tower building can be problematic.

In my case, though in a rural area, most times I'm mobile is going to or from some town or city where wifi is already quite ubiquitous. If I miss a call, let alone a text, by even 15 minutes, that's not a huge deal. Currently, since I let my flipphone lapse, my only phone is Vonage VOIP and I like it a lot. It's cheap and effective.

I've been considering a Pine 64 phone for quite some time and at first was concerned about it's base ability to handle just the main basics - voice and text. Now I'm seeing it can do pretty well at those but it lacks powerful hardware and the current and ongoing chip shortage may extend that issue for quite some time.

Maybe it's just that I'm really excited for Gaming on Linux to get such a massive boost, but considering the importance in modern gaming for connectivity with low latency, and the power required for serious multimedia, Valve's new SteamDeck which runs a FULL customized version of Arch AND can substitute or multiboot any distro, is looking REALLY interesting to me and possibly anyone else that has common access to wifi.

The specs on this device and it's price are both nothing short of revolutionary. The only downside I can see for mobile phone replacement is size but how long will it be before that much power exists in any remotely pocket sized device? I don't care if I have to resort to some sort of scaled down "fanny pack", if I can have so much power in so cheap and effective a device as the SteamDeck can possibly be.

I'm seriously considering this given my use case. Any thoughts or comments are welcome. This could get really big AND powerfully promote real Linux in a global way!

Let the (Linux) games (and phones) begin!

Why no link? https://www.steamdeck.com


Anyhow, a few thoughts...

FFS! They're trying to sell a single socket as a feature. (Though at least they're not going full-Apple; it still has a distinct headphone socket.)

Battery life doesn't seem great: "For lighter use cases like game streaming, smaller 2D games, or web browsing, you can expect to get the maximum battery life of approximately 7-8 hours." - it's only got a 7" screen - a 40Wh battery should last longer than that?


Interesting to see a new device with a 16:10 screen


That's still a chunky device - significantly more so than a Nintendo Switch.


It's good to see that explicitly stated.

enorbet, have you seriously started a thread titled "future of mobile phone" to discuss the Steamdeck???
Heard about it on a few podcasts, nobody was particularly impressed. It certainly isn't revolutionary. And how would you even use that as a phone.

Why not discuss actually existing Linux smartphone operating systems & suitable hardware?

Don't have or want a (smart)phone, all I need is my computer & a land line, (which I rarely use anyway).

All my needs are catered for over the internet via email - I correspond, purchase goods (seldom a shop that sells what you want these days anyhow), use various interest forums, watch videos, listen to music - play time waster games as well on my machines - so why would I need/want a mobile phone.

2 members found this post helpful.

Yes I most certainly did because it interests me, might possibly be of interest to someone else, and I wanted to read any comments. What's the problem?

Maybe you aren't an avid gamer so the SteamDeck doesn't twirl ur beanie but mine is spinning! The performance vs/ price is very high and that's exactly what seems to be lacking in current mobile Linux devices.

I apologize if I wasn't sufficiently clear, but I'm fairly confidant I can use a SteamDeck at home as a phone with Vonage. The only remaining question I have is whether or not it will ring when I'm out and about but near a wifi hot spot. It may not but as of yet that isn't enough of a downside to turn me off to the whole idea. Also, if some means to employ a SIM card becomes possible, which maybe as simple as a small docking device and one of the many Linux phone distros installed, stick a fork in it... done deal.

From a larger view, I'm also wondering how a full and potent application combining hardware and mobile Linux may influence "normal" Linux phone development. Since the SteamDeck isn't the only player in mobile gaming, perhaps it isn't quite revolutionary, but as a LINUX mobile gaming device, I think it is. Again if you don't find it at all exciting, that's cool.

Hello fatmac. I'd say your current use case does not need a mobile phone and naturally that's fine. My initial concern is kids, cousins and grandkids and the ability to accept SMS texting. One major issue that seems to be evolving is more and more services, like medical and banking, all but require a smartphone for 2nd stage verification at the least. Many want you to install an app and that's likely a problem even for Pine64 let alone the SteamDeck. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now most services will accept a 2nd phone for a voice or SMS delivered verification so it may be awhile yet before the app thing is a serious problem, and that would be so with the Pine64, the only other Linux phone alternative I've seriously considered?.

UPDATE - I am just beginning to look into the process but apparently there exist services to use VOIP from ANY location without need for a simcard or service provider/contract.

I'm currently looking at https://www.voip.ms/en

BTW because my old Thinkpad has a SIM card slot and will connect to cell towers, I discovered there are SIM Card reader dongles, so this might be possible. I may buy one of those dongles to try on different boxes I already own.

I will say that 5G service - when available - is indeed SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the other wireless alternatives I've used in recent years.

A while ago I found a decent deal on a Google Pixel 4A 5G phone, so I grabbed it.
Most of the time the services in my area are still 4G/LTE, but occasionally I'll get a 5G signal in a few areas.

Over the recent holiday I was in southern Ohio, first just outside of Dayton, Ohio, mostly in Centerville, then I was in Anderson Township - suburb of Cincinnati and wireless access and speeds were excellent there.

When I returned home, services were still OK, but after enjoying 4-5 days of 5G service, regardless of which 5G or "pseudo 5G" service it was, it was definitely noticeably faster than the LTE service I've used for several years now, and it's faster than most networks connected to a router and a fast wired or fiber service. Both cable and fiber optic cable are capable of VERY high speeds, but are often limited by whatever transceivers, repeaters, or routers along the path between the actual high speed data and the user connections; it's improved a lot, and for wireless phones, once 5G really is widely available, based on what I've seen here and there, it really is significantly faster (orders of magnitude so) than the majority of other services I've used.

Only well-to-do companies with multi Gigabit connected networks currently experience anything as fast or faster than the 5G service I was fortunate to use on my recent visit to southern Ohio.