Since this product has no pics , does it mean that we are to wait for them to make it after the specs - dimensions are confirmed by Purism?
I dunno … just saw it … Thought it was worth posting . someone should buy one and see what shows up
Agreed.
Also , kinda interesting that they have “availability dates” just a week from now. Do they know what we don’t or just a bold guessing? 
Though, would be more encouraging it was “shipped by Amazon”
But then, that would mean they already have it on stock…
IDK, but at this point I’m convinced that they will start shipping 1st of August.
Or let’s say , first deliveries, no later than end of August.
My dad is and has been a precision plastics mold maker for his entire career, and has been called out as one of the best in the nation many times. He’s worked on things ranging from Bic pens, to private and military aerospace components, medical equipment, and so on. I asked him about costs for making a phone case, and he told me a proper Made in America two-step process mold would cost ~60k to make. From there, costs to run it depend on where you run it and where the materials are purchased from. A two-step process is the type with a firm/ridged frame with a softer outer layer molded around it.
An investment in such a thing on Purism’s part would be a great thing for their customers, and likely cut down on need for replacement parts like screens and housings.
So, not considering the cost of workers, taxes, insurance, material, handling, shipping, testing, finishing, risk, storage, energy and floor space, the mold alone would require Purism to sell 6000 phones to have the mold cost down to 10 USD per piece?
Good luck.
(To put this into perspective, the Librem crowd funding of 1.5M USD would mean 3000 phones to be produced, if everyone funding got one for $ 500)
Properly planned, including a case could have been part of the cost of the device:
- We already know there was wiggle room in the margins based on early-bird discounts. I ordered mine for $600, it is at $650 now. I think prices started at $500 during earliest stages.
- Driving the price of the phone up by say $50, and including the case is a realistic thing. Where else are you going to get a quality case for this thing?
- Doing that, you only need to move 1200 units to break even on the cost of the mold
The other things you mention:
- workers, material, handling, shipping, testing, finishing, risk: all can be included in the cost of the mold, with a properly negotiated deal
- once the mold is built: materials, shipping, workers, taxes, insurance, energy: all can be included in the cost of running the mold in a proper deal. Wrapping it all up in a price per unit, it could be done inside the US for around $4 per part. (which adds only an additional 100 units sold to break even on the investment)
- once pieces are produced: if it were included as part of the phone package, it could be in the box with the L5, and take up an extremely minimal amount of additional floor space and weight during final shipping
All of this means happier customers, fewer broken phones, and less need to maintain inventory of and ship spare parts.
This is true, as long as you assume that the $500 early-bird pricing or the $600 pricetag covers purisms cost.
I’m not sure about the $600 tag, but I’m fairly certain the $500 doesn’t.
Perhaps, but! What I’m getting at holds true either way. if they advertise a proper case being included with the device, this justifies a slightly higher price for the package that ships. An increase of $50 on the price for such a thing is reasonable, as a case that is comparable to a $50 iPhone or Android case is what could be included at that price point.
Who knows, they may surprise us and include one!
I do agree to an extent.
Though, I really don’t see why such a small company, struggling financially, should include this in the package w the phone purchase.
If all things were correct (ur estimates), Purism should only pay those initial 60k and additional cost of production and then charge per case $15-20. That way they can make some extra profit without breaking a sweat.
Just look at the pile of money Google is sitting on and never had a case for free on their website for Pixel purchases (at least upon release AFAIK)
No other small OEM (in terms of market share) was into that stuff.
Of course I’m not including Giant Samsung, which just throws hundreds of goodies in order to push it product.
Agreed. The difference here is that if they included the case with the phone, and charged an extra $50 for it with every order, this is a guaranteed case sale in every instance. So they are making profit at every unit beyond #1300.
“surprise us and include one”
That’s way beyond wishful thinking for me
To me, surprise would be delivering phone some time in August.
Another one would be stocking and selling spare batteries on their website by the end of the year. And sure, having protective cases available for purchase once they start shipping the phones or at least within a month.
All of these would be surprises to me, very welcome ones
Just a note on the pricing: $599 was the campain price, and the new one is $699, currently on sale $649.
There’s not too much wiggle room. Price went up to adjust for the updated production cost, which became apparent around the time the devkit was produced. This rise was not originally planned.
Of course the sale suggests still a bit of wiggle room, but you have to keep in mind that pre-orders have multiple positive effects for Purism:
- cash before production
- already sold. No risk, no warehouse keeping
- increased order quantity, lower per unit price
- allows prediction of additional sales after production
and that’s why they want you to get on board now, because it makes the whole thing more economical.
Due to this post the Librem 5 will have the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S10e has which isn’t useful for a case at all but maybe for the screen protector glass. The screen protectors might fit, which would be as important as a case for me. For the second case mentioned in this post the Huawei P9 screen protectors could be a good choice…?
Or is there already an other idea where to get a screen protector from?
Could just get a tpu case cut the corners off it and perhaps loctite them to the L5 corners so atleast we have impact protection on the 4 corners . perhaps due the same with a TPU soft rectangle on the rear of the case . It would look kinda silly but would mitigate the risk until a proper case came along.
Cut an L and a 5 out of a clear phone case for another phone and use a clear glue to stick to the back ? That would look pretty cool . With again some clear bumpers on the 4 corners.
Something similar to this https://www.amazon.com/Moto-G7-Play-MaiJin-Transparent/dp/B07QZZBFJL/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=clear+soft+case+5.7"&qid=1563404592&s=wireless&sr=1-3
Cut an L and a 5 out of it and glue them using clear non permanent adhesive to the back and cut the 4 corners off and use the same clear adhesive .
As long as the adhesive wasn’t permanent and was clear as well This might be a temporary solution and might even look kinda neat.
If no official case will be made, and no crowd-funded option comes available, then the next best thing will likely be one of those silicon DIY jobs you see on youtubes.
I’m interested to buy a silicone cover from purism, there is any news?
I don’t have a 3d printer and no one else close to me have it, but i don’t want to risk to broke it, i hope purism will sell this item too before shipping
Otherwise there is any alternative who ship within europe?