Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

fiercewireless.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 101 posts

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#11

Post by gue5t »

The Essential phone does nothing fundamentally new. The Librem 5, on the other hand, will if it gets crowdfunded: it'll be the first phone to not lock its users into the shitty app store paradigm where you rely on the manufacturer for a max of 2-3 years of support/security-updates while renting siloed closed-source programs that sell your usage data and show you ads. The Librem 5 will run regular Linux that keeps working until the hardware falls apart (and then some), that can be updated by anyone, not just the manufacturer, will have its kernel kept up-to-date via efforts of the entire community of Linux kernel developers, and will run applications that aren't rented and that respect their users.

The Librem 5 will have open-source drivers and a non-Android operating system running a mainline Linux kernel (atop which Android compatibility is trivial if folks want to run that).

Lots of HN readers have tech jobs and can afford to make history by crowdfunding: https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#12

Post by khazhoux »

X86BSD wrote: post #5
Analemma_ wrote: post #2

Trying to break in to the high end of the smartphone market as a newcomer is a mistake. That's Apple and Samsung's territory, and they have the muscle to fight you intensely for it. The Chinese manufacturers have the better idea: start with cheap phones, build a user base, and move up. In particular, the camera is the ace in the hole that the established players have. People spending $700 on a phone expect a top-notc…

Keep in mind Apple was in the same position before the iPhone. Remember what palm said about apple becoming a player in the mobile space? "PC guys are not just going to walk in here and.." And yet they did. How about the phone just sucks? And essential just really has no idea what people want?

Palm got upended because their product was not actually that great. It solved a need, for sure, but the core quality was not there.

What is iPhone bad at? Where's the entry point for a disruptor?

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#13

Post by 5ilv3r »

gue5t wrote: post #11

The Essential phone does nothing fundamentally new. The Librem 5, on the other hand, will if it gets crowdfunded: it'll be the first phone to not lock its users into the shitty app store paradigm where you rely on the manufacturer for a max of 2-3 years of support/security-updates while renting siloed closed-source programs that sell your usage data and show you ads. The Librem 5 will run regular Linux that keeps wor…

I would but I can't tell if it makes phone calls or not. They only talk about "matrix", which sounds like some kind of tor phone thing.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#14

Post by jakef »

Who would buy this thing? The phone doesn't look to be anything special, the name makes it sound low-end, there's zero brand recognition. The magnetic wireless accessory thing is irrelevant to vast majority of consumers, especially since Bluetooth has already solved that problem and works with any device.

I can't imagine a scenario where someone is looking to buy a phone in the ~$700 range and chooses this.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#15

Post by gue5t »

5ilv3r wrote: post #13
gue5t wrote: post #11

The Essential phone does nothing fundamentally new. The Librem 5, on the other hand, will if it gets crowdfunded: it'll be the first phone to not lock its users into the shitty app store paradigm where you rely on the manufacturer for a max of 2-3 years of support/security-updates while renting siloed closed-source programs that sell your usage data and show you ads. The Librem 5 will run regular Linux that keeps wor…

I would but I can't tell if it makes phone calls or not. They only talk about "matrix", which sounds like some kind of tor phone thing.

The copy could state more explicitly that it does work as a regular phone with your number and SIM, but it is explained under the section "A No-Carrier Phone?":

The Librem 5 can be used in any of three ways:

- With a cellular carrier provided phone number, data plan, and WiFi

- With a cellular carrier data plan, and WiFi

- With no carrier, and using only WiFi

WiFi calling and VoIP calling will be able to be provided in WiFi or data plan modes. We expect to offer call-out, and call-in with phone numbers in all of these plans as well. If you still require a “traditional” phone number through a carrier and want to make unencrypted phone calls or messaging, it will be an option you can choose, but is not required (we recommend avoiding unencrypted phone calls).

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#17

Post by metalliqaz »

gue5t wrote: post #11

The Essential phone does nothing fundamentally new. The Librem 5, on the other hand, will if it gets crowdfunded: it'll be the first phone to not lock its users into the shitty app store paradigm where you rely on the manufacturer for a max of 2-3 years of support/security-updates while renting siloed closed-source programs that sell your usage data and show you ads. The Librem 5 will run regular Linux that keeps wor…

But can it run smooth full-screen YouTube?

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#18

Post by 201709User »

jakef wrote: post #14

Who would buy this thing? The phone doesn't look to be anything special, the name makes it sound low-end, there's zero brand recognition. The magnetic wireless accessory thing is irrelevant to vast majority of consumers, especially since Bluetooth has already solved that problem and works with any device. I can't imagine a scenario where someone is looking to buy a phone in the ~$700 range and chooses this.

Even Google bought HTC instead.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#19

Post by gue5t »

metalliqaz wrote: post #17
gue5t wrote: post #11

The Essential phone does nothing fundamentally new. The Librem 5, on the other hand, will if it gets crowdfunded: it'll be the first phone to not lock its users into the shitty app store paradigm where you rely on the manufacturer for a max of 2-3 years of support/security-updates while renting siloed closed-source programs that sell your usage data and show you ads. The Librem 5 will run regular Linux that keeps wor…

But can it run smooth full-screen YouTube?

If you have trouble with that on your current phone, try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.xyz.mpv which is the Android port of mpv, successor to mplayer/mplayer2 and what I use on every one of my machines to play smooth full-screen video from youtube and everywhere else.
Post reply on HN