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by charcircuit 1573 days ago
>[0]

They say the delays stem from their choice of SoC. They decided to use i.MX 8M in 2018. They had time to order the CPUs.

>there were only two SoC's that Purism could use (i.MX 6 or i.MX 8M) that could run on 100% free software and fit within the power limitations of a phone

This isn't true as it requires proprietary software for things such as doing memory training on boot.

>But today delays are due to the supply chain, not Purism.

Despite the uncertainty in the supply chain Purism continues to take orders even if it may not be possible to fulfill these orders.
2 comments
fsflover 1573 days ago
> This isn't true as it requires proprietary software for things such as doing memory training on boot.

https://puri.sm/posts/librem5-solving-the-first-fsf-ryf-hurd...

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charcircuit 1572 days ago
In the article they describe how they are running the proprietary memory training software on the M4 core in the i.MX 8 chip.

Running proprietary code on the i.MX 8 chip means that it is not 100% running on free software.

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fsflover 1572 days ago
I'm no expert but probably yes. More details: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Freque...

It's however the most free phone as far as I know.

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hansel_der 1573 days ago
> Despite the uncertainty in the supply chain Purism continues to take orders even if it may not be possible to fulfill these orders.

not taking new orders (and money) would be a very bad sign for investors, no?

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charcircuit 1572 days ago
The large backlog of orders is a big red flag for the product to investors. I don't think continuing to take money is as big of a signal. Having a big backlog means that competitors who can actually deliver a product are going to be making more sales. It's a giant competitive advantage to be able to buy a phone and receive it in a couple days compared to buying a phone and receiving it in a couple years. For the fast moving technology space of phones with every year phones get delayed the product's hardware will become more and more outdated making the competitors look better.

To me keeping the orders, doubling the price, and trying not to give out refunds makes me think Purism has serious money issues.

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