Nobody knows, but I linked their Blogpost some comments above.
If you check out the blog post above, they are putting out a bounty/challenge to āprove us wrongā about hacking it to get a browser working. Iām not sure how hard it will be. The DNS level blocking might be circumvented by using DoH, DoT, or DoQ ( What is DNS over TLS (DoT), DNS over Quic (DoQ) and DNS over HTTPS (DoH & DoH3)? - Getting Started - NextDNS Help Center ).
As others have said, nobody will truly know until the devices are out.
Ok, thatās too much of a risk for me for that kind of money. What a shame. That could have been the perfect phone for me.
But if you manage to get the browser working before anyone else, you probably get way more money than you paid for the phone ![]()
Perhaps someone will figure out how to install āplainā SailfishOS on the device. I canāt imagine browsing being that efficient on a T9 keyboard, though.
I canāt code. So, tough luck ;-).
The screen can be used as a touch screen.
I do love their FAQ though. Under āDoes it support RCS Messaging?ā they try to say it is completely big-data-freeā¦but supports Apple.
No, while Callback supports a variety of messaging standards, RCS requires sending all of your private communication via Googleās servers, so itās not on Callback ā as the phone offers a completely big-data-free, de-Googled experience.
However, it does support apps that provide access to Apple iMessage such as OpenBubbles, for an RCS-like text messaging experience.
The phone is big-data-free, but the individual apps might not be.
I get that but itās funny RCS (Google) is an absolute no-go but they figured out a way to do iMessage (Apple). As much as I hate to say it, group MMS not working is going to cause issues for some.
They didnāt, they said, they are going to use OpenBubbles, which is a known 3rd party app for Android and Windows.
Hence figuring out (and allowing) a way to do big-data Apple. It being a third-party app that has been around for years is not relevant.
I was just pointing out, that it wasnāt Commodore who built the work around, but they only use already existing apps. The OS is still big-data-free, but it is a users choice and responsibility, if they open themselves up for it through 3rd party apps.
If you are worried that only Apple is going to get your data, Iām sure there will be other apps that will let rest of the FAANG companies get their share of your data.
Edit:
Also the reason why they choose Appleās and not Googleās RCS is, that Apple itself has opened the gates to 3rd party apps with its own Mac-iPhone cross-usability efforts, but Google, on the other hand, keeps the gates so effectively closed that despite tens of thousands of dollars in bounty money, no one has yet figured out how to get in.
While my Xperia 10IV was out of action, I was using a RIUO JOY, whick I suppose is similar to the Callback. Candybar format, not flip, but touchscreen and T9. It was great! I really enjoyed going back to T9 texting, and there was nothing wrong with browsing the web with Firefox.
If āvanillaā SailfishOS supported a T9 keyboard, Iād want to port it for sure!
Aside from the keyboard, this thing is the complete opposite of the Callback, isnāt it? Or am I missing something here?
- Browser
- Social media
- YouTube
- 2MP camera
- Android-based
The only thing they have in common that I can think of off the top of my head is T9āor am I missing something?
It might be a good fit for some people (and personally, I think it looks pretty nice), but I wouldnāt go so far as to say itās similar to the Callback ![]()
Itās a touchscreen T9 device with a real operating system on it as opposed to KaiOS or something.
Itās just not hampered by these restrictions against a browser etc.
The very thing you call āhamperedā is actually the feature Commodore is using to attract customers. So: thereās no conceptual similarity between the two devices except for the keyboard (OK, the touchscreenābut on the Commodore, thatās supposed to be disabled in most cases).
Of course, that doesnāt mean there arenāt other devices that can meet the needs of other target groups. But since the Callbackās unique selling point is precisely the absence of a browser and social media, combined with the ability to use, for example, 2FA apps or messengers like Signal: thereās nothing similarāespecially not a T9 cell phone that specifically advertises social media and a browser.
Iāve been looking for a similar device for a long time (even before the Callback was announced), but I came to the conclusion that there is no device which is comparable to the Callback. If ghere were a device wich was similar, I would have bought it long time ago.
I was replying specifically to a user who wanted to install a browser on the Callback, as I would if I owned it. Hence why we were talking about using āvanillaā sailfish on a T9 phone, with all the functions that any other modern phone can handle, RIUO Joy included.
I am capable of controlling my own actions. A browser is a handy tool to have in a phone, and it is perfectly usable with a T9 keyboard in my experience. From that viewpoint, the Commodore device is hampered. My point was simply that a device like the Commodore or the RIUO would be nice with proper SailfishOS on it.
I understand the point of this phone is to force people who canāt control their own actions to stay off the internet, but that is a use case that arguably alienates otherwise potential users - myself included - especially at the price theyāre asking for it (For reference, I paid $80AUD for the RIUO). I like the idea of a T9 phone, but one of the selling points of a Linux phone for me is that I can do what I want on it, Apple or Google or anyone else has no say. Not true with the Commodore, they say you canāt use a browser and you have to suck it. Itās not for me, and itās not for the user I had replied to.
Thatās exactly the point: itās simply not a device for you and the user you replied to, and thatās totally fine
And itās precisely because of the lack of comparability/dissimilarity that itās not a device for both of you, which is again totally fine ![]()
