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getting a new replicant phone manufactured?

Added by til sam over 5 years ago

Replicant crew please answer my post.

Is it correct that the reason why no new replicant phone gets available is, that replicant
cannot find a phone which has the required modem separation?

If the replicant crew were to be told, you may select among all pieces of phone
hardware which is available would the replicant then be able to compose
a replicant compatible phone which a manufacturer could then make?

If such phone can be composed then I will email
http://www.hmdglobal.com/
and suggest them a crowd funding of a new replicant phone. Thanks.


Replies (10)

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by Joonas Kylmälä over 5 years ago

The issue is not that there aren't any phones but just the lack of people with time on their hands. Now there is just a few developers working on the project. Though, it would be nice to have a Replicant phone with integrated wifi some day so if someone could design and manufacture a phone with such a wifi chip that works without non-free firmware it would be super. Have you researched if there are any phones that would already be compatible?

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by Fil Lupin over 5 years ago

I would be pleased if I could use a phone fair to the workers and the planet. The FairPhone could be a good candidate then, if it wanted to show some respect to privacy.
However, it seems to me that some devices produced with a philosophy which allow both modem separation AND hardware with libre drivers, then it would make it easy to port replicant on a recent device. Am I wrong?

I specify that I am not core developper so perhaps I don't get it. :)

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by til sam over 5 years ago

I want to applaud you for making replicant. If no replicant I would not have a fdroid phone. At the same time we must be able to speak to each other in a direct manner. My point of view is, if we get no new replicant phone replicant will vanish. You cannot expect people to accept the current
range of replicant phones.

not that there aren't any phones but just the lack of people

Then I have misunderstood. You say it is not a problem to select a phone
which is on the market today and get replicant on it? Assuming funds are present. Then the replicant
crew has to answer me, why has no crowd funding been undertaken? A crowd funding forces people to
make a choice. Do I want a new replicant phone? If a new replicant phone crowd funding is not
successfully then free software people know who is to blame.

hmd are nokia people and should know how to build a phone.
hmd could build a phone made for replicant users. Maybe add mechanical switches for all
or some of the phone's devices, microphone, camera, modem, battery, wifi and gps.
Or hmd could build an android phone for people in general but make sure it is
replicant compatible.

Have you researched

No. I think we should look out for smaller manufacturers because maybe they can
provide the new replicant phone we want.

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by Kurtis Hanna over 5 years ago

To better answer your question, can you please articulate why you believe the Replicant project can't expect people to accept the current range of supported phones?

Also, I do want to point out that the Replicant project does accept funds from "the crowd" already.

The FSF supports the work of Replicant through its Working Together for Free Software fund. You can donate via check, money order, credit/debit card, or wire transfer. Here's a direct link to the FSF's Replicant donation page: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=19

As you can also see on that FSF page, you can also donate to Replicant by using Bitcoin at this wallet address: 13tgjejUJ6NtQVX9HvKz8svdcuWPNwgr5T

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by til sam over 5 years ago

I want to get my question back on track. Can the replicant crew compose a new
replicant compatible phone from devices on the market?

why you believe the Replicant project can't expect people to accept the current range of supported phones

The roundabout is starting because I have written this before. How many are willingly to get a second hand phone should they decide they want a replicant phone? It appears you believe if people want a
replicant phone they will accept any phone as long it can run replicant. I think there are
people who say, I want a replicant phone. When they discover which replicant compatible phones are
available they say no I am not getting a second hand phone. Replicant is not that important.
That is why I want people to be able to buy a new replicant compatible phone.

Replicant project does accept funds

You misread my crowd funding suggestion. I want a crowd funding about a new replicant phone.
Let us say the replicant crew says they can make a given phone, which sells for 300usd,
replicant compatible. Porting it would cost 10000usd. Then replicant would initiate a
crowd funding saying if we get 10000usd you get a replicant system which can get
installed on the selected phone.

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by Fil Bergamo over 5 years ago

til sam wrote:

I want to get my question back on track. Can the replicant crew compose a new
replicant compatible phone from devices on the market?

Research is open for everyone about existing devices that Replicant can be ported to.
The current state of the knoledge is covered in the wiki (again.. this is what I mean when I say most answers in the forum remain unanswered because they already find their answer in the wiki..)
Any candidate device must comply with certain technical requisites that are clearly documented in the wiki.

I think there are people who say, I want a replicant phone. When they discover which replicant compatible phones are
available they say no I am not getting a second hand phone. Replicant is not that important.

It's up to every user to chose freedom rather than proprietary functionality.
Unfortunately we still live in times where some features are incompatible with freedom. This is regrettable. But turning away doesn't change things.
It's not that we target old phones because we want to.
The fact is that Replican works on some older phones because they are the only known devices that do have a certain level of guarantee about privacy and at the same time have a good-enough level of useability without proprietary bits.
Again, this is unfortunate. But this is the maximum level-of-freedom-over-level-of-features we currently can afford on mobile devices.

That is why I want people to be able to buy a new replicant compatible phone.

I bet we all want that.

You misread my crowd funding suggestion. I want a crowd funding about a new replicant phone.
Let us say the replicant crew says they can make a given phone, which sells for 300usd,
replicant compatible. Porting it would cost 10000usd. Then replicant would initiate a
crowd funding saying if we get 10000usd you get a replicant system which can get
installed on the selected phone.

You missed Kurt's reply to your suggestion. We already have a mean of financing Replicant ports to existing phones, and it is the one Kurt pointed you to.
But the point is that money is worth nothing if nobody has both time and skills to accomplish the task.
Unfortunate, but true.

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by til sam over 5 years ago

The fact is that Replican works on some older phones because they are the only known devices that do have a certain level of guarantee about privacy and at the same time have a good-enough level of useability without proprietary bits.

There could be a phone in the shops which adhere to replicant's technical requirements but
we do not know about it?

Because of lack of money replicant does not look for potential new replicant compatible phones?

Any candidate device must comply with certain technical requisites that are clearly documented in the wiki.

Can you point me to them? If hmd should show interest in manufacturing a new replicant compatible
phone would the replicant crew then be interested in cooperating with hmd? If so then I
will write hmd and direct them to the technical requirements. Then hmd can determine if hmd has
fit hardware.

It's up to every user to chose freedom rather than proprietary functionality.

That is my way or the high way thinking. Replicant should not step back from the free
software standing. At the same time replicant should be obliged to make it easy for people
to become replicant users. For that halfway attractive software and phones are required.
I want many people to have replicant phones. So should you.

About free software people I like to run the what if scenario because it seems free
software people do not deal with it.
What if 50 million people left fb and turned to mastodon? How should it be
financed?
If mastodon would be unable to absorb all these people then mastodon
is not a viable free software option.

What if 3 million people wanted a replicant phone? Are they for sale? No. Then replicant
is not a viable option regarding free software. If there was a new replicant compatible
phone we know the manufacturer would be eager to meet the demands.

You missed Kurt's reply

No, I did not.
What I suggested is a crowd funding about a selected new replicant phone. Such that payers
know what phone they get.

Research is open for everyone

No. A lot of people are not clever enough. I was not able to install replicant without
replicant people telling me how.

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by Fil Lupin over 5 years ago

Ok, perhaps the point is that the informations are already on the website but gathering them in a single webpage could help to contact professionnals.

I doubt someone will especially design a phone depending on the replicant's webpage. However, it is possible that in the process, a company founding the replicant's webpage could make its device compatible if it does not cost them too much. It means if the needs are obvious and accessible and support replicant does not need to take an opposite direction.

I guess a single page containing an abstract of the needs for a phone to install Replicant could be very useful and be a first step for a professionnal to understand the philosophy. A mail address allowing to contact someone would be ideal (or the forum, the mailing list could be better but it needs a subscription and is not so easy than a mail).

This webpage could include some pointers to more detailed webpage allowing non technical staff to forward link to their engineers.

Do you think something like this already exists, or almost exists which would allow to just have to complete it with a few informations?

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by til sam over 5 years ago

especially design a phone

I agree. Hmd's situation is different. That is why we should contact hmd. I think it will be
easier for hmd to sell a phone nobody else will make.

company founding the replicant's webpage

No, that is not realistic. No company will get aware of replicant by themselves. We have
to inform them. To avoid informing hmd incompletely I asked you to give me the links on
replicant's homepage I should tell hmd.

professionnal to understand the philosophy.

Irrelevant for a phone manufacturer. Their interest is, how many phones can our company
sell? A successful crowd funding will tell a given manufacturer there is a market. A
failed crowd funding will tell free software people that to few want the replicant
phone.

This webpage could include some pointers to more detailed

The website should be made. Because if we contact a phone manufacturer we are making it easier
for him to get informed.

Getting a new replicant phone build has a small success rate. It should not
stop us from trying. What if the phone gets manufactured and we manage to get Snowden
to test it? If he concludes the replicant phone is the best option about privacy
and security and puts that on twitter having 3 million followers. How many
people will then buy the phone? We should get creative regarding
promoting a new replicant phone. There is no reason for promoting the replicant
phones which are available now.

RE: getting a new replicant phone manufactured? - Added by til sam over 5 years ago

I emailed hmd.
I explained to them that there are people who will not use android or iphones. They will only
accept a replicant phone.

I asked hmd to start selling a replicant compatible phone. Or maybe start a
crowd funding about a replicant phone.

Hmd answered that my email was forwarded to the proper department in hmd and I will
receive an email should hmd take interest in providing a replicant compatible phone.

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