Project

General

Profile

.


Replies (9)

RE: Google Play and proprietary GPS drivers on Replicant? - Added by robin p about 8 years ago

qwertyuiop qwertyuiop wrote:

Is it possible to install Google Play (and apps through it) or .apk packages coming from it obtained in another way? Will such apps
work just as well as on normal Android (except 3D games as I understand)?

it's not "normal" to not share code. it's not normal to selfishly hoard and not allow others access for such arbitrary reasons as provided by device manufacturers. so, stock android (which i think is what you are referring to) is anything but normal, it's utterly abnormal.

Can I use proprietary GPS drivers in Replicant for Galaxy S III?

probably, but the point of replicant is to strip the proprietary rubbish (see above) out of android. you may be asking the wrong question in the wrong forum.

These two are mandatory functions of a smartphone for me, without them, I'd rather use old Nokia, because erm, what do I need a
smartphone for in such case?

taking your question literally rather than rhetorically, well, there's lots of uses. check out the pre-installed f-droid repository for some examples of what you might do. in my case: remotely synced calendar, email, web browsing, maps, note taking, tide table reading, sunrise/sunset times, audio recording, music listening, phone calls, text message. all possible without proprietary drivers or google play.

Of course 3D graphics would also be nice, but it's less important. On linux systems installing of proprietary drivers is widely
supported in a very straightforward way and as an option, I'm looking for something like this (doesn't have to be THAT
straightforward).

sure it is, that doesn't mean it's a good idea though, for all the reasons as why we can show free software is superior to proprietary.

PS Why is this site not using SSL? Even for the downloads of such crucial software as operating system...

it is, just not as default. having said that, i half agree with your point: it would be nice if the maintainers used a certificate which isn't self-signed - startssl offer them for free, as will letsencrypt.org (backed by eff, mozilla, linux foundation et al) in the near future.

RE: Google Play and proprietary GPS drivers on Replicant? - Added by Wolfgang Wiedmeyer about 8 years ago

Just to be sure: Are you aware of OsmAnd~? (https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=osmand&fdid=net.osmand.plus)
I also rely on having GPS and offline maps on my Replicant phone and OsmAnd~ works tremendously well these days. I am also not installing the proprietary GPS drivers on my device. Instead, I use an external GPS receiver via Bluetooth. There are very small receivers that fit in a pocket and they work better than the internal GPS of the phone (higher precision, more frequent position updates etc.). The internal GPS normally also consumes a lot of battery power, so using an external one extends the battery life significantly.

RE: . - Added by My Self almost 8 years ago

@"qwertyuiop qwertyuiop": why did you remove (dot-replaced) all of your posts, so that other interested people don't have the chance to participate on them any longer?

RE: Google Play and proprietary GPS drivers on Replicant? - Added by E D over 7 years ago

Wolfgang Wiedmeyer wrote:

Just to be sure: Are you aware of OsmAnd~? (https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=osmand&fdid=net.osmand.plus)
I also rely on having GPS and offline maps on my Replicant phone and OsmAnd~ works tremendously well these days. I am also not installing the proprietary GPS drivers on my device. Instead, I use an external GPS receiver via Bluetooth. There are very small receivers that fit in a pocket and they work better than the internal GPS of the phone (higher precision, more frequent position updates etc.). The internal GPS normally also consumes a lot of battery power, so using an external one extends the battery life significantly.

Hello,

Could you give more precisions about the external bluetooth GPS receiver you are using ? Also, is this one running with free software ?

Regards

RE: Google Play and proprietary GPS drivers on Replicant? - Added by Wolfgang Wiedmeyer over 7 years ago

I use a QSTARZ BT-Q818XT. I don't think that it runs free software and I'm not aware of an external GPS receiver that does.

RE: . - Added by doak complex over 5 years ago

@Wolfgang: Sorry for hijacking an old thread: Do you know if any BT GPS device will/should work or are you aware of limitations?

RE: . - Added by doak complex over 5 years ago

Do you know if any BT GPS device will/should work or are you aware of limitations?

@Wolfgang, to be more clear: "Do you know if every single BT GPS device should work ..."

RE: . - Added by Kurtis Hanna over 5 years ago

It should be noted that if Wolfgang was using a bluetooth GPS device with Replicant, I assume he would be connecting it with nonfree Bluetooth firmware, which is not supported or recommended by the Replicant project. https://blog.fossencdi.org/nonfree-firmware-android.html

    (1-9/9)