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Comment by alexkavon | Hacker News Reader

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alexkavon·

Let’s not forget the upcoming mobile Purism OS coming with the Librem 5.[0]

I believe the development kit for apps is now available.

[0] https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/

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Librem5 has iPhone class pricing. It's no alternative to FirefoxOS. I earn decently, have mid-range need for security, and I won't buy iPhone nor Librem5.

Its all open source so someone can get it running on a cheap android device if they want.

Cheap android devices don't have free software drivers, and I thought some connection between those drivers and Google is what holds back a free Android.

Okay. Well Purism is already a free OS (modified Debian of course). It’s definitely an alternative to FirefoxOS. Librem 5 and iPhone are hardware, so you are correct that they are not software alternatives. The Librem 5 is priced at $600 probably because they’ve never built a phone before. It could be cheaper once it takes off.

You can already run Purism on other machines(laptops, desktops, etc). The mobile version will essentially be Purism with gnome-mobile UI. I’m sorry to read that you don’t think an open device that will have its drivers available and probably work with Android, isnt worth the cost.

I'm very excited, but how usable do you think it will be early on? I know they are relying on the community to refine the software environment.

Regardless, the hardware is what I really want. I have a feeling it will even end up with a removable battery and a headphone jack!

Yeah, software is always going to be a challenge early on (whether it’s Microsoft or Librem). However much of the web is available already. I think as long as devs are willing to throw their html 5 apps into something then it will be not too shabby.

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