Alternatives to FP3? (Why I won't buy a FP3 and am hoping for a smaller FP4)

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Dear Fairphone community,

ever since I had the pleasure to be invited to the FP3 official release, I have been wondering what to do when my FP2 dies. I have one single absolutely non-negotiable criterion for a phone, and sadly, FP3 does not meet it:
A mobile phone must fit in my Jeans front pockets. The FP2 already exposed many of my Jeans to excessive wear & tear, in effect breaking them faster, and having a negative impact on the environment.
Sadly, the FP3 was designed to be even longer, therefore making it a big no-no for me, even though I would like to buy another Fairphone.

So, this brings me to my question: Is there any phone on the market that

  1. is approximately of the dimensions of a FP1 (<= FP2)
  2. allows me to install any OS & is working acceptably well with LineageOS or Sailfish?
    (= no cloud services, no preinstalled spyware)
  3. is not by a company located in the united states?

If I weren’t concerned about 3), I’d go for a Librem 5, and this may actually be my only true option (even though I haven’t even checked the dimensions of the Librem 5 and it might also be too large)… But I am not happy with it :confused:

All suggestions are welcome. I’ll eventually need a working phone :smiley:

And @Fairphone: please design a smaller phone next time. If people want a bigger display, tell them to go buy a tablet computer.

Maybe that would be an idea? Fairphone and Fairtablet? That way you can satisfy the requests for bigger displays without ruining the phone?

Kind regards
aral-matrix

Edit: Just checked Librem 5 specs. Screen at 5.7" is a tiny bit bigger than FP3 :frowning:

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I respectfully disagree. I never put my phone in any Jeans pockets and I like the FP3 screen size a lot. Go get yourself baggy trousers :wink:

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There’s people who do not choose their fashion style based on the “cargo room” needs of their phone :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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But there are also people, who do not chose their phone based on their fashion style / tiny space of their jeans-pockets. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Final “solution” - already reached in other threads in this forum:
As long as Fairphone is not offering a product range like Samsung and the like, their will not be a phone for every need. One phone alone will never be able to satisfy everyone.

And a tiny smart-aleck tip from me. Carriyng the phone in the front-pocket (or back-pocket) of your jeans is not the best way to carry a smartphone. Especially repairable, easy to open phones like the Fairphones tend to pick up even more dust and grizzle this way. Not to mention the bending and twisting of the phone with your every movement, that is quite destructive to the electronic parts and connections. If you experience some troubles with your modules of the FP2, this might be something you want to look into. :grin:

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There are a lot of solutions to the problem you mentioned, including solutions which involve a FP3.

The new Motorola Razr! Only 1500 EUR. Or a small dumbphone. The rest does not fit in your trouser pockets. Never mind the fact many of these pockets contain a kind of metal which… well, not good for screen/camera. If you mean back pockets, see bendgate.

You could use a pouch such as this one [1]. Together with a belt, it should suffice.

Another option is indeed baggy trousers.

Where is PinePhone located?

[1] 5,5 inch Outdoor EDC Tactical Molle Taillezakken Pack Mannen Cell Telefoon Hoes Portemonnee Zak Houder Voor iphone 8 Sport Camping Wandelen Uitverkoop - Banggood Nederlands sold out-arrival notice-arrival notice

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@JeroenH: there was a phone which fulfilled almost all the needs I had: Fairphone 1 :slight_smile: Now if that was running on a free OS, it’d be perfect.

to both of the last comments: To me personally, a phone that can not be carried in the pants pockets is not a mobile phone. If I have to carry an extra container around to transport the phone, it becomes impractical. Other people may have different approaches, but this is why I am asking for options…

The Pinephone and the other products look really interesting… Unfortunately, also based in California (not apparent from the website): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Microsystems

Thanks for the tip either way!

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Long shot, but you could try a second-hand Sony XZ1 compact, as it’s the most recent phone (Q4 2017) that is only marginally larger than the FP1 that comes to mind. The newer XZ2 compact already adds an extra 6 mm in height.

dim (mm) FP1 XZ1c FP2
height 126 129 143
width 63.5 65 73
thickness 10 9.3 11

Not sure about the first part, but there is an unofficial lineage port on XDA.

Sony is headquartered in Japan, but they are also active in the US market.

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You should just get a jacket like the kid in this old Atari ad has!

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This is only half-jokingly but… what are pockets? They’re almost always fake in women’s fashion.

More seriously, while I understand that the bigger screen can be annoying for some, I personally love the device as it is and wouldn’t want the screen to be smaller and most of the market seems to agree.

My workaround to the pockets issue is a smartwatch (in my case an LG G Watch running AsteroidOS, but anything will do) so you can see your notifications on your arm and don’t need to constantly reach for your phone to check your notifications.

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Or you deny the constant attention grab and you …

:slight_smile: .

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5 posts were split to a new topic: Looking for a Pebble smartwatch alternative/replacement

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Back To Topic:

Galaxy S7: https://e.foundation/e-pre-installed-refurbished-smartphones/

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Hi @aral-matrix,
I imagine you’re probably fed up with smart-alec replies, but honestly I do think the smart money is on buying jeans which fit around your FP3, and not a phone which fits in your jeans. You can even get your jeans’ pockets adjusted to give enough space for your FP3:

  1. Find comfy, attractive, fairtrade and organic cotton jeans
  2. Take to your local tailor and pay them a few euros to make the pockets bigger

Overall cost of ownership of jeans actually reduces because you’re not wearing out jeans so fast.

If you’re really intent on buying a non-FP3 smartphone to replace your FP2 then I suggest using phonedb.net to search for phones which meet your size requirements. Then buy secondhand :wink:

Cheers :slight_smile:

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@madbilly
Great post. Thanks for such a refreshing down-to-earth statement :slightly_smiling_face:

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that’s exactly what I will do too.
Luckiliy I have three trousers with the perfect poket size for the FP3.
My other two jeans will go to the local tailor.

:smiley:

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i would never carry a phone in my pocket for a lot of reasons, but phone size is about a lot more than fashion - sizes seem to be based on men’s hands rather than women’s. no real surprise there! i still have the FP1 & it fits extremely well in my medium-to-small hand. larger phones are clumsier to use, easier to drop, & take up more space in my handbag. i’m hoping that my FP1 will last for years to come.

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How About Shiftphone 5me? It has about the size and specs of FP2. The company is located in Germany https://shop.shiftphones.com/shift5me.html#product_tabs_description

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I partially agree about the size. It fits in my front pocket but about a centimeter sticks out which still works but it is less than ideal. It also takes up all the space in my running armband so now i can’t fit my keys in there too. Maybe once FP scales to all countries, they could offer two screen size options with compatible modules.

For those saying “don’t put it in your pocket” that is a hilarious hard no for many people.

Hope to see a way to root/lineage this one soon.

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Despite no Custom ROM support there’s an effort to port LineageOS … if you’re curious how that may play out, you can follow proceedings here … SHIFT5me - SHIFT6m - LineageOS 15.1 (Android 8.1) | SHIFTPHONES

Regarding The Mediatek part … Choosing a Mediatek SoC was the prime reason Fairphone had to stop software support for the Fairphone 1 early.

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Hi @aral-matrix,
when I was younger and still smoked, my tobacco tin wouldn’t fit in my jeans pocket, so I sew on a bigger pocket, with a nice embroidery on it. Maybe that is an idea for you??? By the way, at the moment I carrie a samsung A40, my boss gave me for work, which is almost the same size and that fits perfectly.
Have a nice day!
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