Yeap i took time to think that “Liberty Phone” name sound not good because there are already others Librem5 which are also “Liberty” so i guess that naming to “Librem 5 Liberty” will be more fair. But also calling “Liberty Phone” devalues the other L5 which is not good nor fair. IMHO.
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Agreed, I would have kept the name the same as the Librem 5 USA but raised the price.
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From the website, for a little while, it looked like they were intending to keep both sized phones around for a while. Although, for the price, keeping the 3GB, 32GB phone around did not make a lot of sense. If they were going to go straight from one to the other, then yes, they could have kept the same name and say that they upgraded it.
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Just thinking out loud here, it does not really make much sense to keep the non-USA around either. One of the points of the USA/Liberty is for Purism to control more of the supply chain, so having the non-USA is just a stopgap towards that sovereignty.
Clearly there is still a few reasons for the non-USA to exist, which is a lower price and fulfilling backorders, but I am starting to doubt it will be available long-term.
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Also, not all users are US citizens.
For example, I couldn’t care less who exactly is going to mount a hardware supply chain attack on my phone: the Communist Party or American alphabet soup.
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True, but they can own one just the same. Just change the SIM card for your location.
In some Commie countries, owning a U.S. made product is a prestige item.
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You can do all that with the Librem 5, too. And it’s cheaper.
Absolutely. Even in Europe’s richest countries with a (perceived) history of highest-quality engineering, US products are often regarded status symbols. However, the vast majority obviously bases their purchase decisions on factors other than where the final product was assembled. It’s still an US product if it’s designed in the US.
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You are paying a premium for Purism to ensure there are no alphabets in the soup. If you don’t trust them to do that, why not settle for a Spydroid?
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Why would I even care about that?
Agency comes knocking with a gag order, then sets up a permanent mass-implant at Purism’s site.
I’m paying a premium because I’m sick of throwing away devices just because they no longer receive security updates, or because replacing a battery takes several hours and costs hundreds of euros.
I’m paying a premium because I want a device that doesn’t scan its memory for Bad Content (or whatever it thinks it is) and then rat it out to NCMEC.
I’m also paying a premium because I’m a software developer who prefers the freedom of running whatever software I want, including my own.
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Summary:
Liberty replaces the USA version and is not Fir.
So in addition to ideologic / freedom differences there’s now also better specs.
For that reason, I do not expect an improved non-US version. It would destroy the distinction they just created.
Fir is not to be expected within a year, as I learned when I moved my 2nd order to Fir recently.
That makes sense and is in line with the plans to put the L5 on stock after shipping parity.
Usually, a successor is released at least a year after “general availability”.
So I’d expect for at least a year we’ll have the two current models.
As Purism would like to do all assembly in the US (that’s at least what I think they want to do), the question I have is whether there will be two Fir models.
I think the tablet announcement will give a hint.
I expect only a US made tablet and Fir model.
Then the next question is, will there still be an entry level phone. They could keep either the Evergreen or the Liberty.
Liberty for the price of Evergreen might be a good option and simplify logistics.
But even better would be two or three configuration options for Fir, like the “big guys” do (Apple, Samsung) - and in-house assembly would be very handy for that.
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I had wondered why Purism would offer a discount on the Librem 5 (non-USA version). Discounts are often offered to move stock, which does not make sense if you have a backlog. Maybe they want to keep the assembly lines at full capacity for a while longer, or maybe they want to switch the next batch to be the upgraded RAM and discontinue the discount when this batch ships. It would certainty be better for Purism to celebrate the in stock status with the 4GB model for sale given that the RAM of other smart phones continue to grow. It would also be better for people who had just received the 3GB model to know that they benefited from the discount.
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Oooh, here’s an unrelated thought. O/S updates for “Fir” should come in a “FirBall” ?
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I suspect they have no non-USA stock and they are manufacturing to the original order as they can manage. That’s why I suggested the free upgrade to USA just to fullfil the original demand.
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I agree that they do not have stock of assembled phones, but they probably have stock of 3GB RAM chips that need to be used up, or at least orders in progress with the 3GB RAM that have to be fulfilled.
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Yes, all of that, as well!
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There’s a healthy stock of regular L5s existing by now, it just takes time for them to get shipped from China and then handled in the US for final assembly and shipping. Shipping the backlog isn’t fully done yet because there are various other bottlenecks at play too. For some configurations the queue has been already fully processed and any remaining orders are those of people who haven’t confirmed their shipping address, and soon that will be the case for other configurations too.
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Reminder, petty bribery still goes a long way in China. That shipping official with the chop rubber stamp may want a family party at a good hot pot restaurant!
(Been there, not the bribes, but the worker’s night out.)
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I agree,
The whole discussion over US made or China made is nonsense. Purism takes care that the design is as spy free as possible.
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Been there, no bribery detected. Just give tips for good service.
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The latest blog post, Free Yourself from Surveillance Capitalism with the Liberty Phone, has a new image of the Liberty Phone that I found interesting. On the right side of the phone where the name is, it says “Librem 5 Liberty”.
So since Purism cannot actually decide on the product name, has anyone been able to justify purchasing it? I am personally waiting for the Fir Librem 5 USA/Liberty.
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