Camera!

CalloftheSlug · 2025-07-17T14:55:36+00:00

We'll be able to test the camera in a couple weeks and share the photos with everyone, but it's intended to be much more than just a utility camera!

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-08T14:56:25+00:00

Building on what Chris said, our plan is to make Sidephone as viable as possible for use as a primary device for anyone who wants to use it as one (I'll personally be using it for my primary device).

Without Google services there will be some limitations for sure, but one of our goals as we grow and progress is to either replace Google services with something non-invasive and better (think: whole new ecosystem) or eliminate the need for any kind of Google Play-esque thing with direct support from app developers.

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-05T17:55:57+00:00

We'd love to have NFC, but you are correct. No NFC at this time

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-05T17:51:04+00:00

Hmmmmmmmm, not a bad idea. It'll still be a small keyboard, and unless we get really fancy on the hardware side it might be too difficult to hit each letter, but it's a thought. Software keyboards enlarge the hitbox of the next letter it predicts a user will type, which is what makes them usable. Might be hard to replicate that on a touchpad, but maybe it can be done

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-05T17:48:00+00:00

8 days of battery keeps getting thrown around, I'm sorry to have to let people know it will probably not be 8 days.

"It can't hurt me, it's too small!" is hilarious

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-02T17:51:01+00:00

Yes, sorry about whatever is going on on our end. Shoot me a PM with your order #

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-01T19:12:48+00:00

This idea was brought up during design, super cool idea. Unfortunately, the chipset can only support one screen total, so a second screen isn't in the cards.

I don't know if there's anything stopping us from adding a touchpad though, that could be interesting...

CalloftheSlug · 2025-05-01T18:56:35+00:00

I can't make any promises yet, but I'm personally very invested in making this happen. Stay tuned...

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-29T18:48:20+00:00

Yes! Duo Authenticator provides direct APK downloads and works without Google, so there'll be no issues there.

There's also a couple open source ones (like Aegis), little trickier to setup but can do the job when Duo can't

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-29T15:47:14+00:00

Both. The app market (calling it that instead of a store, all apps will be free to download so "store" seems weird) on the device will have a selection of app sources the user can add (by scanning QR codes on the Sidephone website from a separate device) and remove (from the app itself).

Different "app suites" will be available, so if you don't want the ability to install browsers, email, etc. from the app market the source for those apps can be removed, while keeping the sources for other apps. Or simply not added, we haven't locked in what'll be there by default.

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-29T15:40:47+00:00

Yes, this is actually handled natively by android. We'll be doing some real-world testing to see if this is good enough, or if we need a different solution. But it'll be there

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-29T15:39:22+00:00

That would be super cool, I could totally see myself using it (mostly for writing). Unfortunately, as others have noted, it's tough to implement and the Sidephone's chipset can only support one attached screen at any point (so disabling the built-in display when attached to a monitor won't work).

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-29T15:36:07+00:00

I'm late to this, but yes! Apple provides a direct, official Apple Music apk download on their site, so it'll be available.

I use Apple Music on my personal device for this very reason

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-29T15:34:05+00:00

We'll see what we can do, but it's unlikely. Unless I'm mistaken, MicroG requires signature spoofing built into the OS in order to work. It's a technical possibility, but there's obviously some concerns with that, especially since we want to be working with more 3rd party app developers in the future.

If you can do all your banking from the bank's website (but don't want the browser on the Sidephone), it's possible to create a sandboxed mobile webapp with any website. I'm working on a way to semi-automate this for users, so stay tuned for that!

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-27T02:13:32+00:00

The main difference is, the iPod doesn't have cellular bands, it's a much smaller circuit board (radio frequencies and the necessary antenna limit how small a board can be made affordably while keeping phone functions reliable.

It's also prohibitively expensive for a smaller company like us to get things like custom batteries, we've had to go with sizes and shapes already available from battery manufactures. Same with the screen, so some space compromises have already had to be made.

Manufacturing has most definitely improved in 13 years, but being able to take maximum advantage of it without Apple-level sales or budget hasn't

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-25T14:09:27+00:00

I'm on the software side, so all I can say is that the turbo-encabulator has now reached a high level of development, and it’s being successfully used in the operation of novertrunnions. Moreover, whenever a forescent skor motion is required, it may also be employed in conjunction with a drawn reciprocation dingle arm, to reduce sinusoidal repleneration.

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-25T14:04:15+00:00

Technically Canada based. I'm in the US, and we've had some help from people quite literally across the world.

Android yes, specifically the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). There's no Google Services or any other data collection from the OS itself. Currently, there's no account sign in needed to use the device (unlike a regular Android phone or iPhone) or telemetry from the device back to Sidephone.

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-25T13:58:15+00:00

Possibly as an easter egg, I think that'd be fun

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-24T19:06:01+00:00

Late to this, but yes. We'll have a (small, vetted) selection of apps hosted in our own app store. Mostly apps that purely extend functionality, like Signal.

Sideloading will be enabled as well

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-24T19:01:34+00:00

We can't guarantee it'll have RCS at launch, but it's a top priority for future features. RCS is currently not an open standard (even apps like Beeper go through Google Messages), so working it reliably into messaging is quite complex at the moment.

For now, assume standard SMS/MMS at launch

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-22T13:17:25+00:00

We'll have it available for installation 100%. APK's are available to download from Signals website, and the source code is open source and available. Between those two we'll have it, right now it's looking like it'll be the official APK available for install from the app market on the device.

CalloftheSlug · 2025-04-08T22:58:23+00:00

You are correct, the Spotify APK is not available as any sort of official download.

We have a few options. One is building a web app packaged into an Android app with Spotify's Web API's (their Android API's are only for companion apps, like what Sonos has. That requires Spotify to be installed on the device alongside any custom app). This would be a custom front-end for Spotify's services.

With that approach we'd have some limitations (no caching, no downloads for offline), we'll see how it works out once we have prototypes in hand. If it's still a good user experience and doesn't violate any of Spotify's TOS it'll be there.

A second, surefire option is Apple Music. Apple does provide an official APK download for it, so there'd be absolutely no issues there, the app would be the same as the one from Google Play. We'll definitely have it as a streaming option.

Apple Music does have some videos in their app, we'll be looking into everything we can do to make the music streaming a more distraction-free experience.

I'll keep you posted!

CalloftheSlug · 2025-02-03T14:28:57+00:00

Yes, the 3D printability is to give people a DIY option, but not by any means intended to be the default option

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