So, I know I can’t get a fairphone, yet. I would, if they weren’t shutting off 3g–I’d be fine without LTE–and I’d just buy one. I wouldn’t care about no company support either, and certainly wouldn’t complain about it on here, as I’d have signed up for it. However, due to the network issues in America, it’s kind of disconcerting to buy a 450 dollar phone that might stop working in a year or two when T-mobile actually kills 3g.
Also, before I ask my crazy question, I should say that I totally get why Fairphone hasn’t gone into the usa. I was one of the early adopters of the OnePlus, and man, talk about not being able to produce enough for the demand and pissing people off! and that’s not to mention the whole fcc deal, which I’m sure isn’t cheap, or easy to get around.
However, Fairphones are available in America from private individuals and resellers. So, the only real problem for Americans getting the phone is the extreme network limitations, and for some maybe the lack of support–not for me. This forum looks as though it’d have all the support I’d ever need, and if that fails, there’s always XDA.
So, say someone made a 'Murican module that was totally unaffiliated with Fairphone, and lets say–hypothetically of course–that they started exchanging these modules for various crypto-currencies, at the rate of say a hundred bucks a module. Not only would they be helping people such as myself who break smartphone screens like candy, they’d also be helping to create a group of beta testers in America, so that if Fairphone ever did choose to rollout here, they would already have user data to go on. Furthermore, they’d be helping Fairphone earn money, as the more people use them, the more accessories will be bought, and so on. Finally, since Fairphone has no plans to ship here anyway, this wouldn’t put added strain on production, as all the phones sold in America would be used.
I basically break a phone screen every year, and I’m really sick of it–its been happening for a long time. Replacing them without breaking them is very hard for me, as I’m just not that dexterous. Having them fixed usually costs like 50 dollars less than buying a new phone on ebay, so that’s traditionally what I do. I know this is a long shot, but if I’m wrong and it’s not stupidly hard to do in your basement, if someone with the know how could start whipping them up, I whip up enough of a market for it to be worth your while–in my immediate community alone…
If not, thanks for reading to the end, and I hope Fairphone blows up in the EU!
