[quotemstr]

Org-mode has been nice the few times I've tried it, but without decent mobile support or multi-master syncing, it's hard to adopt it as my main productivity tool.

I've tried a few mobile org-mode clients and been universally disappointed. I'm increasingly convinced that the right path forward is to give Emacs an Android port (it's not that hard) and let the mobile org just be the mainline org, perhaps with a layer of android.view.View widgets (orchestrated from lisp) as an interface.

[omaranto]

I've been pretty happy with Orgzly on Android, but that's probably because I don't want that much from it. I don't really like typing more than a sentence or two at a time on a phone, so I never expected to do any serious editing of Org mode files on a phone. What I do want, and feel Orgzly adequately provides, is the ability to read my Org files, mark things as DONE or put check marks in checklists, and capture one sentence notes that I later fill out and refile, once I'm sitting in front of a real keyboard.

[secstate]

Check out orgzly: http://www.orgzly.com/

[Spivak]

As a user of Orgzly it's fine for basic notes and task management but you hit the limits of what it can do fairly early. It's a small partial Java implementation of the Org file format.

[kqr]

I think you're being slightly unfair. Of course it doesn't compare to full Emacs Org. Nothing does. But if you (like me) keep your life in Org and would forget to eat without it but sometimes have only your Android device, Orgzly has picked a highly efficient 1% subset. The dev is responsive and moves very fast too -- if you tried it more than a few months ago, you should give it another try.

I would not be where I am without Orgzly. Yes, I wish it was more complete. But given the very limited manpower behind it, it is excellent.

It's also better than any other similar app I've tried, even non-Org ones. So it's the best note-taking/todo/planner app for Android, and then the fact that it uses Org files behind the scenes is just a great bonus.

[JoshMnem]

I don't think phones are good for note-taking. There's even evidence that they may harm cognitive functioning.[1] It seems like it would be more productive to carry around a small pad of paper and transfer the paper notes to Org Mode later.

[1] https://news.utexas.edu/2017/06/26/the-mere-presence-of-your...

[qdot76367]

For iOS (which I realize isn't answering the parent but just putting this out there), there's now beorg, which is pretty good.

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1238649962

[eadmund]

> without decent mobile support or multi-master syncing, it's hard to adopt it as my main productivity tool.

I find that for a true productivity tool, I'm fine relying on my desktop & laptop. I'm actually dialling back what I use my phone for, simply because I can't trust either of the major mobile OSes to respect me & my privacy. It would be awesome to have all of org available on a phone though; you're not wrong at all there.

I would kill for an emacs which makes sense on mobile, but I've not given enough thought to it to imagine what would make sense. Emacs without the key chords would be still powerful but also odd.

[_emacsomancer_]

On Android, Termux [https://termux.com/] gives you access to Emacs; and it enables using the volume buttons a bit like modifier keys.

[dredmorbius]

Termux is, hands down, the best thing to happen to Android. It's still pretty problematic and incomplete as a productive shell tool.

Android will kill applications pretty indiscriminately, so your Termux session persistence isn't good.

Terminal performance is poor, especially on scrollback, for some reason.

I've bumped into numerous SSH issues.

My general preference would be for a hybrid tablet/laptop system, running Linux, rather than Android (or iOS). We may eventually get there.

The other thing tablet formats are good for is reading electronic document formats, with an 8" or better tablet size. Though a large eInk device might be better there (again, ideally with shell capabilities).

[_emacsomancer_]

Termux of course is not the same as using a regular terminal on desktop Linux, but it's pretty damn good.

I've had pretty good luck with SSH on Termux - it's great to be able to transfer things from my computer to my phone via rsync (I have some apps which do SAMBA, but they tend to be flaky; likewise physically plugging the phone in and transferring with adb isn't very convenient).

[dredmorbius]

I don't disagree with anything you're saying except that Termux is, of and by itself, a sufficient replacement for a full desktop system.

I'd tried to make that happen over the course of 2.5 years, a full year of which was with Termux. And as mentioned: the best damned thing to happen to me on Android.

Termux is really nice, and for the 700 - 800 or so packages it has, there's a tremendous amount of utility. But you're still stuck with limitations.

1. The Termux-dies-randomly problem is, AFAICT, inherent to Android and its memory management model. Unless Termux can somehow indicate that it is not a terminable process, that's not going to go away.

2. The terminal-performance issue appears to be specific to Termux, as other full-screen console tools (ConnectBot SSH client) do not have this problem. Since it manifests on both local and remote connections w/ Termux (e.g., scrolling backwards within a manpage on a remote system), it seems to be the local terminal code on Termux itself. Of all my complaints, this seems the one most readily fixed. But it has not been. (I have reported it. Several other issues I've noted have been rapidly addressed.)

3. The SSH lag and hang issues I saw seemed to cover all Android SSH clients, and were either Android, its networking stack, or quite possibly my Very Shitty WiFi Network (since somewhat improved). But in all Not Particularly Heartening. Wireless sessions from a laptop didn't have the same lag issues.

4. Package selection. Unless you switch to a full Android/Debian system or something like it, you're limited in what's available. Commendable effort, and a Hard Problem. Just ... well, it leaves me short.

5. The Android storage model. Termux is Just Another Android app, and has Very Limited Access to storage. Which fucking sucks as there's a 128 GB MicroSD card on the device, but almost completely unusable. Rooting your Android might get around this, but if you're stuck with an unrooted (or unrootable) device, Thou Remainst Fucked.

6. Shell only. There's no X.org or other graphical interaction. (Other than Android native, which leaves you with that platform's bastardised and pitiful apps selection, on which I've written elsewhere.)

Mind: I really wanted to like Termux. I kind of wanted to like Android. I have a Samsung Tab A and Linksys Bluetooth folio case/keyboard. In terms of a portable form factor, it's really fairly close to my ideal. But in terms of capabilities, performance, behaviour, applications, surveillance, and vendor shitfuckingheadedness, from Samsung, Google, and Linksys, and absolute and complete clusterfuck. I want to run as far as I possibly can from any of them. I absolutely recommend AGAINST any of these vendors.

The simple truth is that I want and need something that they are unable, or far more likely, unwilling to provide. Neither my financial nor time budget for exploring alternatives is large, and the profound level of frustration I've had in this (and earlier) Android excursions has left some keep and I'm sure long-lasting scars.

I've tried and used many other systems, few of which strike me as desireable. I don't care for Microsoft's products (though the MS Surface tablet, again, strikes me as well-considered hardware). Apple's tablets and laptops are shiny, but ultimately annoying. I'm typing this on a retina iMac, which has a luscious display but an annoying OS. I've been partial to Thinkpads for nearly two decades, but find Lenovo's recent shenanigans massively off-putting. I'm also no longer generally satisfied with the traditional clamshell laptop design, yet don't see what might yet supplant it. Portrait reading for documents is a very compelling feature, but what I see are either tablets (with no or poorly-considered keyboard and mouse options), or hybrid devices with hinging mechanisms that leave me in a cold sweat. (Maybe they Really Do Just Work and Will Prove Rugged in Actual Use, but I Have My Doubts.)

[_emacsomancer_]

In no way could my Android phone with Termux serve as substitute for my Linux desktop/laptop, but it is handy.

Presumably the only real solution is using desktop Linux on a device, rather than Android.

Is the GDP Pocket [ https://medium.com/@tomac/qpd-pocket-7-the-return-of-the-hac... ] included under your category of sweat-inducing devices? It looks handy, and even seems to have some sort of pointing/TrackPoint-like nub. I haven't used or even seen one in real life, but I've heard good things.

I'm not convinced there's anything that will replace an X-series ThinkPad. Non-phone devices that fit in our pocket and run Linux are rather appealling, and I'd love to have one, but I still don't imagine it could really oust my ThinkPad for most purposes. I need at least the X-series sized screen for most of what of I do.

[dredmorbius]

One major correction to the above: Linksys are an absolutely innocent party in the above, result of a mental failing on my part.

The keyboard, a complete piece of crap, and with abysmal customer and warranty non-support, was from Logitech, who deserve absolutely all opprobrium that can be directed their way.

(Linksys make my old router -- a (very) tried-and-trued WRT54G model. Since retired, after well over a decade of excellent service.)

[calpaterson]

I use dropbox for multi-master syncing. Seems to work ok. Emacs even has some file locking stuff that seems to help prevent me from clobbering changes I've made on another machine

[akkartik]

You mean you're modifying files stored in Dropbox from your phone? What sort of editor setup do you use?

[calpaterson]

Sorry no - I mean between desktop machines.

There are a few different android apps for the phone (I think they are Dropbox based) though I don't use any.