15 votes

Progress update from the Librem 5 hardware department

9 comments

  1. [9]
    what
    Link
    I'm very excited for the Purism Librem 5. Mobile phones are perhaps one of the biggest security threats to average consumers, and if Purism is able to get everything right (good hardware, which...

    I'm very excited for the Purism Librem 5. Mobile phones are perhaps one of the biggest security threats to average consumers, and if Purism is able to get everything right (good hardware, which they have experience with, and good software), this could be a really successful phone. The biggest problem will be getting developer support. We've seen this happen in the past: if there are no apps, there are no customers. The FOSS nature of the device will hopefully help to encourage this.

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      spctrvl
      Link Parent
      I haven't read all of the blog updates, but I was wondering: Have they provided any information on the LTE modem they're using? Band support's a potential deal breaker for a lot of people.

      I haven't read all of the blog updates, but I was wondering: Have they provided any information on the LTE modem they're using? Band support's a potential deal breaker for a lot of people.

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        what
        Link Parent
        I found this Reddit comment that says: It's important to note that the blog post is about a demo unit, so the modem, and therefore the supported bands, could change AFAIK.

        I found this Reddit comment that says:

        • Five-Band FDD-LTE B1/B3/B7/B8/B20
        • Dual-Band TDD-LTE B38/B40
        • Dual-Band UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+ B1/B8
        • Dual-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800 MHz

        It's important to note that the blog post is about a demo unit, so the modem, and therefore the supported bands, could change AFAIK.

        4 votes
        1. spctrvl
          Link Parent
          Wow, I hope they do. Literally none of those LTE bands are used in the United States, by any carrier. Looks like you'd be able to pick up some spotty 2G on T-Mobile and AT&T, at least until they...

          Wow, I hope they do. Literally none of those LTE bands are used in the United States, by any carrier. Looks like you'd be able to pick up some spotty 2G on T-Mobile and AT&T, at least until they fully switch off their 2G networks in a couple years.

          The schematic in today's post did seem to have the modem as a removable piece connected over mini PCIe, for the dev kit at least. Hopefully that remains swappable in the final device, though I imagine finding one with proper non-binary driver support could end up being quite difficult. Thanks for the info, by the way, been wondering about that for a good while.

          3 votes
    2. [2]
      teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      To FOSS and privacy nuts it might not matter as long as there's a browser and SMS/phone functionality.

      To FOSS and privacy nuts it might not matter as long as there's a browser and SMS/phone functionality.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. spctrvl
          Link Parent
          Couldn't agree more. As someone who was super hyped about Android as "linux on the smartphone" back around 2008 or so, I don't think I can overstate how disappointed I am in how it turned out....

          The fact that this is going to be "actual Linux" and not "fake Linux" is just icing on the cake.

          Couldn't agree more. As someone who was super hyped about Android as "linux on the smartphone" back around 2008 or so, I don't think I can overstate how disappointed I am in how it turned out. Total dumpster fire that somehow ended up being worse than Windows on the desktop.

          9 votes
    3. [3]
      666
      Link Parent
      Sorry in advance for the long reply, it may contain some grammatical or lexical mistakes because I wrote this half asleep. I think you got your problems reversed. Mobile app devs generally appear...

      Sorry in advance for the long reply, it may contain some grammatical or lexical mistakes because I wrote this half asleep.

      The biggest problem will be getting developer support. We've seen this happen in the past: if there are no apps, there are no customers.

      I think you got your problems reversed. Mobile app devs generally appear where the money is, that is why they prefer developing iOS apps instead of Android when they have to choose. To get devs you need users and to get users you need a phone that covers the minimum necessities. What those necessities are: social network access (Facebook, Twitter, IG, Snapchat), chat (WhatsApp, Telegram), email (GMail and its weird security protocols, Outlook) and browsing the web.

      So the phone must have those apps I mentioned available since day 1. There won't be users without them. And without users there won't be developers. This means that the people in charge of designing the phone must develop those apps themselves (or hire another team to do it).

      That is, of course, just too much work, but people love their apps and hate use those services through their web browsers. So we can cheat, I know Twitter and Instagram can be installed as PWAs, it is possible to run them in a browser without showing the browser's chrome, URL bar and buttons. I'm not sure about the other services, but Facebook can be embedded in the same way even if it isn't a PWA. That should save enough time and effort for developing an unofficial WhatsApp or Telegram client.

      The FOSS nature of the device will hopefully help to encourage this.

      I don't think this will help unless all you want is developers buying the phone and developing apps only themselves are going to use, then the phone will be dead in a year or two (remember Firefox OS? I do). If you need more than just that, if you want your average Joe using the phone, you need the kind of developer that develops phone apps and fills them with ads; you need your typical phone app dev and he doesn't like or even care about FOSS.

      I may be missing the point, I have heard about this phone but never followed its development so I'm not sure what their goals are, but if their goals are only about "pure" and "FOSS" I don't think they are going to succeed, they need much more than that.

      2 votes
      1. teaearlgraycold
        Link Parent
        Obviously as a business they want to be "successful". But as a consumer if I can get one and it does what I need, I'll be satisfied. At least for a little while I'll have a secure and private...

        if their goals are only about "pure" and "FOSS" I don't think they are going to succeed, they need much more than that.

        Obviously as a business they want to be "successful". But as a consumer if I can get one and it does what I need, I'll be satisfied. At least for a little while I'll have a secure and private mobile phone.

        4 votes
      2. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. 666
          Link Parent
          Thanks for disagreeing, after reading your comment I realized I have a wrong, or maybe too narrow, definition of success. I only defined it as being mainstream, but as you said, there's more than...

          Thanks for disagreeing, after reading your comment I realized I have a wrong, or maybe too narrow, definition of success. I only defined it as being mainstream, but as you said, there's more than that.

          2 votes