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Planned Sequel To Fairphone Promises an Ethical, Repairable Phone

Posted by Soulskill on from the remember-when-phones-didn't-involve-ethics dept.

New submitter sackvillian writes: An article in Wired reports on the ongoing development of the Fairphone 2, planned for European release in September. The phone is the follow-up to the Indiegogo-funded original that inevitably had room for improvement. The manufacturers promise a modular phone with an emphasis on repairability and expandability, with otherwise respectable specs (Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2GB RAM, Dual SIM, 8MP camera). It runs on a customized Android 5.1. So, the inevitable question arises — would you be willing to sacrifice some performance (and pay a significant premium) for a phone that's repairable, moddable, and ethical?

10 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. I would by tmosley · · Score: 2

    As long as you can easily replace the screen. WAAYYYYYY too easy to break. Might also depend on the cost of the replacement parts. If a screen is $100, I'd rather just stick with a low end phone that is "good enough" for what I use it for, and just buy another one if it breaks.

  2. That's bogus. Why should it cost more? by fustakrakich · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is the whole scam behind 'ethical' products. They always claim there's a price premium. It's bullshit.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:That's bogus. Why should it cost more? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There are presumably people who use 'ethical' as a scam, by just claiming to be, charging more, and sourcing straight from the same sweatshops as everybody else, then pocketing the difference; but why are you so baffled by the idea that 'ethical' would cost more?

      A wide variety of cost-minimization strategies involve doing things that most non-randroids, if pressed on the matter, would concede are 'unethical'. Assorted strategies for flogging more work out of the peons, various schemes for misrepresenting the actual wage being offered, or simply withholding what you can get away with withholding. Cutting corners on tedious and productivity sapping 'occupational safety' nonsense, cheap 'n cheerful disposal of waste products, etc.

      If you are going to forbid yourself the unethical; but effective, cost reduction strategies, what exactly do you think is going to happen?

    2. Re:That's bogus. Why should it cost more? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      There are presumably people who use 'ethical' as a scam, by just claiming to be, charging more, and sourcing straight from the same sweatshops as everybody else, then pocketing the difference; but why are you so baffled by the idea that 'ethical' would cost more?

      Because we keep seeing reports that say that fair labor conditions would add only a buck or two to the cost of these products, but every time someone says they're being the good guys, they seem to want hundreds of dollars for it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:That's bogus. Why should it cost more? by ssam · · Score: 4, Informative

      A chunk of the extra cost comes from small volume production. But anyway they are transparent about all the costs https://www.fairphone.com/proj...

  3. Fuck ethical by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But a phone that I can turn into something I want, remove everything I don't and don't have to throw away just 'cause some wearing part experiences its expected demise?

    Sounds like something I'd want.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  4. Phones are all the same... by gatzke · · Score: 4, Informative

    Most phones these days are all the same. Widescreen display, touch interface. This makes sense.

    I hope we get to a point where you could have a keyboard, a giant battery, different aspect ratio. Every phone now looks like a iPhone (which copied my HTC One m7).

    And BTW, this may be my last comment on /. since they got rid of the comments text under the summary, cut polls from the sidebar, and forced Video Bytes into the feed. These changes should never have been forced onto the community. Some could have been made user options. Very sad day for me thinking about saying goodbye for reals after almost 20 years. :-(

    1. Re:Phones are all the same... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      And BTW, this may be my last comment on /. since they got rid of the comments text under the summary

      Why does my Slashdot look exactly the same as it looked six months ago? I've been reading the outraged comments and I still see comments under the summary as always.

      Did someone skip me when Slashdot pushed out the update?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  5. Phone components by gurps_npc · · Score: 2

    1: radio 2: screen 3: Camera/flash 4: battery: 5: computer 6:Case - speakers, connectors, ancillary things. All of these have different lifespans. The computer is something most of us want to upgrade yearly. The rest is dependent on damage/random time. I would pay 10% more to get something that let me easily replace any one of these 5 things.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
  6. I wonder how ethical the OS is by hackertourist · · Score: 2

    The main thing that keeps me from buying a smartphone is that I have two choices: pay through the nose or accept an OS made by an advertising company. If these guys find a way to decrapify Android, I'm in.