3 ms·

I think the main thing that PinePhone has going for them is the price $150-200 for what essentially is a hobbyist device at this point is more than reasonable.

I think the main thing that PinePhone has going for them is the price $150-200 for what essentially is a hobbyist device at this point is more than reasonable. This is in stark contrast to the Purism phones which offer about the same hardware (slightly better CPU but worse GPU) at flagship prices. This is somewhat also proof that the prices that Purism charges aren’t due to lack of economy of scale you can make these devices on the cheap, the hardware is available. I have a similar complaint about their laptops they charge a hefty premium for what is essentially a bog standard OEM laptop from China which you can get for almost half the price in many cases including from other direct to customer vendors.

fsflover 5y ago
> This is in stark contrast to the Purism phones which offer about the same hardware (slightly better CPU but worse GPU) at flagship prices. This is very far from truth: https://forums.puri.sm/t/comparing-specs-of-upcoming-linux-phones/6827 https://forums.puri.sm/t/comparing-specs-of-upcoming-linux-p... The i.MX 8M Quad is better than the Allwinner A64: 30% faster CPU clock speed, 140% faster RAM standard, 140% better OpenGL performance, USB 3.0 and support for higher resolution cameras. (and performance is just one of many reasons to prefer Librem 5 over Pinephone, see the link)
29083011397778 5y ago
> the prices that Purism charges aren’t due to lack of economy of scale you can make these devices on the cheap I've never understood that to be their argument. Purism is actively paying people to improve the mobile experience of Linux. They can't charge for software, and they certainly don't get a cut of app sales like Google or Apple. So to fund the devs that write the software, they mark up their hardware. This improves mobile Linux, makes for a reasonably sustainable company, and gives Pine64 a free ride regarding software like Phosh, Phoc, Calls, Chatty, etc. So without having to pay for developers, Pine can sell their hardware dramatically cheaper. Simply put, I don't think "Good software isn't cheap" should be a surprise to anyone here.

fsflover 5y ago

> This is in stark contrast to the Purism phones which offer about the same hardware (slightly better CPU but worse GPU) at flagship prices. This is very far from truth: https://forums.puri.sm/t/comparing-specs-of-upcoming-linux-phones/6827 https://forums.puri.sm/t/comparing-specs-of-upcoming-linux-p... The i.MX 8M Quad is better than the Allwinner A64: 30% faster CPU clock speed, 140% faster RAM standard, 140% better OpenGL performance, USB 3.0 and support for higher resolution cameras. (and performance is just one of many reasons to prefer Librem 5 over Pinephone, see the link)

29083011397778 5y ago

> the prices that Purism charges aren’t due to lack of economy of scale you can make these devices on the cheap I've never understood that to be their argument. Purism is actively paying people to improve the mobile experience of Linux. They can't charge for software, and they certainly don't get a cut of app sales like Google or Apple. So to fund the devs that write the software, they mark up their hardware. This improves mobile Linux, makes for a reasonably sustainable company, and gives Pine64 a free ride regarding software like Phosh, Phoc, Calls, Chatty, etc. So without having to pay for developers, Pine can sell their hardware dramatically cheaper. Simply put, I don't think "Good software isn't cheap" should be a surprise to anyone here.