• Re: PSA: What is the current state of Android Usenet nntpnewsreaders?

    From Dave Royal@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android,news.software.readers on Wed Feb 25 20:42:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android


    *Piaohong*
    --
    Remove numerics from my email address.
    --- Synchronet 3.21c-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From AJL@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Thu Feb 26 00:24:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 2/25/26 12:40 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:

    PSA: What is the current state of Android Usenet nntp newsreaders?

    Yes. I know. It's been asked a million times prior.
    This is posted so that we can all have the latest updates together.
    If I missed anything important (& I probably did), please add value.

    In a separate thread, AJL asked about newsreaders, where, from my notes, >this is what I have, but others may have better information than I do.

    There never really was a great mobile Usenet newsreader, but here is a >reference list of what has existed on Android, along with the PiaHong
    mod builds that some of us still use.

    PLAY STORE LINKS (historical; many abandoned)

    PhoNews
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cmg.android.phonews https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmgapps.android.phonewspro

    Groundhog Reader
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.almarsoft.GroundhogReader

    PiaHong NewsGroups
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.piaohong.newsgroup

    NNTPReader (Ken)
    Demo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader
    Pro: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader.pro

    Noasy Newsreader
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noasy.newsreader

    Usenet Reader (sinaapp)
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=usenet.sinaapp.com


    All above except PhoNews are gone from the Play Store.


    Caveat:
    PhoNews appears to break on Android 16 but still works on older devices. >PiaHong appears to remain usable thanks to the modded builds above.
    Most of the other apps are long abandoned but still installable (AFAIK).


    On my new Android 16 Tablet PhoNews does partially work if you have
    patience. It will pull up a post but takes 15 to 30 seconds. Then sometimes
    it says the WiFi is down when it isn't requiring a reboot of the app.
    Basically unusable though.

    On my Android 12 Tablet the wait is around 5 seconds to open a post, still
    annoying. But on this Chromebook it's down to around 1 or 2 seconds. I
    imagine as Google updates the Chromebook's Android its PhoNews will also
    get worse. I'm currently Windowless again so if I disappear you'll know
    why. Quit clapping...

    BTW I bought this PhoNews Pro app around 7 years ago for 2 bucks so guess I
    got my money's worth...

    --- Synchronet 3.21c-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jeff Layman@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android,news.software.readers on Thu Feb 26 09:00:44 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 25/02/2026 20:42, Dave Royal wrote:

    *Piaohong*

    Are you still using Alfio's version?
    --
    Jeff
    --- Synchronet 3.21c-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dave Royal@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android,news.software.readers on Thu Feb 26 09:07:29 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Jeff Layman <[email protected]d> Wrote in message:

    On 25/02/2026 20:42, Dave Royal wrote:

    *Piaohong*

    Are you still using Alfio's version?

    Yes. This is a slightly modified version of Alfio's M17OC on an
    Android 13 tablet.
    --
    Remove numerics from my email address.
    --- Synchronet 3.21c-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jim Jackson@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Sat Feb 28 14:11:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 2026-02-26, Anssi Saari <[email protected]> wrote:
    Richmond <[email protected]> writes:

    If you have a tablet you can install Termux, then install Emacs and use
    Gnus. This also works on Amazon tablets. But you'll need to know the
    keystrokes. You can do this on the phone too if you have small fingers.

    As I understand it, Termux can no longer work, let alone any other app
    using external binaries, starting since Android 10 or whenever target
    API greater than 28 is required. Or was that solved somehow?

    I used to use a similar if simpler terminal thing called sshelper but
    the dev pulled the plug on that, stating this as a reason.

    OTOH, there's a native port of Emacs available now (from F-Droid) so
    Gnus is a possibility there. I haven't tried it though.

    I use termux no problems.

    Android Version 15 on a FairPhone 5

    --- Synchronet 3.21c-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Arno Welzel@[email protected] to comp.mobile.android on Sat Feb 28 16:26:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Anssi Saari, 2026-02-26 15:38:

    Richmond <[email protected]> writes:

    If you have a tablet you can install Termux, then install Emacs and use
    Gnus. This also works on Amazon tablets. But you'll need to know the
    keystrokes. You can do this on the phone too if you have small fingers.

    As I understand it, Termux can no longer work, let alone any other app
    using external binaries, starting since Android 10 or whenever target
    API greater than 28 is required. Or was that solved somehow?

    Termux works just fine here with Android 16 and it is also still offered
    on Google Play but also on F-Droid:

    <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux> <https://f-droid.org/packages/com.termux/>

    I used to use a similar if simpler terminal thing called sshelper but
    the dev pulled the plug on that, stating this as a reason.

    If you refer to Termbot - this is also still available on F-Droid and
    also works with Android 16:

    <https://f-droid.org/packages/org.sufficientlysecure.termbot/>
    --
    Arno Welzel
    https://arnowelzel.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21c-Linux NewsLink 1.2