Seriously considering the PinePhone convergence set. A couple of questions that are not listed or not entirely clear on the product page.
What resolution is supported on the external monitor?
What HDMI version is supported on the dock?
A charger is not included, am I reading that right?
Where would you plug in the charger when the docking bar is connected? Is that a receiving USB-C connector next to where the USB-C lead is attached to the dock?
Can I use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse while the phone is docked? Anyone tried and willing to share their experiences?
Well, it’s not easy finding this information at all. I think I’m going to mail Pine support. At least with Postmarket there is a git issue thread that shows that HDMI display support is still very much a work in progress.
Great idea … if you do, it would be very much appreciated if you’d let us know the outcome; particularly re. point 3 (inclusion of charger/PSU) as I’m interested in a PinePhone (particularly if it comes with, or can have added, KDE Plasma) but don’t currently have anything with USB-C ports to charge from, so that would then be an additional expense.
Also, keep in mind that shipping and VAT are not included in the listed price. For me, in Europe, that added €65 to the listed price of €199 for the convergence package. While it actually is not allowed to list B2C prices without VAT in Europe, so that was a bit of an, let’s say, unexpected uplift in pricing…
Thats not true eny more , you now can chose EU shipping where vat is calculated and added so you don’t get a surprises , when it enters the country , Iv ordered this way , the Vat is 50 $ and shipping is 20 $ . This is to Denmark.
pine64 has a wiki where there is alot of info
Also about the hardware
Well, neither the wiki nor the shop or any of the PINE website does clearly list an answer to the questions I posted.
As for VAT and shipping, this information is only shown if and when you add the product to your cart and you proceed to checkout. In principle this information is clear at that point. However, according to EU consumer protection rules you have to include VAT in the price listed on your product page (or show the amount of VAT due next to the bare price on your product page). You have to state it up front and can not ‘hide’ it in a cart or checkout procedure. This applies to any shop doing business with EU consumers.
What resolution is supported on the external monitor connected to the dock? answer: 1920x1080
What HDMI version is supported on the dock? answer: HDMI 1.4
A charger is not included, am I reading that right? answer: charger not included
Where would you plug in the charger when the docking bar is connected? Is
that a receiving USB-C connector next to where the USB-C lead is attached to
the dock? answer: yes
Can I also use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse while the phone is docked? answer: yes: should be able
So, it’s good this is clear now. The 1920x1080 max resolution is a bit of a disappointment though. My main screen is 32 inch 4K and 1080p upscaled is a bit rough to really work on for any tasks that take more than a little time.
The only thing that is not exactly clear is whether the maximum resolution is a limitation of the dock or the phone. If it is the dock, potentially another USB-C dock could provide 4K output… but I don’t think you should bank on that.
[edit: received the following info from the PINE support team]
The 1080P limits by GPU performance and memory bus bandwidth. You may able push up to 4Kp30 but the performance can be sluggish. The dock itself capable of 4Kp30 and there is no need to use another 3rd dock which don’t improve teh situation.