Tag: Product or service launch

Last Call for Librem 5 Dev Kit: order yours before June 1st 2018

Purism has finalized the specifications for the Librem 5 development kit and will be placing all the component parts order and fabrication run the first week of June 2018. If you want to have early access to the hardware that will serve as the platform for the Librem 5 phone, you must place your dev kit order before June 1st, 2018. The price for the development kit is now $399, up from the early-bird pricing that was in effect during the campaign and until today. The dev kit is a small batch, “limited edition” product. After this batch, we are not planning for a second run (as the production of the phone itself will replace the dev kit in 2019).

Improved specifications

We decided to wait to get the latest i.MX 8M System On Module (SOM), rather than utilizing the older i.MX 6 SOM, therefore having the dev kit align nicely with the ending phone hardware specifications. This means the dev kits will begin delivery in the latter part of August for the earliest orders while fulfilling other dev kits in September. Choosing to wait for the i.MX 8M SOM also means our hardware design for the Librem 5 phone is still on target for January 2019 because we are pooling efforts rather than separating them as two distinct projects. Our dev kit choices and advancements benefit the Librem 5 phone investment and timeline.

The current dev kit specification is (subject to minor changes during purchasing):

  • i.MX 8M system on module (SOM) including at least 2GB LPDDR4 RAM and 16GB eMMC (NOTE: The Librem 5 phone will have greater RAM and storage)
  • M.2 low power WiFi+Bluetooth card
  • M.2 cellular baseband card for 3G and 4G networks
  • 5.7″ LCD touchscreen with a 18:9 (2:1) 720×1440 resolution
  • 1 camera module
  • 1 USB-C cable
  • Librem 5 dev kit PCB
    • Inertial 9-axis IMU sensor (accel, gyro, magnetometer)
    • GNSS (aka “GPS”)
    • Ethernet (for debugging and data transfer)
    • Mini-HDMI connector (for second screen)
    • Integrated mini speaker and microphone
    • 3.5mm audio jack with stereo output and microphone input
    • Vibration motor
    • Ambient light sensor
    • Proximity sensor
    • Slot for microSD
    • Slot for SIM card
    • Slot for smartcard
    • USB-C connector for USB data (host and client) and power supply
    • Radio and camera/mic hardware killswitches
    • Holder for optional 18650 Li-poly rechargeable battery with charging from mainboard (battery not required and not included!)

The dev kit will be the raw PCB without any outer case (in other words, don’t expect to use it as a phone to carry in your pocket!), but the physical setup will be stable enough so that it can be used by developers. As we finalize the designs and renders we will publish images.

Purism Integrates Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware with Trusted Platform Module, giving full control and digital privacy to laptop users

Librem devices add tamper-evident features to further protect users from cybersecurity threats by offering users the full control that no mainstream computer manufacturer ever has before

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February 27, 2018 — Purism, maker of security-focused laptops has announced today that they have successfully tested integration of Trammel Hudson’s Heads security firmware into their Trusted Platform Module (TPM)-enabled coreboot-running Librem laptops. This integration allows Librem laptop users to freely inspect the code, build and install it (and customize it) themselves, and own control of the secure boot process as Heads uses the TPM on the system to provide tamper-evidence. Read more

Trusted Platform Module now available as an add-on for Librem laptops

Over the past few months, we have been busy with a plethora of great projects being set afoot. We have been incrementally building a laptop inventory to ship from, we have been continuing the coreboot enablement work on our laptops, neutralizing—and then disabling—the Intel Management Engine, and launching our much awaited Librem phone campaign, which ended in a very motivating success—involving many great organizations part of the Free Software community, such as Matrix, KDE e.v., the GNOME Foundation, Nextcloud, and Monero.

It really has been a whirlwind of events, and this has been happening in parallel to us continuing our existing R&D and operations work, such as preparing a new batch of laptops—namely the much anticipated Librem 13 with i7 processor.

One particular security R&D project dear to our hearts has been the beginning of our collaboration with “Heads” developer Trammell Hudson, a project that has been quietly going on behind the scenes for the past few months. We are very pleased to announce today that we are making a positive step to make this effort within reach of early adopters, with the availability of a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) as an optional component for currently pending and near-future laptop orders. Read more

Purism Partners with Nextcloud to Build and Include End-to-End Encrypted Storage Products and Services

Purism Partners with Nextcloud to Build and Include End-to-End Encrypted Storage Products and Services

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 18, 2017 – Purism, maker of security-focused computing devices, is partnering with Nextcloud for a series of products and services. Nextcloud, author of a popular open-source self hosted, privacy-focused file sync and share solution, is looking to expand and become a default on Purism’s mobile and desktop computing products.

Purism, fresh off of successfully meeting their crowdfunding goal of $1.5 million to build and deliver the Librem 5, adds another partner in Nextcloud, fresh off the announcement of new end-to-end encryption upgrades in Nextcloud 13. This partnership adds to Purism’s roster of open-source partners that will aim to make the Librem 5 the most comprehensive free open-source smartphone to ever hit the market.

“Having Nextcloud applications built into the Librem 5, as well as default within PureOS, will help people have a convenient, ethical encrypted file storage service alongside other easy-to-use defaults” says Todd Weaver, Founder and CEO of Purism.

“Partnering with Purism gets our software directly into the hands of customers, making their lives easier with security and privacy protection built-in” says Jos Poortvliet, Co-founder and Head of Marketing at Nextcloud.

Purism plans to include Nextcloud in the Librem 5 phone, as well as within PureOS for its Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops. Additionally, Purism will be discussing with Nextcloud about a future Purism NAS that runs completely free software including Nextcloud and services.

“Nextcloud follows our strict beliefs in digital rights for people, and this partnership is a clear win for users by merging convenience and ethics together into simple products” adds Weaver.

About Nextcloud

Nextcloud offers the industry-leading fully open source solution for on-premise data handling and communication with an uncompromising focus on security and privacy and unprecedented scalability. Nextcloud brings together universal access to data with next-generation secure communication and collaboration capabilities under direct control of IT and integrated with existing compliant infrastructure. Nextcloud’s open, modular architecture, emphasis on security and advanced federation capabilities enable modern enterprises to leverage their existing assets within and across the borders of their organization.

About Purism

Purism is a Social Purpose Corporation devoted to bringing security, privacy, software freedom, and digital independence to everyone’s personal computing experience. With operations based in San Francisco (California) and around the world, Purism manufactures premium-quality laptops, tablets and phones, creating beautiful and powerful devices meant to protect users’ digital lives without requiring a compromise on ease of use. Purism designs and assembles its hardware in the United States, carefully selecting internationally sourced components to be privacy-respecting and fully Free-Software-compliant. Security and privacy-centric features come built-in with every product Purism makes, making security and privacy the simpler, logical choice for individuals and businesses.

Media Contact

Marie Williams, Coderella / Purism
+1 415-689-4029
pr@puri.sm
See also the Purism press room for additional tools and announcements.
 

Purism Collaborates with Cryptocurrency Monero to Enable Mobile Payments

Purism plans to utilize Monero’s privacy respecting platform to build a cash-like, digital payment system for Librem 5 smartphone users

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 13, 2017 — Purism, maker of security focused hardware and software, today announced a collaboration with Monero, the only secure decentralized currency that is private by default. Purism recently started accepting Monero for payments in its online store, and this is a continuation of the company’s support for the cryptocurrency.

As more central services like Equifax are hacked, exposing vulnerable user data in unprecedented ways that cause permanent damage to people’s privacy, it has become clear that centralized, individually identifiable, historic, and permanent digital footprints create a serious threat to digital privacy and human rights. Purism, on the heels of its successful smartphone crowdfunding campaign which has raised more than $1.5 million, is looking to address this threat by incorporating cryptocurrencies by default into its mobile phone design, beginning with Monero.

“We must proactively plan for and address digital rights issues in the here and now, because by the time we face them in the future the damage will be irreversible,” said Todd Weaver, Founder & CEO of Purism. “Collaboration with Monero allows us to offer users a much lower barrier to entry for leveraging the benefits of a cryptocurrency, and our aim is to make it incredibly simple to use your Librem 5 smartphone to make secure, cash-like payments that safeguard your private information.”

Monero’s cryptocurrency offers a fungible, decentralized, private currency that is created to be identical to centuries of physical world transaction processes, primarily that cash given for goods or services is a one-time, non-recorded, mutual transaction.

“Collaborating with Purism addresses a major pain point for Monero. The Librem 5 makes it easy for the average user to use Monero for real world transactions on a mobile platform. In addition, the Librem 5, by using Free Libre Open Source Software provides the user with the opportunity to verify to a very high level its end point security, privacy and decentralization. This is in sharp contrast to many mobile platforms where the user has to trust a proprietary implementation. I am very excited to see the Librem 5 planning to have Monero support by default,” Francisco Cabañas, Core Team Member, The Monero Project.

“Creating a future where a person can buy or sell digital goods or services and still respect their privacy, similarly to cash but on the Internet, is a long-time dream that we plan to make a reality,” says Weaver.

Integrating Monero into Purism’s Librem 5 smartphone as part of its default mobile payment system can solve the problems plaguing the online transaction space, removing banks from the transaction, removing all central storage of private user data, keeping transactions private between two parties, all backed by the strength of an immutable cryptographic blockchain ledger.

About Monero

The Monero Project is a grassroots, community-driven initiative that advocates for privacy on a global scale by producing several free libre open source software projects, with the flagship offering being Monero, a fungible and decentralized cryptocurrency. The important guiding philosophies of Monero are security (ensuring that users are able to trust Monero with their transactions, without risk of error or attack), privacy (ensuring that users can transact Monero without fear of coercion, censorship, or surveillance), and decentralization (ensuring that no single person or group can control the network or reverse transactions). The goal is to provide a level of fungibility and privacy that is analogous to that of cash for the digital world.

About Purism

Purism is a Social Purpose Corporation devoted to bringing security, privacy, software freedom, and digital independence to everyone’s personal computing experience. With operations based in San Francisco (California) and around the world, Purism manufactures premium-quality laptops, tablets and phones, creating beautiful and powerful devices meant to protect users’ digital lives without requiring a compromise on ease of use. Purism designs and assembles its hardware in the United States, carefully selecting internationally sourced components to be privacy-respecting and fully Free-Software-compliant. Security and privacy-centric features come built-in with every product Purism makes, making security and privacy the simpler, logical choice for individuals and businesses.

Media Contact

Marie Williams, Coderella / Purism
+1 415-689-4029
pr@puri.sm
See also the Purism press room for additional tools and announcements.
 

Purism Meets Its $1.5 Million Goal for Security Focused Librem 5 Smartphone One Week After Surging Past the 50% Mark

Self-hosted crowdfunder out grosses combined funding of Purism’s previous three campaigns

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 9, 2017 — Purism, the social purpose corporation which designs and produces popular privacy conscious hardware and software, has reached its $1.5 million crowdfunding goal to create the world’s first encrypted, open smartphone ecosystem that gives users complete device control, the Librem 5. After amassing incredible support from GNU/Linux enthusiasts and the Free/Open-Source community at large, forging partnerships with KDE and the GNOME Foundation in the process, Purism plans to use the remaining two weeks of the campaign to push for its stretch goals and start working on the next steps for bringing the phone to market.

Reaching the $1.5 million milestone weeks ahead of schedule enables Purism to accelerate the production of the physical product. The company plans to move into hardware production as soon as possible to assemble a developer kit as well as initiate building the base software platform, which will be publicly available and open to the developer community.

Breaking away from the iOS/Android OS duopoly, the Librem 5’s isolation-based security-focused PureOS will offer basic communication services: phone, email, messaging, voice, camera, browsing, and will expand after shipment and over time to update with more free software applications, through shared collaboration with the developer community (not “read-only open source”, but true free software collaboration). In addition to the ability to integrate with both GNOME and Plasma Mobile, the $599 Librem 5 will come equipped with hardware kill switches, a popular feature in Purism’s laptops, that allow for users to turn on and off the camera, microphone, WiFi and Bluetooth at will.

“We are thrilled that the community has supported us in making this goal a reality, and now comes the real work of bringing the Librem 5 to production and into the hands of our backers,” says Todd Weaver, Founder and CEO, Purism. “We believe we’ve demonstrated a growing interest in technologies that proactively protect and secure our digital identities, and are proud to be a part of catalyzing this movement.”

The impressive milestone has already generated celebration in the community:

About Purism

Purism is a Social Purpose Corporation devoted to bringing security, privacy, software freedom, and digital independence to everyone’s personal computing experience. With operations based in San Francisco (California) and around the world, Purism manufactures premium-quality laptops, tablets and phones, creating beautiful and powerful devices meant to protect users’ digital lives without requiring a compromise on ease of use. Purism designs and assembles its hardware in the United States, carefully selecting internationally sourced components to be privacy-respecting and fully Free-Software-compliant. Security and privacy-centric features come built-in with every product Purism makes, making security and privacy the simpler, logical choice for individuals and businesses.

Media Contact

Marie Williams, Coderella / Purism
+1 415-689-4029
pr@puri.sm
See also the Purism press room for additional tools and announcements.
 

Of Laptops and Phones

On Thursday, we have revealed our plans to build the world’s first encrypted, free/libre and open platform smartphone that will empower users to protect their digital identity in an increasingly unsafe mobile world. This naturally comes after having announced the general availability and inventory of our Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops in June this year. Our newest line of laptops are undergoing shipping after a short delay related to finishing our coreboot porting work (look forward to our technical update on this subject, to be published this Tuesday).

In preparation for the phone project, in addition to our regular work we have spent 18 months of R&D to test hardware specifications and engage with one of the largest phone fabricators, and have now reached the point where we are launching the crowdfunding campaign to gauge demand for the initial fabrication order and add the features most important to users.

Enabling the next generation of cable-cutters, we are making the Librem 5 the first ever Matrix-powered smartphone, natively using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication in its dialer and messaging app. We will also offer regular baseband functionality separated off from the CPU, and work towards the goal of freeing all components.

As increasing concern among Android and iOS users grow around personal data they give up through WiFi connections, application installations and basic location services, we hope to address those concerns by manufacturing phones that will operate with free/libre and open source software within the kernel, the operating system, and all software applications. We have built our reputation within the GNU/Linux community on creating laptops designed to specifically meet user concern about digital privacy, security, and software freedom.

Starting at $599—less than the cost of many popular smartphones—and featuring a bona fide GNU/Linux operating system (PureOS) instead of Android or iOS, the Librem 5 is intended to give users unprecedented control and security with features unavailable on any other mainstream smartphone, including:

  • Make encrypted calls that mask your phone number
  • Encrypt texts and emails
  • Set up VPN services for enhanced web browsing protection
  • Use the phone on any 2G/3G/4G, GSM, UMTS, or LTE network
  • Edit or develop on the source code, which will be made publicly available, as a community-oriented FLOSS project (not “read-only open-source”)
  • Run PureOS or most modern GNU+Linux distributions—not yet another Android-based phone!
  • Enable hardware kill switches for the camera, microphone, WiFi/Bluetooth and baseband

Visit the Librem 5 crowdfunding campaign on our online shop to back the phone project!

Additionally, we will soon be posting a progress update on our laptop enablement coreboot work. Stay tuned for Youness’ technical report on Tuesday!

Purism Unveils Plans to Build Librem 5, the World’s First Encrypted, Open Smartphone Ecosystem Giving Users Complete Device Control

Security focused laptop maker launches crowdfunding campaign to gauge market demand and feature requests to begin fabrication

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., August 24, 2017 — Purism, the social purpose corporation which designs and produces popular privacy conscious hardware and software, has revealed its plans to build the world’s first encrypted, open platform smartphone that will empower users to protect their digital identity in an increasingly unsafe mobile world. After 18 months of R&D to test hardware specifications and engage with one of the largest phone fabricators, Purism is opening a self-hosted crowdfunding campaign to gauge demand for the initial fabrication order and add the features most important to users.

The plans to build the Librem 5 smartphone come on the tails of Purism opening general availability and inventory for its increasingly popular Librem laptop line in June 2017, which includes the Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptop models and has seen 35 percent average monthly growth in the past year.

Partnering with open source communications project Matrix, Purism is making the Librem 5 the first ever Matrix-powered smartphone, natively using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication in its dialer and messaging app. Matrix is an open ecosystem for interoperable encrypted communication, supporting a rapidly growing community of over 2 million users for VoIP and Slack-style messaging.

As increasing concern among Android and iOS users grow around personal data they give up through WiFi connections, application installations and basic location services, Purism hopes to address those concerns by manufacturing phones that will operate with free/libre and open source software within the kernel, the operating system, and all software applications. Purism has built a strong reputation within the GNU/Linux community by delivering laptops designed to specifically meet user concern about digital privacy, chip-by-chip, line-by-line, to respect our common rights to privacy, security, and freedom.

Starting at $599—less than the cost of many popular smartphones—the Librem 5 will give users unprecedented control and security with features unavailable on any other mainstream smartphone, including:

  • Make encrypted calls that mask your phone number
  • Encrypt texts and emails
  • Set up VPN services for enhanced web browsing protection
  • Use the phone on any 2G/3G/4G, GSM, UMTS, or LTE network
  • Edit or develop on the source code, which will be made publicly available
  • Run PureOS or most GNU+Linux distributions
  • Enable hardware kill switches for the camera, microphone, WiFi/Bluetooth and baseband

“I believe digital rights should mirror physical rights. Our Librem 5 phone will get humanity closer to that goal by giving people choices about how they want to protect or share their digital identity,” said Todd Weaver, founder & CEO at Purism.

“Purism has been doing genuine and important work around making truly free yet desirable laptops. The communities I work with would very much like to see the same philosophy replicated in a phone that runs a GNOME based stack where community members can participate in equal terms and that ensures respect for the users’ privacy and security,” said Alberto Ruiz, GNOME & Fedora Laptop Enablement. “While pulling this off is hard, Todd seems like someone who sincerely cares about these issues and has a great track record executing. I think the efforts of Purism deserve the support of the free software community.”

A veteran of successful crowdfunding campaigns with more than $2.5 million raised over the past two years, Purism is self-hosting the Librem 5 crowdfunding effort on their web site. Users can back the project here: https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5

About Purism

Purism is a Social Purpose Corporation devoted to bringing security, privacy, software freedom, and digital independence to everyone’s personal computing experience. With operations based in San Francisco (California) and around the world, Purism manufactures premium-quality laptops, tablets and phones, creating beautiful and powerful devices meant to protect users’ digital lives without requiring a compromise on ease of use. Purism designs and assembles its hardware in the United States, carefully selecting internationally sourced components to be privacy-respecting and fully Free-Software-compliant. Security and privacy-centric features come built-in with every product Purism makes, making security and privacy the simpler, logical choice for individuals and businesses.

Media Contact

Marie Williams, Coderella / Purism
+1 415-689-4029
pr@puri.sm
See also the Purism press room for additional tools and announcements.
 

“Ship from inventory” has begun

With the new  batch of Librem 13 and Librem 15 this summer, we created our first ever “inventory” to shift from a purely build to order (preorders) model to a build to stock model. In other words, for the first time in our existence, we now have more laptops in stock than the amount of orders, which means new orders can be fulfilled in 7-10 days instead of taking months. We made a formal announcement about this a few days ago, and would like to take the time today to thank you, early supporters, for having made it possible for us to reach this milestone! As we finish working through our backlog and finalizing our coreboot port to correct some last minute bugs (more on this later), some users have already started receiving their Librems:

P.s.: got your Librem? Feel free to post a photo while mentioning us on Twitter, or in this forum thread!

At the forefront

These new models ship with coreboot preloaded and the newest version of PureOS—featuring Wayland and GNOME 3 by default. We are, in fact, the first independent hardware manufacturer of brand new laptops to do this.

We are also uniquely positioned to ship with Skylake processors immune to the hyperthreading issue recently disclosed by OCaml developers, independently of whether or not you run PureOS on your Librem, as we have bundled the fix and rebuilt our coreboot images for the current inventory being shipped out from this week forward (those who have already received their Librems last week will be able to apply a BIOS update to fix the issue on their machines). Think about this for a second: there are no other manufacturers of brand new laptops in the world who can provide such a timely BIOS update, while shipping, within 48 hours of a CPU issue being publicly disclosed by a third-party mailing list.

Get them while they’re hot

We are expecting to sell through this first inventory fairly quickly. For those who did not want to preorder and wanted to buy only when inventory becomes available, this is your chance—don’t miss it! Afterwards, we will manufacture increasingly frequent batches until we reach cruising speed and have a tightly controlled right-on-time rolling inventory to ship from.

Inventory shipping in June 2017: case designs and final assembly

For the past few weeks, the new Librem 13 and 15 have been undergoing stage 1 production with our case modifications and silkscreening. We had some back and forth between us and the printer to finally have clearly identified killswitches:

…and our certification marks and model identification on the underside:

At first the screenprinters had trouble with the font we’re using (as you can see above, if you have a keen eye), but we got that corrected as you can see further below. We were not so lucky with the keyboard’s “Purism logo” key as the aspect ratio was squashed a little bit by the backlit keyboard supplier and we found out too late, but at this stage the #1 priority is getting these machines delivered to you as fast as possible, so we’re hoping you don’t mind the Purism rectangle logo being in “ultra-wide” cinema format just this once 😉

As the laptops are now at stage 2 production, we have some teaser photos of the completed case work. These were shot a bit hurriedly, the lighting and compression is not flattering, but this at least provides a rough idea. We’ll take the time to shoot proper studio photos when the first new wave of shipments is mailed out in June.

Here is what the underside of the Librem 13 looks like:

Here are the silkscreened killswitch labels:

Note: the IPS display panels we source for the Librems are matte (as they should be!) The reason why the screen in the picture above seems reflective is that a glossy protective film is applied to protect the laptops during shipping.

For the curious among you, here is a bare view of the case’s interior, with only the multitouch trackpad and backlit keyboard (underneath the black electrical isolating layer) installed:

With this, we are confident that we will be able to begin shipping out finalized units to customers in roughly two weeks. Afterwards, we will have stock on hand allowing new orders to be fulfilled within a week. If you were reluctant to preorder and were were waiting for the presence of rapidly-shipping stock to purchase a Librem, this will be a deal changer for you.