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Librem 5 Phone -- For those who don't like Apple or Google
Posted on 10/30/19 at 2:53 pm
Posted on 10/30/19 at 2:53 pm
I had my doubts, but it looks like they have finally started to ship the first batch of these. They seem to be making rapid progress on the software side, and I am hopeful that in a few years this will be a decent alternative to Android/iOS.
For those who haven't heard of it, the phone is developed by Purism, which has been selling laptops for a while. The company is devoted to privacy, security, and freedom for users. Basically, you own the phone instead of the other way around.
This first batch is selling for $699, and to be honest the hardware is pretty underwhelming even when compared to a $150 Android phone. This is still a very early stage, though, and it's looking promising that the prices will come down (or specs will go up) if they can start mass-producing these. It's also a thicc boi, which doesn't bother me much, but I think they can also make a lot of progress there.
Check out the specs here, and here is a video of the first phone off the production line in action.
For those who haven't heard of it, the phone is developed by Purism, which has been selling laptops for a while. The company is devoted to privacy, security, and freedom for users. Basically, you own the phone instead of the other way around.
This first batch is selling for $699, and to be honest the hardware is pretty underwhelming even when compared to a $150 Android phone. This is still a very early stage, though, and it's looking promising that the prices will come down (or specs will go up) if they can start mass-producing these. It's also a thicc boi, which doesn't bother me much, but I think they can also make a lot of progress there.
Check out the specs here, and here is a video of the first phone off the production line in action.
3
Posted on 10/30/19 at 2:56 pm to Korkstand
Apps?
Posted on 10/30/19 at 3:00 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
Apps?
It runs PureOS, Purism's flavor of Linux, so it'll run basically any Linux app. Of course, most of them are not designed for mobile, but most of them should run.
There are a handful of apps pre-installed that are designed for mobile, and from the progress I've seen I think we can expect to see the library of mobile-friendly Linux apps to start growing rapidly.
Posted on 10/30/19 at 3:07 pm to Korkstand
Definitely interested in where this goes.
I just don't see it going far enough before it fizzles out, sadly.
I just don't see it going far enough before it fizzles out, sadly.
Posted on 10/30/19 at 3:19 pm to Korkstand
I just checked this out. I'd be more likely to give the laptop a try first.
Posted on 10/30/19 at 3:28 pm to efrad
quote:
I just don't see it going far enough before it fizzles out, sadly
I didn't think they would get this far, and the fact that they have makes me hopeful that they can keep it going.
Amazon and Google have been getting a lot of hate and scrutiny lately for the spying and tracking, and Apple gets a lot of hate for the vendor lock in and for just being Apple. I think there are already a lot of people who want an alternative, with more and more joining them every day.
I, for one, will strongly consider this phone when my Pixel 2 dies.
Posted on 10/30/19 at 4:59 pm to Korkstand
quote:
I didn't think they would get this far, and the fact that they have makes me hopeful that they can keep it going.
Amazon and Google have been getting a lot of hate and scrutiny lately for the spying and tracking, and Apple gets a lot of hate for the vendor lock in and for just being Apple. I think there are already a lot of people who want an alternative, with more and more joining them every day.
I, for one, will strongly consider this phone when my Pixel 2 dies.
Privacy/tracking is why I don't touch Amazon/Google stuff.
Apple is better about that, but yes, the lock-in is real.
Problem is that with this stuff, the lockout will be much more of a problem than the lock-in ever was.
A ton of your once completely unrelated decisions suddenly come down to what app or service actually works on this thing.
Without users, it won't catch on, and if it won't catch on, it won't get users.
I've seen it way too many times over the past 15+ years with projects of this nature.
I'm certainly hoping to be proven wrong though and I'm rooting for this thing
Posted on 10/30/19 at 5:40 pm to efrad
quote:
Problem is that with this stuff, the lockout will be much more of a problem than the lock-in ever was.
A ton of your once completely unrelated decisions suddenly come down to what app or service actually works on this thing.
Without users, it won't catch on, and if it won't catch on, it won't get users.
I've seen it way too many times over the past 15+ years with projects of this nature.
Oh I know, I've been keeping up with the Linux phone world since Openmoko in 2007.
A lot has changed since then, though. One big reason it might be harder to break in as a real player is because the world now has the "app" mentality, and if the app you want doesn't have a "get on Librem" badge or whatever, nobody will care, and nobody will ever know about it. But one thing that might make it easier now is that there are many dev tools that make developing cross-platform apps much easier. There are frameworks that make it possible to develop for android, ios, web, and even desktop with one codebase. From another angle, there are several tools that wrap web apps and package them as mobile apps. And from yet another angle, Linux desktops have been working on mobile/responsive toolkits so that desktop apps can run just fine and respond to a mobile screen.
All of these things, combined with the growing awareness and distaste for the way the big players operate, makes me optimistic that the timing is right for this type of project to finally get off the ground and be successful.
Posted on 11/1/19 at 11:05 am to efrad
quote:
Apple is better about that
Better about what? Not tracking/spying or not letting you explore how deep, far and wide that tracking/spying goes?
Because, if you think it's the former - I have some bad, bad news for you...
quote:
Without users, it won't catch on, and if it won't catch on, it won't get users.
Every new product in an established market faces this challenge. You must gain ground with:
1. Unique/novel capabilities (whether mission-centric, durability, longevity, etc.)
2. Cost/value
3. Some combination of the above
Otherwise, you lose to the Gold Standard products - always.
Posted on 11/2/19 at 9:16 pm to efrad
quote:apple is doing the same thing with your stuff. Dont lie to yourself.
Privacy/tracking is why I don't touch Amazon/Google stuff.
Apple is better about that
Posted on 11/3/19 at 2:56 am to Ace Midnight
quote:quote:
Apple is better about that
Better about what? Not tracking/spying or not letting you explore how deep, far and wide that tracking/spying goes?
Because, if you think it's the former - I have some bad, bad news for you...
One of the prime rules in computer security is to know your adversary. When comparing the business models of Apple and Google (having to choose one or the other in this scenario), I am far more comfortable with my data within Apple's reach than Google's. Does that mean I "trust" Apple? No. I have as much data collection disabled on my phone as possible and I take far above average precaution with my privacy and data than the average user does. However, Apple has also been proactive in preventing others from using their platform as an opportunity for data collection.
quote:quote:
Without users, it won't catch on, and if it won't catch on, it won't get users.
Every new product in an established market faces this challenge. You must gain ground with:
1. Unique/novel capabilities (whether mission-centric, durability, longevity, etc.)
2. Cost/value
3. Some combination of the above
Otherwise, you lose to the Gold Standard products - always.
This isn't just a product; it's a platform as well, so it faces unique challenges when compared to most other markets. An ecosystem of software must be cultivated with the participation of third parties. If not, users won't buy it. It doesn't matter if the product has many wonderful unique capabilities, is cheaper than anything else on the market, etc. if key third parties don't participate. The only way they spend resources developing and testing for a new platform is if the platform has a userbase (this doesn't) or if there is a large amount of $$$ being exchanged (which a project of this nature does not have).
Thus why open source hardware platforms pretty much always fizzle out. The software is never there.
Posted on 11/4/19 at 12:57 pm to efrad
With many apps being little more than a wrapper for a web page it's not out of the question that you could do 85% if what you want to do on day one. Obviously that depends on a lot of things, but still. Something they could potentially deploy is a site-to-app extension on the browser that could help in presenting specific sites more like apps to the end user. Won't be exactly the same experience but it could bridge the gap.
This is definitely going to start out as a nerd oriented project, but it could at least start to pave the way towards a viable alternative. I hope at least...
This is definitely going to start out as a nerd oriented project, but it could at least start to pave the way towards a viable alternative. I hope at least...
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