Hello everybody hi, since we all know everyone likes bad news (looking at you tech journalists, you silly goobers you) we are sad to say that the PineNote is now out of stock, Pine Store will be checking to see if there’s any extra stock out back.
BUT! We obviously don’t want to keep sharing bad news all of the time, if we’re going to be in this mess for a few years then lets make the most of it!
(alright journalists you can stop reading now, it’s only good news from here)
Pine Store may have stopped production on Linux hardware, but that doesn’t mean all production has stopped. Hardware like the Pinecil, PineTime and PineVoice that use MCUs will continue production as normal. This is a great opportunity to come up with new ideas for MCU powered hardware.
Now that the PinePhone has stopped production, there is a gap in the hardware lineup for a “fun” device. This definition of “fun” boils down to whether a device can have multiple use cases or purposes. The PineTime, PinePhone and PineNote can be considered “fun” as they can be used for multiple purposes and multiple projects can naturally form around them.
An example of the opposite would be devices like the Pinecil and PineBuds which serve a single purpose and build less of a community around them as a result (but both are still great).
OKAY, SO! We’d like to share some initial ideas on what a cheap fun tinkerers device could be.
- MP3 player (fun buttons!)
- Alarm clock (do people still use these? Isn’t this why we have cats?)
- PinePhone-esque device but MCU powered (attachments possible?)
- Handy multi-tool with screen, fido hardware key, nfc, etc (doesn’t open garage doors)
- Digital personal camera (that fits camera lenses, possible sister device to PineCam)
And of course the PineTime Pro is still in development (we hopefully have some news soon!)
We really wish to make the community heard by Pine Store on what we want to see in terms of hardware. “Community driven” is in the slogan after all (but let’s do this while still being realistic).
We have made a form to keep all suggestions collated and we are excited to hear the community’s feedback regarding these ideas for a new “fun” device or whether you guys have any better ideas than us. Once enough time has passed, a document with all suggestions and hardware preferences will be sent to Pine Store.
Lets catch up with you all again soon! And please like, comment and subscribe (ding ding ding)!!!