Is All Hope Lost For Non-Android Linux Tablets?

[droidhacker]

Firefox OS isn't "just a neutered version of Android". It's completely different, they only have in common the Linux kernel and the drivers, everything else is different.

I don't know if it's going to eventually fail (I hope not because it's the only really community developed project), but it's having some success now (otherwise why carriers are still investing in it?).

You might want to go take another look at it.

[nitroflow]

Not true. Jolla phones will be available in Europe, they just aren't available in the US because patents. Sure they target Asian markets too, but to imply they "only" target Asia is a gross exaggeration.

Sure, it will be available but AFAIK they only have contracts with Chinese telcos and that's where they'll be pushing for initially.

[vick]

Honestly, I don't really want a Linux tablet. I want a Linux slider with a built in mouse like this but running some sort of Linux distro:


With the Linux friendly Bay trail Atoms, it should be possible.

[You-]

Linux is late to the party, but it needed longer to catch up than android - free drivers matter.

Now that Adreno drivers are getting a move on and I suspect that the Mali drivers are also getting to a useable point, pure linux using hardware will be easier to produce.

So I expect the Linux support and Linux tablets to start flowing shortly, once the lower level opensource plumbing is done.

[chithanh]

The various mobile distros have been using libhybris for some time, so the advent of the free drivers doesn't change anything for them:

I really rather doubt that the jolla guys are interested in free drivers at all. I do not think anyone of the free driver guys have been contacted by anyone from jolla, but i would really like to be proven wrong. Jolla seem to be very happy with using libhybris and i doubt that they have other plans beyond keeping their binary driver compatibility mess working, somehow.

[steveriley]

Not dead yet, Rhombus Tech is still working on a KDE tablet. They have recent blog posts talking about their recent design work on such a tablet. I got done reading their blog after seeing 1024x768 LCD displays mentioned.

Date of Phoronix article: 15 Nov.

Date of Rhombus Tech domain name expiration: 16 Nov.

Dead in one day? What hath Michael wrought?

[TheBlackCat]

According to Aaron, Vivaldi is nearly out, they just didn't finish it in time for the holiday season. However, they are releasing another device. They won't say what it is, just that it isn't a tablet and it is based on Mer. That will be announced on the 25th. The next day there will be another Mer-based platform for "embedded devices", Hemera. Then the day after that the sailfish phone.

[dee.]

Sure, it will be available but AFAIK they only have contracts with Chinese telcos and that's where they'll be pushing for initially.

Not true, they have contracts with European telcos (at least one that I know of, maybe others) as well. Also, contracts with telcos aren't as big a deal in places other than the US, as in most of the rest of the world, most phones are sold without telco subsidies.

I also don't get where you get this "initial push" thing, it'll be launched at the same time in Europe and Asia, and the marketing has been targeted to both areas.

[c117152]

ARMv8...

Late 2012, early 2013, everyone thought there was supposed to be a whole range of ARMv8 64bit SoCs coming out late Q4`13. So, most of the hardware players decided to skip v7 big.LITTLE altogether.

Of course, software side of things was also slowed accordingly after a few months: Now Android is seeing a 4.4 release instead of 5 while the Tizen mobile devices got pushed back at least another quarter.

I think somewhere along Q1-Q3`14 is about right for Tizen devices to release which would fit the "Non-Android Linux Tablets" bill.

I would also add that this delay has been providing Mediatek, Allwinner and Rockchip who did bother with v7 time to catch up so they should offer some very competitive SoCs Q2`14.

I've also been hearing some MIPS chatter around as hedging bets over ARMv8 but that seems far fetched seeing how Broadcom just released an ARM router SoC (their first?).

[tuke81]

Not true, they have contracts with European telcos (at least one that I know of, maybe others) as well. Also, contracts with telcos aren't as big a deal in places other than the US, as in most of the rest of the world, most phones are sold without telco subsidies.

I also don't get where you get this "initial push" thing, it'll be launched at the same time in Europe and Asia, and the marketing has been targeted to both areas.

Jolla will be out with 450 batch at 27. november 6pm by dna(finnish timezone). Don't really know is that global release date though. But then again it's not a tablet, so it's all off-topic.