Introducción
Fairphone has generated a fair amount of chatter within the repair community by making a fair-trade phone. Join us and find out if their commitment to a "smart, open design" and "lasting value" will make for the repairable phone of every fixer's dreams.
We managed to get our sneaky hands on Fairphone #3. No, seriously — the device we took apart is the third unit that came off Fairphone's prototype line! So some pieces may be a bit "rough around the edges" or have markings that don't show up in actual production units, but that’s the price we pay for having exclusive access to the phone.
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Qué necesitas
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With its unconventional goals, Fairphone isn't gonna be the flashiest flagship phone on the block, but it's still a solid smartphone that'll hold its own feature-wise:
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4.3" Quarter-HD (qHD) (960 x 540 pixels) display with 256 ppi
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MediaTek MT6589M (quad-core) 1.2 GHz processor
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16 GB integrated storage expandable by microSD (up to 64 GB) + 1 GB RAM
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2000 mAh user-replaceable battery
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8 MP rear-facing camera with autofocus (stabilization + image sensor) + 1.3 MP front-facing camera
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Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR / v3.0 + HS (802.11 AMP) / v4.0 LE
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The battery cover has some serious heft, no doubt for structural aid and durability.
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Update: We got one of the actual shipping units post-teardown, and confirmed that the floppy battery cover attaches to the rest of the phone nice 'n' securely.
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On the inside of the battery cover, we find an engraving commemorating the first supporters of Fairphone's grand vision: "This phone and you and 9635 people made fairphone possible."
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Out first is the advertised user-replaceable 2000 mAh battery.
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Comparatively:
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The iPhone 5s sports a 1560 mAh battery, with up to 250 hours of standby.
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The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in at 2600 mAh, with up to 300 hours of standby.
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Herramienta utilizada en este paso:iFixit Opening Picks (Set of 6)$4.99
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A little gentle prying with our snappy opening pick pops the clips along the midframe.
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This style of midframe reminds us of most Samsung phones on the market, and the opening procedure is about on par.
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With minimal finagling, we free the motherboard and throw it on the table to take a looksie.
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The 8 MP rear-facing camera comes out with ease, but several other components are unfortunately soldered in place:
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Front-facing camera
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Vibrator motor
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LED flash
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Headphone jack
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We're hopeful that future revisions of the Fairphone will be more modular, and more cost-effective to repair.
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On the flip side:
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RFMD RF3236 WEDGE (Linear) Transmit Module
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AzureWave AW-NH520, probably similar to the AW-NH580 802.11 b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS and FM Combo Module IC
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MediaTek MT6167A RF Transceiver
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Skyworks SKY77768-1 SkyHi Power Amplifier Module for WCDMA/ HSDPA/ HSUPA/ HSPA+/ LTE – Band VIII (880–915 MHz)
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Skyworks SKY77761 SkyHi Power Amplifier Module for CDMA / WCDMA / HSDPA / HSUPA / HSPA+ / LTE – Band I (1920–1980 MHz)
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Fairphone repairability score: 7 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
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The battery can be replaced without any tools.
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It's very easy to open and access the internal components.
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There are only 8 screws in the entire device, all standard Phillips #000 (no proprietary or security).
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The Fairphone comes with a set of free, open source repair manuals.
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Several smaller components are soldered to the motherboard, increasing repair difficulty (front-facing camera, vibrator motor, LED flash, and headphone jack).
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The glass is fused to both the display and the display frame, increasing repair costs.
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10 comentarios
If the Fairphone manufacturer/producer wants to score 10/10, it should be a world phone useable on any network and be upgradeable to newer technology by just purchasing and installing replacement boards, similar to what can be done with desktop computers which can be upgraded without replacing the whole thing. It should also be able to run various operating systems including Android, Windows 8, etc. and multi-boot into the desired OS (like HTC HD2).
Setting the bar too high there. Yes that would be the absolute perfection in phone design, but we can't even do that with ultrabooks, never mind tablets or even smartphones. Baby steps. Lets get our devices fully repairable before we start upgrading them. And maybe once upgradable phones come out, ifixit will start a new upgradeability rating?
What obsoletes many smartphones (at least in the minds of typical users) is the phone OS. What are the plans to have an OS software upgrade process that does not require the average user to have to root the phone and go through the esoteric process that exists today?
The updater for the Fairphone was kind of ok, just there were no updates. They never moved beyond Android 4.2.2, and now many apps don’t run on the FP1 anymore. I guess a factor was that they chose a mediatek board, and Mediatek is one of the least open source friendly companies out there, so that they could not port the drivers to newer android versions.
Do anyone know the specifications or part number for the 3.5 mm phone jack (headset)?
I have contacted fairphone several times about this issue, but they are either unable to understand my english or are just avoiding to answer the question... :)
