Hey Fairphone Gang, Long time Forum Haunter here, Just wondering if you can give me some advice…
Basically, at the moment I’m using an iPhone 4s that I’ve had since the christmas after it launched, It’s running ok but is heading inevitably towards its built-in obsolescent end. I’m moving away to study in sweden and work in europe over the next year and need a new handset to last through this year and well beyond. This phone has to be both my Camera (I want some quality photos of my year of travelling), Entertainment ( my music is all in FLAC/ ALAC) and Personal Organiser (Facebook, Linkedin etc).
I loved the idea of the modular fairphone 2 at launch, the dual sim should be useful and the micro-sd should fit my music library, but is the camera up to scratch? will the device have any noticeable and long lived speed boosts over my 4S? and most importantly would a fair phone be a good device for the coming year, and at least a few years to follow?
Does anyone use a Fairphone 1 as their standalone device to travel and can they set my mind to rest over the camera quality? (stills/ videos would be very welcome!)
Thanks guys, It’s my first post and I look forward to your input!
Unfortunately there is not much I could tell you at this point: Fairphone 2 is not out yet. Pre-order will start soon but it won’t be shipped before autumn. And Fairphone 1 is sold out and won’t be produced anymore.
That means we could either give you information about Fairphone 1 which you can’t get anymore or we could speculate together with you about Fairphone 2 which you can’t get yet
Especially for travelling this is true.
This is very likely but depends on the size of your library
The camera of Fairphone 1 was okay but not more. There are definitely better cameras out there. We don’t know yet what Fairphone 2 will bring.
Definitely yes.
We can’t promise that but Fairphone strives for a five year life-cycle which is much longer than most smartphones live.
When googling for review of Fairphone’s camera, I get the same verdict as above: It’s usable but there are better cameras around.
Source: http://www.digitalversus.com
The primary (rear) camera takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 8
Megapixels, with results ranging from decent to mediocre. In good
lighting, it takes photos that look nice when viewed on a larger screen;
they’re fairly detailed, have only a few minor lens-related flaws (such
as reduced detail around the edges) and have neutral colours and just a
little bit of noise. But once the ambient light starts to dim, the
sensor begins to show its limits: the noise spreads, the detail depletes
and the digital smoothing only makes matters worse.
HD 720p videos turn out quite fluid, but have the same advantages and
disadvantages as the still photos. The 1.3-Megapixel front camera won’t
give you the best selfies in the world (the colours are pretty dull),
but it isn’t a train wreck, either.
A product of Androidian minimalism, the camera interface is simple and
highly responsive. It opens up and snaps photos quickly. In sum, the
Fairphone has an okay camera function. There isn’t much flourish, but it
gets the job done.
Edit: These threads might also be interesting for you:
Is just want to add that currently, with the Fairphone, there are some things to consider when travelling:
Supply of spare parts: Currently, the FP1 is only sold in Europe. The same is true for spare parts. Some users had greate problems to get replacement parts to Ghana or Australia for example. It it is not that easy to send electronics, especially batteries, around the world it seems. Currently, if you are really planning a long time trip, you might be better of with a popular device that is sold worldwide and in great volume, which should make it easier for you to get it repaired anywhere in the world
Network bands: The FP1 has only limited data access in some countries. The FP2 should have worldwide 4G and 3G.
The camera of the FP1 is almost on par with the IPhone 4S. We do not know about the FP2 camera yet.
Dual Sim: This is actually really great for travelling!
In summary, if your mainly travelling europe, the FP2 might be a good companion, thanks to dual sim. worldwide LTE (fast internet) and micro-sd slot . But when travelling for a longer period around-the-world, a more popular device might be the better deal for you.
hey thanks guys, It looks like the best thing to do is to wait for the full specs to be released (i’m hoping it’ll be tomorrow, one month since the unveiling…) if it will support a 128GB card and offers motherboard and camera upgrades I’m sold!
