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Linux Tablets

Some Kobo e-readers can now run Linux, becoming inexpensive e-ink
tablets

  * Raffaele T.

Raffaele T.

Jul 12, 2021 * 1 min read
Some Kobo e-readers can now run Linux, becoming inexpensive e-ink
tablets

Attempts to run Linux distributions on e-readers like the Amazon
Kindle and Rakuten Kobo series date to many years ago, when hackers
initially discovered the surprising flexibility of these devices,
which are usually based on mostly open hardware and lack the advanced
bootloader locks found in most phones. However, proprietary e-ink
panels and driver quirks prevented those devices from being usable in
the majority of cases, and most efforts did not get far.

An early effort to boot Debian on Kobo devices dates back to 2013

But now, thanks to some work by developer Andreas Kemnade, i.MX6
based e-readers such as the Kobo Clara can now boot the Linux kernel
with relatively complete hardware support and an "u-boot" 
(bootloader) fork. This can be seen in the latest addition to
postmarketOS, a porting to the Kobo Clara reader based on the
"mainline" Linux kernel and authored by contributor jetomit.

Most Kindle, Tolino and Kobo readers share very similar base board
designs between each variant, and the near-open NXP i.MX6 family of
ARM SoCs seems a trending choice among many models, which means that
similar degree of support is likely to land to some hardware-related
e-book readers in the future.

This gets particularly interesting considering that the price ranges
for used e-readers can go as low as EUR40 for devices in good
conditions on most European marketplaces, putting them among the best
value Linux computers for some use cases if this effort to "upstream"
the devices ends up being successful.

Sources for the kernel are available here for the bravest Kobo owners
to try. The risk of "bricking" the device is far from negligible, so
make sure to proceed with care. On our side, since we currently own
an (older) Kobo device ourselves, we will hardly resist the
temptation to turn it into yet another Linux portable device.

Source: #offtopic:postmarketos.org (Matrix)

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Linux tablet maker JingLing secures $10M funding, starts JingPad
crowdfunding campaign

Linux tablet maker JingLing secures $10M funding, starts JingPad
crowdfunding campaign

One of the projects that we often followed on our Twitter throughout
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  * Raffaele T.

Raffaele T. Jun 15, 2021 * 2 min read
postmarketOS in 2021: over 300 devices, growing technical basis and
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postmarketOS in 2021: over 300 devices, growing technical basis and
extensive "mainline" support

About one month after targeting smartwatches and weeks after its
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its vision of an entirely sustainable, 10+ year lifecycle for
portable devices: the distribution can now boot, to varying degrees
of compatibility, on over 300 machines. Deja-vu? It was exactly one

  * Raffaele T.

Raffaele T. Jun 11, 2021 * 4 min read
New, rugged Volla Phone X runs Android and Ubuntu

New, rugged Volla Phone X runs Android and Ubuntu

A relatively small German phone start-up, Volla, became famous in the
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  * Raffaele T.

Raffaele T. Jun 2, 2021 * 3 min read
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