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Fairphone: Android phone that puts social values first
Fairphone is manufactured using raw materials from conflict-free regions in Africa (D.R. Congo).
A completely open source, rooted, hardware and software on which you can also install FirefoxOS and UbuntuOS too.
- parennoob 13y agoI really like the screen theme that they have got (with the battery and Skype notification). Looks a bit like Google Now if it had transparency. Does anyone know if that is an existing theme or mod?
- mitch3000 13y agoUnfortunately it's a theme: Android OS (4.2 Jelly Bean): Special interface developed by Kwame Corporation (Also open!) I hoped it would provide a vanilla Android.
- adlpz 13y agoNot unfortunate! I am sure you will be able to get vanilla android on this phone, and it's good that the interface is open and you can use it on other phones.
- obviouslygreen 13y agoI am sure you will be able to get vanilla android on this phone... By "I'm sure" do you mean "I assume" or "I am certain, they have explicitly stated it?"
- TsiCClawOfLight 13y agoThey explicitly state that it's user-rootable and that they're talking to people from FFOS/B2G and Ubuntu.
- mitch3000 13y agoI am just curious why they invested in the development of a custom skin and didn't use the vanilla Android UI of the Nexus line. It would have been a real feature.
- TylerE 13y agoThe same reason Toyota made the Prius look like a wedge. Had nothing to do with aerodynamics.
- themstheones 13y agoThat's a great bargain for this phone even if you don't care about the world or society and the environment and whatnot.
- vec 13y ago325 EUR is a lot cheaper than I was expecting. I'd be curious to know how much of a premium they're paying for ethically sourcing their components. If the percentages are as low as that price point suggests, it gives me a lot of hope for pushing for change.
- TylerE 13y agoIt's a huge premium. This would be like a $20 phone if Samsung made it.
- idupree 13y agoTell me where I can get a phone like that for $20 without a contract?
- TylerE 13y agoWell, it's $50, but here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Virgin+Mobile+-+PCD+Chaser+No-Contract+Mobile+Phone+-+Black/4245229.p?id=1218471854131&skuId=4245229 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Virgin+Mobile+-+PCD+Chaser+No-Co...
- adlpz 13y agoLooks nice, I'd love to see a real world prototype instead of a render, though.
- shared4you 13y agoAgreed. You can catch a glimpse of the real phone at the production shop, around 00:50s: http://vimeo.com/66409578 http://vimeo.com/66409578
- shared4you 13y agoFairphone is manufactured using raw materials from conflict-free regions in Africa (D.R. Congo). A completely open source, rooted-by-default hardware and software on which you can also install FirefoxOS, Ubuntu and Debian too (http://www.fairphone.com/#faq http://www.fairphone.com/#faq)
- dubcanada 13y agoThat's the first time I've ever heard "Conflict-free resources". What exactly does it mean? There are no wars going on in the regions they picked? What happens if a conflict starts before I get my phone? Can I get a refund?
- TsiCClawOfLight 13y agoIt means that the funds used for buying the resources don't fund wars.
- dnautics 13y agothis is not an absolute statement. For example, if you buy any resources in the US, you are indirectly funding wars through the US taxation apparatus and military. It's better qualified by saying the funds used for buying the resources are not predominantly extorted or directly controlled by military juntas.
- TsiCClawOfLight 13y agoGood point. Maybe I should say that the resources aren't directly nor officially used to fund wars.
- icelancer 13y agoAnd Chinese sources don't fund "wars" against Tibetan people?
- diydsp 13y agoIt's a good question and I'm glad to see it asked. I don't know the precise delineation, but there are some resources (tantalum, used in capacitors, is notorious for this) mined in regions of the world, especially Africa, which are run by regimes which don't respect the United Nation's definition of human rights. IOW, warlords firing machine guns over the heads of slave labor to sell the minerals to fund their weapons purchases. So, it's not specifically about a named conflict, such as a war, but about some kind of traceability back to whether or not the suppliers were approved by some body. IDK which organizations do this. Note that my description does not validate this phone and its traceability in particular. It may be just as backdoored and loopholed as the USDA definition of "organic" for all I know. However, I hope my explanation of "conflict-free resources" is useful as an ideal. And I hope this phone is actually taking marketshare from those manufactured with "conflictful" resources. On a personal note, I've been driving myself crazy trying to choose the best smartphone to buy right now. I don't particularly care about games and I know I want Android. So this phone might just be the choice for me.
- RRRA 13y agoIs it _that_ different from the general phone you can find on the market? I thought most manufacturer had conflict minerals policy now (maybe I got duped!) and though I applaud the idea of choosing your OS and wish more people would go that route, I'm still confused at how original this project really is...
- ASpring 13y agoMany companies don't make an effort to audit their supply chain to ensure their minerals are sourced ethically. For some reference as to which companies do the best, check: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-company-rankings http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-c...
- runjake 13y agoKeep in mind, this phone utilizes a Chinese MTK6589 processor and god knows what else for chips. Unless MTK is committing intellectual property violations, many games won't be optimized for this device, if that's your thing (it seems to be a lot of people's things). I'm really struggling to buy into Fairphone's vision when it appears they started with a cheap Chinese reference design with cheap Chinese parts manufactured in Chinese factories. It's a good start, though. Edit: Here's the block diagram for the CPU: http://www.cnx-software.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Mediatek_MT6589_Smartphone_Block_Diagram.png http://www.cnx-software.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Media... The GPU appears to use LPDDR2 memory, which causes it to falter in benchmarks against devices with the same GPU cores (the standard right now is LPDDR3 GPU mem)
- jensnockert 13y agoIt is a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 with an Imagination PowerVR 544 GPU, so, yes, it is a low power, low cost, low performance device. But why would you think MTK is comitting any intellectual property violations with the design?
- weego 13y agoBecause China is an easy target for suspicion and scorn. An outlook heavily pushed and perpetuated by our (western) media outlets.
- Synthpixel 13y agoTo be fair, there is global suspicion and scorn for Chinese manufacturing, including from Chinese people themselves.
- snogglethorpe 13y agoSeriously, some of the most cynical people I know concerning China, are Chinese. They know what's going on...
- Ntrails 13y ago
- davedx 13y agoTried to order one and the order form said my VAT number is invalid. :/
- lifeguard 13y agoDue to their web design choices I couldn't get much info from that page. No scroll bars, brilliant...
- ssalenik 13y agoThe screen seems to be 4.3", but does anyone have any idea about the other dimensions, weight, etc?
- 4ad 13y agoI applaud the effort, but in today's world you simply cannot compete with a slow CPU, a crippled GPU and a non-retina display. I am never, never, never going back to a non-retina screen. And it's 325 EUR. For just a little more I can get a Nexus 4 that has really good specs. I understand why the Nexus 4 is so cheap and how these guy cannot compete on price, but I'd be willing to pay, say, 600 EUR for a truly open device that has good specs than half of that for a really awful device. > Android OS (4.2 Jelly Bean): Special interface developed by Kwame Corporation Oh please, I'd have expected a project such as this to know better than not to screw up with stock Android experience.
- bnegreve 13y ago> you simply cannot compete with a slow CPU, a crippled GPU and a non-retina display. I am never, never, never going back to a non-retina screen. > And it's 325 EUR. For just a little more I can get a Nexus 4 that has really good specs. So, in fact you just don't put social values before the specs...
- TylerE 13y agoIs this really about social value? I would suggest that this is about social value as much as when all those movie stars bought Toyota Prii. If you want to help Africa, give money to Doctors Without Borders or UNICEF, don't buy a smartphone and and brag about it on twitter while sipping fair-trade coffee.
- eplanit 13y ago"If you want to help Africa, give money to Doctors Without Borders or UNICEF, don't buy a smartphone and and brag about it on twitter while sipping fair-trade coffee." Hear, hear TylerE -- well put. It reminds me of "Smug Alert": http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e02-smug-alert http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e02-smug-al...
- Schiphol 13y agoThis argument is, at least, misleading. It seems to imply that the best course of action from the social-value point of view is to give money to DWB and then go ahead and buy an iPhone with a clear conscience. The best course of action, of course, is to take the most socially-conscious option for every consumer choice. So, donate to DWB and buy a fairphone -- or, better, stick to your old phone.
- unicornporn 13y agoFirst as tragedy, then as farce... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g
- dnautics 13y agoThe video has the hidden presumption that capitalism is a problem and then goes on to prove that capitalism is a problem. It's circular logic at its ugliest. So what if some charity gets associated with profit? No one is stopping you from giving charity for its own sake, unattached to the profit motive, AND there is a marginally increased amount of good being done in the world, AND there is a marginally increased amount of awareness of important issues. What, exactly is the moral alternative that Zizek would have us live by if not trade? Marxism for example, which runs under the philosophy "from each according to their ability, to each according to their need" sounds great. But then, who decides what constitutes ability, and what constitutes need. And how can I make me and my friends that committee?
- skaevola 13y agoIt's not circular logic. Zizek is operating from the assumption that capitalism is oppressive, and arguing that "socially responsible" capitalism is equally as problematic. This criticism is aimed at leftists who dislike capitalism, but feel like it's okay to engage in "socially responsible" capitalism. It's completely legitimate to disagree with that assumption, just keep in mind that is not the point he's trying to argue in this video. He's also an unapologetic Marxist, so I suppose that'd be his alternative. You might start looking for answers to your questions in his books.
- dnautics 13y agoFair enough. Given that I'm a libertarian that thinks that "social responsibility" is a personal virtue, I'm clearly not his audience, since I have some pretty serious quarrels with his starting assumptions.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- dnautics 13y ago!! I just lost my phone and would preorder one, but I am in the US.
- s1kx 13y agoI really don't want to be the one overly-critic HN comment - but this color combination makes me cringe: http://i.imgur.com/tBWheTr.png http://i.imgur.com/tBWheTr.png
- realrocker 13y agoGood initiative. I can't seem to find any engineers in the team, am I missing something here?
- theorique 13y agoIs it wrong that when I saw the word "social", I imagined Twitter and Facebook?