Purism Librem 5 Linux Smartphone Campaign Set To End At Around $2 Million

[IreMinMon]

Samsung DeX shouldn't be mentioned as alternative to Purism Librem.
It is like saying that Windows 10 with installed "Windows subsystem for Linux" it is great alternative for baremetal Linux.

I think I can second this. Samsung DeX is going to be Android without DelvikVM. The same blobbed kernel you're not supposed to update with a mainline kernel. Whoops, a year or two and you're all out of updates. I really hope Purism guys pull the new Cortex A53 cores through. It's probably a favorable position for them to be in, maintaining just the 64bit version of the OS in the future.

Also, if the radio baseband proves to be a success, what is preventing them from putting the damn thing into their laptops? We all would love such a thing to happen.

The GPU thing seems scary though. If I was in a place to make suggestions, I would recommend them to put all of their work into low-level stuff, like the GPU kernel driver and the baseband kernel driver. Maybe a software developer kit for the developers. They can leave toying with stuff like matrix and IM and high level stuff to the community.

[starshipeleven]

I use upstream vanilla kernel on Odroid-U2 and it works just fine. Well, there is no Mali support but I don't need it in headless system.

Still does not change my point. Mali and hardware decoding accelerators are not supported in upstream kernel, so you can only use it as a headless system, while it would have the hardware to be a decent mini-PC.

[starshipeleven]

I actualy dont need games on this phone, or any other advanced (and mostly useless) app on this phone. phone calling, wifi, 4g and sufficent web/mail/chat clients would do. I would preffer it to be a x86. Cannot understand this arm obsession.

x86 has a full OS with higher-than-kernel privileges running in dedicated coprocessors (Intel ME or AMD's PSP), while ARM does not, or it is an optional feature that can be turned off by the OEM.

While it's currently possible to neutralize or butcher Intel ME into submission, it still makes x86 a dead end.

[numacross]

x86 has a full OS with higher-than-kernel privileges running in dedicated coprocessors (Intel ME or AMD's PSP), while ARM does not, or it is an optional feature that can be turned off by the OEM.

While it's currently possible to neutralize or butcher Intel ME into submission, it still makes x86 a dead end.

Not only that but x86 has another mode that's above the OS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Management_Mode

[bemerk]

I don't Think a phone should be bigger than your pocket. It is a phone not an ipad competitor.
Speed, is that really still a factor that is important? Aren't we at a stage of development where even the cheaper models are fast enough for fluent swiping through apps and beautiful games?
Nowadays It is more about additional hardware and a good camera and battery life i would say.

[starshipeleven]

Not only that but x86 has another mode that's above the OS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Management_Mode

Yeah, also that. Sometimes I wonder wtf is wrong with people.

"Yeah, we'll add this nice feature that allows random board firmware (that is utter shit on average) to just interrupt the CPU and do whatever it feels like with 100% stealth, what could possibly go wrong?"

[starshipeleven]

I don't Think a phone should be bigger than your pocket. It is a phone not an ipad competitor.
Speed, is that really still a factor that is important? Aren't we at a stage of development where even the cheaper models are fast enough for fluent swiping through apps and beautiful games?
Nowadays It is more about additional hardware and a good camera and battery life i would say.

This isn't an Android phone running a closed firmware, it can't choose from modern SoCs optimized for mobile (and full of blobs).

Also, since it will run Linux Desktop applications (i.e. stuff that is barely optimized for desktop usage), yes you will need more processing power than what is enough for an Android phone running far lighter Android apps.

[vortex]

I hope it uses the i.MX8 chip, far faster than i.MX6. Of course, even the i.MX8 chip, with 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and a 5 inch display is only equivalent to a smartphone from 2014(of course the screen is probably equivalent to a 2012). A mid-range smartphone today, has an 8-core Cortex A53 based chip, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 5.5 inch 1920x1080 display, plus it still uses regular SIM card/cellular modem.

Yeah, at the minimum, it needs i.MX8. Anything else it is a non-starter.

I just bought a phone with an 8-core chip, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 6 inch 1920x1080 display, runs all of my Android apps, uses a standard cellular network, and it only cost $130.

What phone did you get?

[caligula]

Yeah, also that. Sometimes I wonder wtf is wrong with people.

"Yeah, we'll add this nice feature that allows random board firmware (that is utter shit on average) to just interrupt the CPU and do whatever it feels like with 100% stealth, what could possibly go wrong?"

Not only that, Intel still has power management issues with Atoms. The best way to put x86 atom in standby is to shut it down completely. Otherwise the GPU hangs along with long uptimes and/or it draws all the battery power. It's just ridiculous.

[caligula]

I hope it uses the i.MX8 chip, far faster than i.MX6. Of course, even the i.MX8 chip, with 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and a 5 inch display is only equivalent to a smartphone from 2014(of course the screen is probably equivalent to a 2012). A mid-range smartphone today, has an 8-core Cortex A53 based chip, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 5.5 inch 1920x1080 display, plus it still uses regular SIM card/cellular modem.
I just bought a phone with an 8-core chip, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 6 inch 1920x1080 display, runs all of my Android apps, uses a standard cellular network, and it only cost $130.

That's irrelevant. Android apps are crap. Some Android apps consume more resources than the full blown version on a x86 PC. I've run the GNOME apps on ARMv7 and overall I'm quite happy with the memory footprint. It's really up to the apps themselves. Agreed, there could be more storage. With a proper LTE modem and decent cloud sync service, 32 GB might be enough, but even your own, not downloaded content (videos, photos) easily fill up the phone. 4k Android might run the GUI in 1080p when not playing 4k video. Let's not kid ourselves, unless you're multitasking like hell, you won't run out of memory that easily. The phone doesn't need to store all background tabs in RAM like a PC does..