Purism Librem 5 Dev Kit is shipping

I backed this project in June this year:

http://bkhome.org/news/201806/librem-5-an-open-source-linux-phone.html

I did think that their timeline was incredibly optimistic, which it has turned out to be, too optimistic, that is.

I have received an email, my Dev Kit is on its way. Here is their blog post announcing the shipping:

https://puri.sm/posts/2018-devkits-are-shipping/

There is a worry here, they are still on a tight timeline, and have shipped the Dev Kits despite not having confirmed that all of its components actually work -- or so I gather, from reading status information that they have emailed to me.

If the issues turn out to be software related, and not hardware faults, then OK. A lot of very bright people will be getting these kits, so we can hope that the issues will get resolved.

One thing, the touch screen is not yet working. Of course, it is essential for that to be functional, and it is a bit of a concern that they have shipped the kit before getting that working.

After the Sentio Superbook debacle, I am wary. But, will stay in a positive frame of mind, as there will be a few hundred very knowledgeable guys playing with this kit.

I haven't ordered the phone yet. Actually, my main interest is in the Dev Kit itself, as it has all the components of a smartphone, with development software, so is a great way to become familiar with programming these interfaces.

Tags: tech