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Murena 2 is a de-Googled Android phone with a privacy kill switch that disconnects mic and camera (crowdfunding)

The Murena 2 is a 6.43 inch AMOLED display, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 4,000 mAh battery, three rear cameras, and a microSD card reader. But there are two features that make this phone unusual. First, it ships with /e/OS, which is an Android-based operating system that’s been stripped of Google apps and services, […]

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Lilbits: Could Google kill the open web with its proposal to strengthen “trust” between browsers and devices?

Handheld gaming device maker AYN is teasing an upcoming crowdfunding campaign for a new Android & ARM-powered model. A new dev board is up for pre-order that looks a bit like a larger Raspberry Pi… but which has an Intel processor and M.2 connectors, among other things. And the folks that recently brought the Fairphone […]

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Murena Fairphone 4 brings the repairable smartphone to the United States with /e/OS software

Dutch company Fairphone has been making modular, repairable smartphones using sustainable and ethically-sourced materials (where possible) for the better part of a decade. But up until now they’ve only been available for purchase in Europe. That changes today with the launch of the Murena Fairphone 4, which comes from a partnership between Fairphone and the […]

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Lilbits: GitLab could delete inactive projects (Update: or not), Google’s messed up messaging strategy, and Purism’s priciest Librem 5 Linux smartphone now ships more quickly

GitLab is a software development, hosting and deployment company that’s proven popular with open source software developers and which currently hosts many popular projects. But according to a report from The Register, some of those projects could disappear soon. Update: GitLab has announced that rather than deleting older, inactive projects from users on the company’s […]

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Lilbits: Apple leaks ahead of WWDC (iPads to work more like laptops, Macs with M2) and gaming performance of Intel’s Celeron 7305 and Pentium 8505

Chinese PC makers AYA and AYN have both announced plans to offer budget handheld gaming computers that undercut Valve’s Steam Deck on price by using AMD Mendocino or Intel’s entry-level Alder Lake-U processors. While we don’t know much about the performance of AMD’s chip yet, YouTuber Taki Udon has already begun running gaming tests on […]

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Lilbits: /e/OS (de-Googled Android) turns five this year and NVIDIA unveils Hooper GPU architecture (for servers first).

It’s been more than four years since developer GaĂ«l Duval announced plans to develop a fork of Google’s Android operating system that would strip away Google apps and services to make a more privacy-centric mobile operating system. Since then, /e/OS has come a long way. You can even buy phones that come with the software […]

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Lilbits: Samsung’s new Galaxy laptops leaked, new Oculus Quest 2 tricks, and RCS is doomed (or at least stagnant)

Samsung has scheduled a “Galaxy Unpacked” event for later this month, promising that the “most powerful” Samsung Galaxy device is coming. While the Galaxy brand is probably most commonly associated with smartphones and tablets, all signs point to this being a laptop launch. And Evan Blass has spilled the beans on specs, photos, and details […]

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Fairphone 3 is now available with either Android or the Google-free /e/ OS

The Fairphone 3 is a mid-range smartphone that stands out due to its easy-to-repair design that features components partially made from ethically-sourced materials. When the phone launched last summer it was only available with Android 9. But folks who prefer a Google-free experience now have another option. The /e/ foundation is selling the Fairphone 3 […]

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Google-free Android fork /e/ to get easy installer… and a new name

The /e/ Foundation has been on a mission for the last few years to deliver an open source, Android-based operating system that’s free of any proprietary Google software and services. But up until recently there have only been two ways to run /e/ on your smartphone — jump through a bunch of hoops that might […]