4 ms·

I am very excited for this phone, but I am not sure about this approach. I think it will cause a lot of people to wait for the v2 release.

katmannthree 7y ago
As someone who placed their order recently, I am totally fine with that if it opens up the possibility of people who ordered late to get their hands on one sooner. I don't mind having to tweak component alignment and update via the terminal (and maybe update keycaps?). I think people who are afraid of effectively being beta testers are going to have a tough time with a full-on linux phone whether they get one now or after another year of development.
- bhhaskin 7y ago
  I am perfectly fine tweaking software, but getting an unfinished hardware build is pretty hard to swallow for the price. This isn't a dev build either, it is supposed to be the final end product. To me it sounds like they are trying to release an unfinished product so they don't miss their ship date again. I would much rather have the ship date pushed out and get the finalize hardware.
  - katmannthree 7y ago
    >I would much rather have the ship date pushed out and get the finalize hardware. Then isn't this the best of both worlds since they give you exactly that option?
- jethro_tell 7y ago
  This sounds like beta testers is too generous. It looks to me like the finished phone next year will be beta testers by any reasonable measure.
rabidrat 7y ago
I am in this boat. However, I've been waiting for this phone for so long, that I've regressed to a flip phone since my previous phone broke and I was unwilling to buy another smart phone since the Librem was coming out in only a few months. So I appreciate the published schedule, it allows me to weigh the pros and cons of getting the phone earlier vs having the benefit of getting some of the kinks worked out. It seems that the hardware won't change much except for mechanicals, so at this point I'm thinking I'll wait for the second iteration just because there's always something with the first one :)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- daveslash 7y ago
  I too have reverted to a flip phone. Well, actually it's a "candy bar" phone -- the Nokia 3310. I've been using it for one year and one week. I'm definitely looking forward to the Librem 5 release.
dredmorbius 7y ago
Osborne Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect
- penagwin 7y ago
  Close but I don't think it applies until they actually announce v2. The effect is about how the announcement effects the psychology and thus sales of the current version.
  - azdle 7y ago
    They basically did announce a "v2", it's the last batch: > Batch Fir > Hardware: 14nm Next Generation CPU > Mechanical Design: Version 2 > Software: Long term support release > Certifications: FCC and CE > Shipping window: Q4 2020
    - smacktoward 7y ago
      Why include a significantly upgraded model in the release schedule for v1, though? What's the logic in that? Why would you want to give a fraction of your user base a big CPU upgrade essentially for free? My reading: they're way behind schedule, and they know people will be upset by the fact that the device they thought would be shipping in Q3 2019 won't actually ship until "Batch Evergreen" in Q2 2020. So they want to give people an incentive to wait -- something they would feel makes the wait worthwhile, something to wait for. And telling them that if you're willing to wait longer than anyone else, they'll throw in a significant hardware upgrade for free, creates that incentive. It gives people a reason to hang on instead of asking for a refund.
- MrRadar 7y ago
  This. I was already planning to buy a PinePhone to check out the "Linux Smartphone" scene and then take a wait and see approach on the (much more expensive) Librem 5 but now I will definitely be waiting until the units with the improved processors ship late next year.
ocdtrekkie 7y ago
Yeah, I'd rather not order early and be caught with a very unfinished build, only for someone who ordered later to get a better one for the same price. I'm excited about what's happening here, I'm tempted to get like a PinePhone to play with, at a lower price point, but go iPhone this year, and hold off with switching to a Linux model until there's more robust manufacture out there. I appreciate folks who can invest early in important projects like this, but I'm not in that category.
- ptx 7y ago
  They said in the announcement that those who ordered early can choose to wait for a later batch if they want to.
blihp 7y ago
That's probably a good thing: a lot of people wanting a relatively smooth(er) experience should be waiting for v2 or even v3.[1] v1 of most hardware, especially a Linux phone, is going to involve some bumps and bruises. Keep in mind this is a small team running with a minuscule budget compared to consumer phones so you're not going to have an iPhone or even Samsung device/software experience. They're doing some great work and but it's going to take time to work through the issues. [1] Would you really want to encourage a bunch of enthusiastic non-technical/unprepared customers with high expectations jumping in on v1 of this?

katmannthree 7y ago

As someone who placed their order recently, I am totally fine with that if it opens up the possibility of people who ordered late to get their hands on one sooner. I don't mind having to tweak component alignment and update via the terminal (and maybe update keycaps?). I think people who are afraid of effectively being beta testers are going to have a tough time with a full-on linux phone whether they get one now or after another year of development.

bhhaskin 7y ago
I am perfectly fine tweaking software, but getting an unfinished hardware build is pretty hard to swallow for the price. This isn't a dev build either, it is supposed to be the final end product. To me it sounds like they are trying to release an unfinished product so they don't miss their ship date again. I would much rather have the ship date pushed out and get the finalize hardware.
- katmannthree 7y ago
  >I would much rather have the ship date pushed out and get the finalize hardware. Then isn't this the best of both worlds since they give you exactly that option?
jethro_tell 7y ago
This sounds like beta testers is too generous. It looks to me like the finished phone next year will be beta testers by any reasonable measure.

rabidrat 7y ago

I am in this boat. However, I've been waiting for this phone for so long, that I've regressed to a flip phone since my previous phone broke and I was unwilling to buy another smart phone since the Librem was coming out in only a few months. So I appreciate the published schedule, it allows me to weigh the pros and cons of getting the phone earlier vs having the benefit of getting some of the kinks worked out. It seems that the hardware won't change much except for mechanicals, so at this point I'm thinking I'll wait for the second iteration just because there's always something with the first one :)

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
daveslash 7y ago
I too have reverted to a flip phone. Well, actually it's a "candy bar" phone -- the Nokia 3310. I've been using it for one year and one week. I'm definitely looking forward to the Librem 5 release.

dredmorbius 7y ago

Osborne Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

penagwin 7y ago
Close but I don't think it applies until they actually announce v2. The effect is about how the announcement effects the psychology and thus sales of the current version.
- azdle 7y ago
  They basically did announce a "v2", it's the last batch: > Batch Fir > Hardware: 14nm Next Generation CPU > Mechanical Design: Version 2 > Software: Long term support release > Certifications: FCC and CE > Shipping window: Q4 2020
  - smacktoward 7y ago
    Why include a significantly upgraded model in the release schedule for v1, though? What's the logic in that? Why would you want to give a fraction of your user base a big CPU upgrade essentially for free? My reading: they're way behind schedule, and they know people will be upset by the fact that the device they thought would be shipping in Q3 2019 won't actually ship until "Batch Evergreen" in Q2 2020. So they want to give people an incentive to wait -- something they would feel makes the wait worthwhile, something to wait for. And telling them that if you're willing to wait longer than anyone else, they'll throw in a significant hardware upgrade for free, creates that incentive. It gives people a reason to hang on instead of asking for a refund.
MrRadar 7y ago
This. I was already planning to buy a PinePhone to check out the "Linux Smartphone" scene and then take a wait and see approach on the (much more expensive) Librem 5 but now I will definitely be waiting until the units with the improved processors ship late next year.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

Yeah, I'd rather not order early and be caught with a very unfinished build, only for someone who ordered later to get a better one for the same price. I'm excited about what's happening here, I'm tempted to get like a PinePhone to play with, at a lower price point, but go iPhone this year, and hold off with switching to a Linux model until there's more robust manufacture out there. I appreciate folks who can invest early in important projects like this, but I'm not in that category.

ptx 7y ago
They said in the announcement that those who ordered early can choose to wait for a later batch if they want to.

blihp 7y ago

That's probably a good thing: a lot of people wanting a relatively smooth(er) experience should be waiting for v2 or even v3.[1] v1 of most hardware, especially a Linux phone, is going to involve some bumps and bruises. Keep in mind this is a small team running with a minuscule budget compared to consumer phones so you're not going to have an iPhone or even Samsung device/software experience. They're doing some great work and but it's going to take time to work through the issues. [1] Would you really want to encourage a bunch of enthusiastic non-technical/unprepared customers with high expectations jumping in on v1 of this?