12
votes
Librem 5 mass production phone has begun shipping
Details on the phone itself (Both are the same, the USA refers to supply chain):
Libram 5 - $799
Libram 5 USA - $1999
I think it's quite a tell about how much our electronics are subsidized by sourcing from inordinately cheap labor compared to the (mostly) German/USA labor for the USA phone.
PureOS itself looks like it could be a decent entrant to breaking the mobile duopoly. The only sticking point for me would be various applications that don't offer browser options (read: 2 factor authentication apps).
And I'll wholeheartedly agree that's a damn shame. I sympathize with their stance, and if it were not a paid service I'd be more inclined to agree with it for their case in particular. The beauty of federated services is that you can pick up and move. But when that service is bundled in with others in a paid plan, that makes it a lot less viable. And if I were a customer, I would certainly expect some degree of moderation.
Sadly, these things can and will happen with or without Librem One. They certainly didn't help the matter, but sadly doxxing is going to be a thing until the net is fully de-anonymized (which I think is a very bad thing, as it will certainly turn up racist inbox problem). In that sense they are right, as only user empowerment is going to be able to prevent it.
For me at least, I don't want bundled cloud services, so that's a feature. Totally get how that's not true for everyone though.
That wording is really panic-inducing. You might want to mention that you don't have to buy the USA version for it to work in the US.
Clarified, thanks. $1,200 difference in sourcing parts is quite a change.
I would dodge this hard, there are other non-Google or Apple phones out today without all the baggage of Purism. Personally I wouldn't buy it until ten generations in and 50 reviews later.
A good suggestion is UBports and Pinephone. OR PostmarketOS on Pinephone with the Phoosh DE (which is what Purism uses). I have no idea if the hardware is good, but Purism has gone hard in with NIMH focus and empty promises. The devices seems fine, except being basically promised as the return of the King or something.
The above alternatives already exist right now.
(EDIT: BIAS-BIAS-BIAS I distrust their CEO intensely after a few meetings with him and the companies track record sort of back me up BUT I am also a grudge-held-to-the-grave person so please be aware of my bias, thank you)
Yes sorry, you're right
I'd love to see a breakdown of costs for this thing. I find it incredible that phones are so expensive and I actively resist buying anything but the cheapest models, usually going second-hand to save more money.