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The delivery of the completely revamped Librem 5 Linux smartphone with PureOS by Purism has begun, designed primarily for security and data protection. At around US $ 2.2 million, the smartphone had already far exceeded the self-set funding target of US $ 1.5 million in 2017.
The generic computer in the phone form factor
Purism is an American company for social purposes in the field of information technology, a so-called “Social Purpose Corporation”, and sees in Librem 5 the “world’s first free smartphone“. Purism describes its smartphone as”Form factor computer for generic phone“And it regularly markets it for $ 799 in its store as a Linux smartphone.
Both the hardware and software design of Librem 5 should be entirely designed to respect the user’s privacy and to put the control of security and data protection in their own hands. For this reason, Purism uses the PureOS Linux distribution supported by KDE and Gnome, which in turn is based on Debian GNU / Linux, as its operating system.
The design aims at data protection
Regardless of whether it is a cellular modem, WLAN / Bluetooth module, microphone or camera, all safety-relevant components of the Librem 5 can be completely cut off from the power supply by the 4,500 mAh battery which is also replaceable via a so-called kill switch.
A special “lock mode” can also be used to disable all the hardware switches mentioned and also the GPS, the acceleration sensor, the so-called accelerometer and all the other sensors.
Desktop operating system on the smartphone
Thanks to special libraries such as Phosh, Phoc and Squeekboard, the entire PureOS desktop operating system has been adapted to the smartphone. Purism works in conjunction with Gnome and KDE and returns changes to software, such as Gnome Web or the Linux kernel, instead of keeping their own forks.
The entire desktop ecosystem has been adapted to the mobile platform, but continues to use the main repository of the Debian Testing repositories according to the principle of a rolling release. The creators explain all the backgrounds in a video.
When connected to a monitor, the Purism Librem 5 can also be used as a full-fledged desktop PC with a desktop operating system. In the official press release on the smartphone delivery, Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism, said the following regarding Librem 5:
It is the culmination of people’s desire to see and fund an alternative to Android and iOS, coupled with the commitment of a team of experts who have taken care of the hardware, kernel, operating system and applications.
Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism
The Librem 5 is now being delivered to the first founders and can also be purchased through the Purism online store. For $ 799, buyers get the following hardware:
- 5.7-inch IPS display with 1,440 × 720 pixels
- Quad-core system on chip i.MX 8M at 1.5 GHz
- 4 × ARM Cortex-A53, 1 × ARM Cortex M4F, 1 × ARM Cortex-GPU
- 3GB LPDDR4 memory
- 32GB eMMC memory (expandable via microSD)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 ac / a / b / g / n and Bluetooth 4.2
- 13MP main camera, 8MP selfie camera
- Battery with a nominal capacity of 4,500 mAh
- PureOS 9.0 (“Hephaestus”)
For more information, see the official Purism website.
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