This update are great news, thanks!
I would suggest to go back to the personas you have developed. Assuming that the data is valid we have following personas, we can look at to discuss what their needs regarding Fairphone OS (and especially Fairphone OSOS) probably are. I could imagine following aspects:
- The Ethical Supporter: Limited tech knowledge. An eco and social marketing/image of an app and a good design is key. While concessions are possible, a switch from WhatsApp or Skype to a “better” messenger app will be no option if all contacts are lost as communication is important to them. To make them happy, all apps needed should be ready installed and configured to be used when the phone is purchased. Facebook is used to stay in contact with Fairphone
- The Proud Pioneer: Even though their tech knowledge might be limited, they are motivated to expand their knowledge to use an alternative app. A little struggling is okay, if there is a community to help out. If it works for them, they probably will recommend it to their friends: if the UX of OsmAnd~ is the same as the UX of GoogleMaps, they will not only use it themselves but spread the word about it. They are open to install and try out new apps if there is no fitting one pre-installed. They subscribe to the mailing list to stay in contact with Fairphone.
- The Thoughtful Critic: As longevity is important, on the software side regular updates and actively maintained apps are a must have. The system must be stable. An ethical and FOSS background of apps could be a convincing argument, if the usability is good. They are using the pre-installed browser to participate in the Fairphone forum.
- The DIY Techie: Root and shell access is necessary. Documentation and the possibility to contribute is important. Not much apps need to be pre-installed as they want to customise their phone (or rather their “mobile computer”) anyway. The will use a (self coded) RSS-feed reader to get the Fairphone news.
- The No-Nonsense User: They will only use the phone if all necessary apps are pre-installed and work out of the box. They want to use the apps and services they are used to – or at least don’t want to recognise any difference. The support form or by phone is their preferred means of communication with Fairphone.
So how can Fairphone fulfil all this different needs? A Fairphone GMS still seems necessary. Nevertheless only looking at people interested in Fairphone OSOS, on the one hand we have the users who just want a working phone without any interest in configuration, on the other hand there are the people who want to decide, understand and configure everything. My suggestion would be to provide with a single click a ready to use Fairphone OSOS. It should work just like Fairphone GMS. That would mean to first of all provide a FOSS replacement for the services (e.g. µG, unifiedNLP, and f-droid pre-installed) but also for apps (find a FOSS replacement for every pre-installed app on a Nexus device [<- the purest Google device, not too much bloatware, but everything you need to get started, I believe]). Obviously for a good UX more is needed, e.g. a cloud connection to share files. While techies will have their own ownCloud installation running on their cubietruck in their living room, the other extreme will need for example an ownCloud installation run by Fairphone and preconfigured. To satisfy the personas who want to configure more or everything I could imagine an “advanced” button during the one-step installer of Fairphone OSOS. Clicking on that could lead to a dialogue (similar to setting up an Ubuntu server) where you can decide which services and apps you want to install. So both extremes (one click and everything works, or a bare system without any services and apps but root) could be satisfied.
Obviously this is a rather abstract idea. For solutions to more concrete problems (which app to exchange by which app), we would need more information about the specific problems/questions. For example, if you provide us with the list of suggested apps you mentioned we could create a matrix with all pre-installed apps on a Nexus and all the personas (and relevant selection criteria for their app decision) to select a good alternative app.
[quote=“keesj, post:45, topic:14547”]
There where still a few problems and questions we needed to answer before we where able to release such an app I will name a few here:
-We would like to also be able to add Paying (but fair) apps but don’t know how to do this yet. In the era of the cloud you can not purely rely on you phone for you privacy but also need the infrastructure to be present in a sustainable ($$$) way[/quote]
I haven’t looked into payment options myself yet (I prefer anonymous cash), but you’re right. Beside an app, a trustworthy infrastructure would probably be needed. If you cannot host something yourself, you probably need a partner doing it for you. Maybe contacting ethical/cooperative driven banks could bring interesting information. If that is a concrete question you are tackling down atm, maybe starting a new thread with a specific question in this forum could uncover an expert.
I’m not sure if I understand you correctly here. But maybe my suggestion above is a solution to the problem: Use good defaults and offer alternatives if wanted as an advanced option. The alternatives could contain the proprietary app as well, if sensible. Please elaborate if my suggestion doesn’t fit the problem.
Ack. Maybe a different methodological approach could lead to more valid results.
Well, if you cannot spend time, you basically have to spend money (as we live in a profit based society). Probably the most effective and efficient approach depends on the app you look at. Who is developing and why? What would help them best to improve it? Are they interested in money or in developer support/time or in design support/time or in usability evaluation support/time or in project management support/time? If you cannot afford any of it, maybe you can organize getting it (obviously, that costs time). I could imagine that people here are willing to help out if the tasks are a little better defined. I could for example imagine to offer a usability review or design suggestions for a specific app if the developers are interested in it.