New Post: Librem 14 Update: Shipping Starts in February with Extended Battery

Hardware
16

Yes, i did not buy the Cheapest solution because i like the idea of Purism and the Product. But than, i ordered a laptop for work. I am a freelance Photojournalist and i need the machine to do my work (my old laptop just does not do it anymore). I have some jobs comming up in February(i did not have many during the pandemic, making spending a lot on a laptop even more problematic), i factured in a delay, so i was not realy supprised then they move the date to Januar, and i was not bothered, but now, February, and only when i change my order to a different setup (that i dont want) or March if i stick with what i ordered.

And yes, i dont know any other maufacturer with kill swithces. True.
But you can get 64 gig in a 14 inch laptop and disable wireless, mics etc. via Bios… have a look at the TUXEDO Book XP14.
And btw. the 64gig upgrade their cost only 314usd… compared to 509. And the 2TB drive only 338 compred to the hilarious overprices 2TB for 878 usd…

You see one of the Features i liked next to the killswitches of course, was the second HDD. On the other hand, the Librem 14 was a compromise for me from the beginning. The only have US keyboard layouts, and i would miss a Thunderbolt port, but i was fine with theese compromises :). But removing the Second HDD drive slot is for me at least a big Issue.

To sum it up, it they can promise, to deliver the librem 14 in February, and offer to chip in the 3 cell battery later on, it is still an option for me. But otherwise, i sadley have to get my self a Tuxedo book i guess…

2 Likes
17

As for me, I can say, that the problem with purism is the lack of, say, schedule-ability, reliability of deliverance and the like, that do not meet my business-requirement needs in terms of planning.

I, in the first place, buy Purism, because I like privacy and want my devices to be loyal instead of spying at me.
That is a unique selling point with Purism.

But my enthusiasm for privacy does not exculpates me from having a work and project schedule in my business that I need to stick to.

So when I plan to buy a device, it is because I NEED THIS DEVICE it in a given amount of time. And I NEED to rely on a delivery schedule.

Instead, what I get is a shop website, that simply does not work. That showes devices in stock, that are actually sold out.
It —> SILENTLY <— cancels my order w/o sending a mail, w/o telling my anything!
No warning, nothing. Just no communication at all!!!
I mean, really, this is the utmost umprofessional thing a shop could do!
I feel so betrayed and so annoyed, I hardly find words for it!

So, urgently needing a device, I consider the Librem 14 now, but I get no information as of when it will be shipped!
I would really love to have another UltraHD screen, but asking Purism for it, I’m just being ignored.
Asing Pursim if they plan for a Librem 15’’ successor (like 15’’, 16’’ …) I get no information either.

Bottomline: I need to fill my business schedules and need reliablity in schedule from my suppliers. Privacy alone does not pay my bills … :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

2 Likes
18

So a few things you may or may not know. But Tuxedo while offering many fine laptops and computers, is basically System76 in Europe. As such the models they sell are just clevo models. They are not making customs models, specific to their brand. As such they do not have physical kill switches. (Software and hardware kill switches are two different things)

Because they are not fabricating their own laptops, they are able to offer things at lower prices. This is because they don’t have to pay Clevo to alter their fabrication lines for their models. It really isn’t a fair comparison.

However, the price is a valid concern. Just know that buying from Purism funds their entire social purpose efforts. If those are important to you, there is that.

I would contact support and share your concerns there.

1 Like
19

I can understand your frustration, but you have to understand that a technology company cannot always just share information with you. It can affect A LOT of things, that perhaps you don’t see. Maybe they are not ready to talk about a successor to the Librem 15 line because they still have Librem 15s in stock they are trying to liquidate.

Remember too, that unlike almost all of the other Linux hardware manufacturers, Purism is having their laptops custom made. They design the things and have them fabricated. This is a step above what most are offering. It is why they have hardware kill switches, etc.

That there are changes like this in nature, do not surprise me.

In fact, I would not be surprised if the move to a 4 cell battery is really because they can’t get the 3 cell batteries at the moment, and know that their customers can’t stomach much more in the way of delays.

They are at the mercy of a supply chain, and while there really isn’t anything they can do about that, they are doing what they can to help us understand.

Also I am not saying this is 100% what is happening. Just an idea.

3 Likes
20

No, they have no Librem 15 in stock any more, because I asked support for it. Also no refurbished in stock.

I would literally kill for a Librem 15 v4 right now, really. For otherwise, I need to go to the mart on monday and get me a f’ing Acer.
Starting up a hardware business from scratch is not an easy task, that’s for sure. But they really need to improve customer communication. Cancelling an order is no way of doing things, really.

Of course they can not just share information of technical details, for that in especially would affect SECURITY - the item they aim towards. I’m aware of that.
And I’m really gratefull, they do the job. Be it as difficult and ingrate as it is.

I really hope, that the Purism community and the market for Librem grows really fast and that chip manufacturers will some day in the future contend to supply Pursim with privacy-certified hardware.

1 Like
21

My personal guess: no.

I think the Librem 14, for the foreseeable future, will be the only laptop line of Purism.
It’s the compromise between 13 and 15, with the case size of 13 and the screen “almost” 15.
The hope is that most customers can live with that.
For Purism that means more production volume, less overhead, possible better margins/profits and the chance on lower end customer prices.

For a similar reason, I assume they currently don’t offer international keyboard layouts.
Which I’d hope come back at some point, as I don’t see me typing on a US layout …

4 Likes
22

I understand your situation. I would recommend you to buy in the mean time until the Librem 14 arrives an old used laptop. You can get those with SSD and 8GB RAM for 100-200$. Anyway if you work professionally you would need a backup device. I would recommend a:
ThinkPad T420, T520, T430, T530, T440, T440s, T440p, T540p
Or Elitebook 8460p, 8560p, 8470p, 8570p, 840 G1, 850 G1
For best use with Linux I would recommend to buy a device with Intel graphics only. If you want a good display the 15" are better or the FHD 14 or 15" from the 4th core i generation.

1 Like
23

Thank you! Actually, I suspeced exactly that to be the case.

But then, again, aspiration arose, when I read that the Librem 14 is meant to be the successor of the L 13. So I speculated for a L 15 successor to come up as well.

But you’r probably right.
Instead it would have helped, it they had told the community, that the L 15 goes end of life around christmas sale.

Is the screen of the new L15 too small for UltraHD? Do you know that?

UltraHD matters a great deal to me! Instead, while typing blind, the keyboard might as well be chinese, I wouln’t mind.

But BTW: I read about stickers for keyboards.

May they fill their pockets and grow rich and powerful in the meantime and build a new UltraHD model soon! :upside_down_face: :wink:

1 Like
24

Thank you, but I’m using Qubes.

1 Like
25

I just noticed my answer didn’t reflect what I quoted of you (updated previous post).

Now, about

I don’t know, but your next chance would probably be end of this year / beginning of next year, as Purism has an update cycle of (at least / roughly) 12 months.

1 Like
26

I dont understand. Too little RAM or CPU power? You could upgrade to 16GB DDR3 and with the 2nd and 3rd core i generation put a 4C8T CPU inside (they are expensive though)

1 Like
27

Yes i know that they sell clevo models and add the customer choice later on, i have Seen their offices in germany where they do that :slight_smile: and yes disabling the cam in BIOS and having a kill switch are not the same thing. Add to it that the killswitches are Mord conveniant :wink: and yes i do undersrtand that purism has to charge Mord becuase of their own production. But please 800usd for a drive that you can get for 300 is overprized :wink: and because of the social aspect i was willing to pay more. But AS pink unicorn i am running a business, and i need reliabilty. If i had not checked the forum i would not have known about the delay. And that is not acceptable. And add to that, that my business is not running well cause of covid i cannot spend Mor money. I would have to spend the 800 usd for the HDD… And of course the import tax of 300 usd i had to pay anyway…so getting the Maschine i wanted and i had the money for just became 800usd Mord expensive. But yes i contacted the support maybe they can di some thing. I could live with a smaller hdd for a month if they sende the smaler battery later on

1 Like
28

I can respect your situation. It makes sense.

I ordered mine with 2 m.2 drives as well, and I just sent an email asking to keep the 2nd drive, but get the 4 cell battery for now, and just order the 3 cell for later.

I think COVID has really mucked up things for a lot of people. If your financial situation has changed, etc. then you are of course more than justified in your concern.

2 Likes
29

Thx for the tipps :.I do have a laptop. Its a thinkpad x1 carbon with 8 Gigs RAM. The reason i ordered the librem 14 was ita power. If i import 10gigs of images and 20 Gigs of Video my old laptop is just to slow to allow me to work probably :wink: editing images and Videos is just to slow :slight_smile:

30

If they agree to send the 3 cell battery later for free or for very cheap (import tax…) i could go with that… But again, Hardware is one issue, the other one is trust.and with this Bad information management they are loosing in the trust sie of things. Heck it Stil says delivery in january in their shop. But yea covid realy messed up a lot… Had not one propper gig the last 4 month…

2 Likes
31

BTW team Purism, is this an actual picture of a physical model?

11300004-edited
11300004-edited1620×1080 232 KB

Looking really good!

6 Likes
32

The most important thing here, is that Purism should be sending a Purism hat with each laptop :joy: :rofl:

2 Likes
33

Have to agree :slight_smile: in of the reasons i went with the librem, it is an awesome design

2 Likes
34

Congratulations!

1 Like
35

Like you, Purism is a business that needs to make money to pay their bills, so if they don’t have any inventory that means that they can’t make money either; so I can’t imagine that they are thrilled with the problems that they have either.

Finally, I would try to put the problem in a historical perspective. Just in time manufacturing lowers significantly the cost of manufacturing. In fact, I actually doubt Purism could even exist without it. Purism would require significantly more capital to function as a business if it kept inventory levels sufficiently high to weather a crisis like this one without disrupting its supply.

Of course, the communication issues about which you speak are different…

2 Likes