Purism Shares More Photos Of Initial Librem 5 Phones, PureOS UI

[schmidtbag]

While large flashlights are fine, the problem is that part of the PCB is visible, and the window is as huge as the camera.

Yeah, I suppose they could've concealed it a little better.

I could, but what about the rest?
It's not like I should tell 95% of users to replace it?

If this were an Android phone I'd totally agree. But, this phone has a pretty narrow demographic, I'm sure other users will be well-informed enough to figure it out if they feel they need to.

[jo-erlend]

Looks good to me, although those kill switches look a bit exposed? Being able to replace the battery is a big win in and of itself, but it will make the phone thicker than those using unprotected internal batteries.

[tildearrow]

Looks good to me, although those kill switches look a bit exposed? Being able to replace the battery is a big win in and of itself, but it will make the phone thicker than those using unprotected internal batteries.

My parents have phones with replaceable batteries, and they aren't that thick...?

[tomas]

I must admit that I'm a bit surprised about the negative tone of many that post here. I think most of us that actually supported the Librem 5 crowdfunding from the beginning has been well aware of what kind of phone we will be getting. Of course it will be much more expensive compared to an Android phone if you compare the specs. That is no surprise since this is built from scratch and will be produced in low volume compared to most (any?) Android phone. Also it costs more since they could not choose some mass produced SoC solution tailored for Android phones due to the requirement they had on having a fully open source stack. That is all fine and expected. I also expect the software to be very limited to begin with and that it will have its fair share of bugs. I don't expect to use it as my primary phone, but I expect the software to gradually improve and perhaps one day I actually will switch, who knows. This is the first phone to even come close of shipping a fully open source software stack (yes, I'm aware of the closed baseband module, but that's just the way it is and nothing Librem can do anything about). Looking forward to getting my phone in Q2 next year since that is the batch I've chosen.

[jpnc]

Yes, I do. It represents lack of dedication and passion.

I am happy they are focusing their passion and dedication on much more important pieces of the software stack than "which font choices will tildearrow find disappointing?"

I could, but what about the rest?
It's not like I should tell 95% of users to replace it?

If you feel you represent the 5% of users that find this to be a showstopper, how about doing everyone a favor and submitting a patch instead of just whining in a forum thread?

[sverris]

Wow, this is THICK!

But: is there any disadvantage in being 1,5 cm thick instead of 1 cm or 0,8 cm? Imo holding such thinner phones is not convenient, they are even prone to bending, repairs gets more difficult, batteries can't be replaced easily.

[arQon]

Yeah, I REALLY don't care about a few extra mm in thickness.

My biggest problem with phones these days is the obsessive "My screen is bigger than yours!" arms race that means I can't put one in my pants any more. I'm sure it's fine if you have a purse, but each year there are fewer and fewer phones that a man can actually carry around without risking their nuts!
Since I have Real Computers at hand nearly all the time, I would genuinely rather go back to a tiny flip phone like a RAZR that I'll never accidentally leave on my desk than have to deal with trying to treat something half the size of an iPad as a portable device...

[onicsis]

#Librem5 teardown with Purism CEO Todd Weaver!

[marlock]

High thickness isn't such an issue beyond aesthetics and might actually improve some ergonomic aspects... but weight might be a bit of a problem over prolongued use... not that folks needing this level of privacy to protect their work and/or lives from persecution will care about tendinitis using this first-batch of first-gen product.

I am honestly so happy that this device even managed to see the light of day! It's actually a lesson in doing a lot with proportionally little money and resources, compared to what happens during the bring up of each new Samsung or Apple flagship phone.

There is an airplane vs. customers situation that I think applies here... dude is flying over the clouds at absurd speeds, while sitting on a cushioned throne and eating hot food and ice-cold drinks, which not even greek mythology gods could do all that at once! ...doesn't like the food, says the airline is incompetent... allow yourselves to be in awe, just for a moment, folks! That we can really fly like gods and now also that we have a real honest-to-god linux smartphone.

[DMJC]

If you're complaint is about a default font on an open source phone. Seriously? The entire damn phone is customisable. Just edit it yourself. There's a million fonts online just choose whatever sexy font you want and apply it system wide. This is the holy grail phone. First thing I'll do is get gnome-mplayer working on this thing and never look back.