A smartphone with a conscience
Over at The Verge, they have reviewed the Fairphone 2. Designed for modular updates in mind, the Fairphone 2 comes ‘disassembled’, so that you have to put it together, and future hardware updates or repairs that has to be done should be a simple slot-in. The Fairphone 2 also proudly states that it uses only conflict-free minerals. But is it worth its price?
This ethics statement is weighed against the fact that the Fairphone 2 is not flagship technology. It’s good, yes, but in the developed smartphone markets where the Fairphone’s cost will be palatable (it’s a pricey £425 in the UK, where it’s provided by The Phone Co-op, or around $596), it’s going up against handsets that represent the cutting-edge of industrial design. They’re quicker and thinner, with better screens and better cameras. Can Fairphone win by sticking to the high road?
Once you put the Fairphone 2 together, the first thing you notice is how big it is. It’s 11 millimeters thick, and its plastic case is as squared off as an ‘80s hatchback. The 5-inch full HD display is sharp and bright, with a pixel density of 446ppi, but it also has sizable bezels. It’s comfortable enough to hold, but a noticeable presence in your pocket, especially if you’re used to flagship devices. The plastic body is also less classy than most metal-build devices, although I personally like how it feels. It’s kind of tough! Resilient! And the translucent cases are also pretty cool.
More importantly, the bulk makes sense. Designing a phone that’s easily repairable means things can’t be glued together — you have to make space for things like screws and clips that allow you to remove and replace components. The company also claims that the rear of the phone is basically a case in its own right, offering built-in protection. I agree with them on this score. Partly because putting a case on the Fairphone 2 would give it the approximate thickness of a paperback novel, but also because I dropped the phone a few times while testing it (first by accident, then on purpose) and it came away little more than some scuffed plastic.
Read more here.
