The manufacturer PineMicrosystems presents another variant of the PinePhone. The Linux smartphone is delivered with Plasma Mobile, the mobile version of the KDE Plasma Desktop. The PinePhone in the “KDE Community Edition” is aimed primarily at developers and community members.

According to an article in Pine 64 – Blog, the “PinePhone KDE Community Edition” can be pre-ordered from December 1st. The device is available in two different hardware versions: The basic model has 2 GB RAM and a 16 GB eMMC module as main memory for 149 USD. The “Convergence Package” contains the device with 3 GB RAM and 16 GB eMMC module as main memory, as well as a USB-C dock for convergence Modus and costs 199 USD.

If you already own an older PinePhone, you can purchase the Community Edition mainboard and upgrade it yourself. Buyers of the “Braveheart” or “Ubports” edition get a cheaper offer.

A look into the future? The target group of the PinePhone “KDE Community Edition” includes intrepid people and developers. Basic functions of a smartphone can be used, such as making calls, SMS, web browser and the camera. Pine 64 does not recommend the device for productive use.

Enthusiasts or users who value privacy may still opt for the PinePhone. Switches for deactivating the camera, microphone, WLAN and mobile data can be found under the battery cover. Pine 64 is pursuing the goal of providing feedback to the development teams with the community editions and offering smartphone hardware to the respective projects that can run mainline Linux.

The smartphone as a desktop replacement Plasma-Mobile comes from the Linux desktop environment of the KDE project. The mobile user interface shares the basic libraries and technologies with the plasma desktop. Those who use the plasma desktop will find familiar applications such as the document viewer Okular or the VVave music player on the Pinephone “KDE Community Edition”.

If you connect the Pinephone via a USB-C -Dock with monitor (or TV), mouse and keyboard, switches the phone to convergence mode. The user interface then changes from portrait to landscape mode and is ready for use as a mobile workstation. According to the announcement of the new PinePhone on the KDE website, the modern UI frameworks Kirigami and Maui enable great advances in the development of platform-independent software. Apps such as clocks, calendars and games adapt flexibly to the respective display conditions.

KDE Plasma Mobile’s turn The “KDE Community Edition” of the PinePhone follows the other already published PinePhone editions. The device was previously available with the community editions Ubports (Community Fork of Ubuntu Touch), Manjaro and Postmarket OS. For every PinePhone sold in the community versions, the manufacturer donates 10 US dollars to the respective development teams.

You can find out more about the “PinePhone KDE Community Edition” in the Pine blog 64 and on the KDE project website. If you want to follow the development progress of Plasma Mobile, you will find it in the blog of the development team.

(ndi)