Bad news: Nokia Corporation said the name "Notkia" is an infringement of their rights.

See this tweet for more information.

WE WILL CHANGE THE NAME. New name suggestions are welcomed.

Note: This is NOT a custom ROM for Nokia phones. It is a freshly designed PCB with exactly the same dimensions as the original PCB of the Nokia phone, so it can be put in the Nokia's shell.

Last edit: 2022-06-30

Please start reading from the "Brief Introduction" section if you are not familiar with this project.

If you have any suggestions or questions, please join our discord server or send us an email.

Changelog moved to project logs.

Status

What's working

• Hardware
  • LCD display and its backlight
  • Keypad
  • Lora transciever
  • WiFi and Bluetooth
  • Battery management
  • RTC
  • USB Device and Host
  • Storage: SD NAND
• Software
  • Mainline Linux kernel
  • Buildroot userland: musl, busybox init, eudev
  • Basic support of WiFi and Bluetooth: iw, wpa_supplicant, bluetooth{d,ctl}
  • Basic input support: keypad as gpio-keys evdev
  • USB audio
  • Laggy X11 based on fbtft

Important things that are not working at this monent

• Hardware
  • Internal GNSS section (removed)
  • Internal camera section (removed)
  • Type-C role auto detection
  • Enabling WiFi or backlight without a battery could knock out the EPS grid BQ25890 PMIC

• Software
  • Suspend to RAM support
  • I2S drivers

Brief introduction

• Nokia 168x shape: Easy to operate with one hand & fit in pockets easily
• Runs mainline Linux
• Processor: Ingenic X1000E, 2200+ CoreMark, 64MB RAM
• Storage: 32MB NOR + 4GB SLC NAND
• Connectivity: Lora, WiFi 2.4G, Bluetooth, and GPS+GLONASS.
• Display: 2.0'' 240x320 IPS LCD, 3/4 visible
• Audio: Yamaha MA-3 (YMU762) music synthesizer + Regular I2S PCM codec
• Camera: 5MP AF (only available in 1680 case)
• Power: Battery management solution from TI, and standard BL-5C battery
• Misc: Type-C OTG, RGB indicator LED, temperature & humidity sensor, powers on without battery, zero-conflict keypad

Why do we need it?

• People who don't like HUGE smartphones do exist on this planet
• Modern smartphones are becoming increasingly privacy unfriendly & hacker unfriendly, and the worst thing is: privacy is already a business for these businessmen:
  • There are many "privacy oriented" products on the market that aren't even designed by people with privacy awareness
  • Same for hackability
• Find more in the "Afterword" section in the end of this article

See it in action:

• Running the LVGL music player demo (on the v1.0 prototype board)
• Playing the "Bad Apple" animation (on the v2.0 board w/ shell and so on)
• Keypad demo
• LCD backlight dimming

Production

This project is already submitted to Croud Supply for fundraising. We're waiting for their response.

After the fundraising is completed, we will start to develop the necessary software mentioned below, and all PCB design files (including schematic and board design files) will be open sourced under the CERN-OHL2-S license.

Early prototypes (PCB only) will be available to be purchased separately.

Form factor

The Notkia uses the Nokia 1680/1681/1682 form factor. Yes, it has a proper shell. The 1680 has a camera, and the other models don't. It can be comfortably operated one handed, no matter in public transport or in bed. Having it accidentally falling into your face won't cause extreme pain. It can be put in almost all pockets and bags without a problem, and won't scratch your clothes or pull your beach pants down.

▲ It can be comfortably operated with only one hand

The main reason of we choosing the 168x series is because it has the largest inner space among all the feature phones we inspected so far. Its inner space is big enough to put a spring antenna inside! Also, its power connector has its own piece of plastic on the PCB, this means it can be changed to another type of connector without problems. However it doesn't look very pretty, and I hope we can get enough money to replace the plastic clip surrounding the charging port.

▲ I tried my best to make the Type-C surroundings...