

Fairphone: Android phone that puts social values first - shared4you
http://www.fairphone.com
Fairphone is manufactured using raw materials from conflict-free regions in Africa (D.R. Congo).<p>A completely open source, rooted, hardware and software on which you can also install FirefoxOS and UbuntuOS too.
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runjake
Keep 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/Media...](http://www.cnx-software.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/Mediatek_MT6589_Smartphone_Block_Diagram.png)

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
It 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
Because China is an easy target for suspicion and scorn. An outlook heavily
pushed and perpetuated by our (western) media outlets.

~~~
Synthpixel
To be fair, there is global suspicion and scorn for Chinese manufacturing,
including from Chinese people themselves.

~~~
snogglethorpe
Seriously, some of the most cynical people I know concerning China, are
Chinese. They know what's going on...

------
4ad
I 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
> _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
Is 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
"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-
al...](http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e02-smug-alert)

------
shared4you
Fairphone 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>)

~~~
dubcanada
That'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
It means that the funds used for buying the resources don't fund wars.

~~~
dnautics
this 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
Good point. Maybe I should say that the resources aren't directly nor
officially used to fund wars.

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lifeguard
Due to their web design choices I couldn't get much info from that page. No
scroll bars, brilliant...

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RRRA
Is 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
Many 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-c...](http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-
company-rankings)

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vec
325 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
It's a huge premium. This would be like a $20 phone if Samsung made it.

~~~
idupree
Tell me where I can get a phone like that for $20 without a contract?

~~~
TylerE
Well, it's $50, but here:

[http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Virgin+Mobile+-+PCD+Chaser+No-
Co...](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Virgin+Mobile+-+PCD+Chaser+No-
Contract+Mobile+Phone+-+Black/4245229.p?id=1218471854131&skuId=4245229)

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s1kx
I 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>

------
unicornporn
First as tragedy, then as farce...
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g>

~~~
dnautics
The 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
It'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
Fair 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.

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themstheones
That's a great bargain for this phone even if you don't care about the world
or society and the environment and whatnot.

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ssalenik
The screen seems to be 4.3", but does anyone have any idea about the other
dimensions, weight, etc?

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adlpz
Looks nice, I'd love to see a real world prototype instead of a render,
though.

~~~
shared4you
Agreed. You can catch a glimpse of the real phone at the production shop,
around 00:50s: <http://vimeo.com/66409578>

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parennoob
I 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
Unfortunately 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
Not 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.

~~~
mitch3000
I 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
The same reason Toyota made the Prius look like a wedge. Had nothing to do
with aerodynamics.

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realrocker
Good initiative. I can't seem to find any engineers in the team, am I missing
something here?

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theorique
Is it wrong that when I saw the word "social", I imagined Twitter and
Facebook?

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davedx
Tried to order one and the order form said my VAT number is invalid. :/

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dnautics
!! I just lost my phone and would preorder one, but I am in the US.

