I’ve spent exactly a week with the Mudita Kompakt, and it’s been nothing but ups and downs. The device has its weak points. A whole lot of weak points, in fact. These have already been described in detail in various threads here. So I’ll spare you the trouble of listing them again.
At first, I tried to fix these weak points by sideloading apps. But I quickly felt uncomfortable with it. The ugly logos of the additionally installed apps reminded me that I apparently wasn’t using the device the way I intended. So I did a factory reset and sideloaded only three apps that I really couldn’t live without. Instead, I hid pre-installed apps that were completely broken or irrelevant to me. The music player actually belongs to this category too, but I remembered my old iPod Shuffle and now use it the same way. It has its charm, too.
Ultimately, though, I have to be a bit stricter. If you’re completely honest, and put aside any sympathy for the Mudita team, they’ve essentially failed to keep their promises for the second time. Ultimately, I can understand anyone who would return the Kompakt.
I won’t do it (although I’ve created a ticket in time, just to be on the safe side). But I also have to say that I don’t trust the promises already made three years ago with the Pure (We’re working on it. It will be fixed with an update). I expect the Kompakt to stay more or less in the same condition it’s in now, and I’ll accept that. Somehow.
@thilodus We truly value feedback from our users, and it plays a key role in shaping the future of Mudita Kompakt. We’re already working on enhancing the applications that have been released, with ongoing improvements underway. As we move forward, your input will help us prioritize and define the scope of new features and apps. Your voice makes a difference, and we’re committed to continuous development based on real user experiences.
Did you get a chance to read the reply from our Founder- @Michal_Kicinski ?
I don’t agree that they have failed to keep their promises, that is unfair, they launched a device and they are working to make it better. People need to learn patience. People that lack patience will move on and that is their prerogative.
You’ve probably noticed that I have great sympathy for the Mudita team. But if I announce and then ship a device on which the majority of the advertised functions simply don’t work, then I’ve broken a promise. Of course, they didn’t promise, for example, to present a top-notch music player. But if I say there is a music player and it doesn’t recognize any MP3 tags and can’t even sort by artist, then that’s still a broken promise because the requirements are so rudimentary that you can assume it. The Pure’s music player looked exactly the same when it was released. Has it been improved since then?
Maybe you should wait until you get your own Kompakt. There’s little point in downplaying problems that you haven’t experienced yourself yet.
Personally, I’m good with the phone so far. But I will probably sideload several apps, maybe including the text-based launcher that was presented recently on the forum. Suggested modifications felt like a totally new device. I want to keep the phone for it’s physical features (display, battery, offline+) and it’s either Mudita that will improve it or - with help of the community - I’ll do it myself. Hoping to see more mindful phones on the market driven by this idea.
I don’t need to wait to get it to make my remarks, you saying they have broken promises when the phone has just been released is inaccurate, But when I do get the phone I will be sure to post my comments my friend.
I actually managed to make the Mudita Kompakt a well-functioning phone. Unfortunately, this required replacing virtually all of the native Mudita OS apps with Fossify equivalents. These all work excellently and even seem almost as if they were developed for E-ink.
Perhaps a smarter approach would have been to partner directly with Fossify, for example, rather than relying on self-developed apps?
I struggle to see the problem with relying on sideloaded apps though?
It’s very easy and works flawlessly, and turns the device from limited and somewhat annoying into a wonderful piece of technology, IMO.
This I agree. I don’t understand how they can have such a limited music player when all FOSS audio players have sort by artist/album/genre, search, etc. They just had to take an open-source one and improve the interface for e-ink. Now I have the impression they built from scratch. Same for calendar and other apps.
