@randys has written a blog article for Purism:
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This is just a response, not a reply. Emphasis is mine.
⌠it was not enough to have a HW ASIC (with Random Number Generator with very high entropy, etc.). It was required that this chip be manufactured specifically in the United States.
That ââŚmanufactured specifically in the United States.â will inrease the cost of the L5. So does assembly, made in USA parts, and even ads.
Already, the price of a manufacturing in the USA L5 is âStarting at $1,999â - - - key words âstarting atâ.
The Purism forums stress the need to understand or at least ask question hoping for a how-to to fix small issues.
The forums also show problems between payment, shipping and finally receiving.
Ad video (2:20) âThe company says it has sold tens of thousands of phonesâŚâ
I am amazed that so many were sold. âtens of thousandsâ is a pretty impressive number.
Compared to the number of support help-me requests we see in the forums, verses the huge number sold, suggests the âissueâ rate is very low.
Randy Siegelâs blog is very positive in nature and a plus for Purism. The blog points to all the benefits of having a L5 in a persons pocket. The only negative that I can see, is the price. But like the duopolies, Purism has a easy payment plan too - making the pain minimal.
The key to owning any phone is in researching the product - Look beyond the bling and glitz in the ads. A good salesperson rarely tells you whatâs wrong with a product. Be informed and caveat emptor.
Very informative blog Randy
Thanks
~s
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This is selling to government, so gold plating is OK. 
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It would go a long way in a procurement competition process (well, here at least) to have a working device (a current OS [crimson], development and a couple of features ironed out), with futureproofing (5G modem, crimson and evidence of support lasting a decade+) and something that organizations (their CSOs/CTOs) want: software solutions that allow some centralized control and coordination of the device fleet and org data - both for upkeep and security (in L5âs case, not total, of course). After all, a secure device is not the only thing an org is getting with a technology change like L5. Any sec/tech team (gov or private) wants a more complete solution for their needs and support their work, and on a new type of special device that should come with the device package as there are less offerings from elsewhere to fill those needs (or at least a writeup/guide how to fill those needs on an L5). Based on these couple of gov business blog posts Purism is halfassing it atm (and the robot is not supporting this either).
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Purismsâ Liberty Phone page shows âStarting at $1,999â. I thought that page was for tax payers who would be buying the Liberty phones on behalf of the govt as well as paying down the $1.39 trillion deficit.
The govt wonât be buying any gold-plated Liberty Phones. You will.
âstarting atâ $1,999.00 then add
- SD Card, middle of the road at $149.00 (govt would probably unit the 1tb but we'll assume it's half 512 Gig.
- PGP Card $15.00 USB-C hub 49.00 (no idea who makes it)
- Display. I gather that refers to external monitor but taxpayers can afford it, but we'll downsize a bit to 24 inch (monitor - is a "display" at $199.00 (I thought it would be $200. I was wrong).
- Anti-interdiction at 199.00 ($200 would be way too much)
- Support for the Haves (âpremium!) at 9.99 (save a whole penny - wow!) paid monthly, but is probably if paid annually =$119.88
Total, if the pages calculator is working right only $2,610.00 plus, of course, shipping, insurance, and taxes,
If it could take pictures the way the duopolies do, have as good sound quality, and govt agents donât have to learn Linux, it is still too much for the Have-Nots.
No wonder people trade in their rights to privacy for a duopoly smart phone leash.
IMO, of course.
~s
â if there is a âpremiumâ there must be a non-premium to get support - how much is that?
BTW, if the duopolies see govt is getting itchy to buy L5 or wanna-be-private phones, they could outrace, outpace and stomp Purism into the other missing US history.
They already have their own anyway.
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IMO:
Agreed. I think Purism is reaching too soon and too far for the brass ring.
Perhaps mapping out a 1, 2 and 5 year plan should be first on the books. Not ads. Not yet.
Then start slow, such as ta various police departments at the investigation level. Contribute 10 devices to a department that agrees to asses them in the wild.
Once Purism can see that, and police agree that they are very useful, then branch out and advertise to various other police departments.
I just donât see the feds getting interested at all when they have many military-grade phones.
This jump to rake in Fort Knox goodies on such a scale is, IMO, financial suicide.
~s
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Thatâs pretty funny because a lot of people think that the greatest risk of interdiction is from the government itself. That at least would be something that the government should be able to exclude as a possibility.
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Donât most governments worry quite a bit about other governments?
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Me thinks that world governments worry a lot about US âinterdictionâ, reference Chancellor Merkel catching the US spying on her personal phone. Too, US spied on senior officials in Sweden, Norway, France and Germany, including former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and former German opposition leader Peer SteinbrĂźck.âŚReuters
NSA is like Clintonâs follies - he was caught with his pants down. Many Presidents were not caught. 
The NSA happened to get caught. Maybe it was on purpose â done to tell Euro politicians to do as they are told or NSA will see to it that Wikileaks gets the dirt on some of them, at chosen times⌠i.e. having the data or not, would certainly have many going back through their own emails.
It tells the world that NSA is watching, and will do what they claim other countries shouldnât do because itâs not nice. But Itâs OK for the US to spy.
Iâd wager a month of your pay that other countries hope they donât get caught too.
~s
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