That’s some really good points, and I generally agree with your feature requests too. Though I wouldn’t say there’s no smartphone alternatives: Fairphone, Pinephone, Librem, Postmarket are some to consider.
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@daniel those are all smartphones and not smartphone alternatives…
@William_Mills For me the appeal of the Mudita is the promise of a phone that doesn’t want to be online, ever A phone that allows you to be reachable, but that doesn’t reach out to you. A phone with buttons, that you can type on with your eyes closed (T9!). A phone you can listen your favourite music on againa nad and again and again 
. A phone that can wake you in the morning 
. That can memorize your grocery list 
and spoken memos 
on the go. That can call the police 
if you press 112 
Social media without internet access doesn’t make sense. And it’s not Mudita’s task to put you in a technological jail. You still have to make your own decisions, no matter which device you are using.
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Thanks @sparrowhawk for your arguments and welcome to the conversation! I second this: please announce your decision before closing pre-sales! If this phone is open source I would immediately buy it.
I really think most people that are against open sourcing this OS are making flawed judgements. Showing how the phone works on the inside doesn’t mean less income for Mudita, unless they are planning on charging money for software updates. And it’s not a matter of deciding IF the software will be enhanced by free spirited developers, but HOW. Either the OS will be open source and a community will form to make this the most awesome phone to keep your sanity in this crazy world (without tempting anyone to install any apps), or it will be closed and some people will figure out how to reverse engineer it anyway.
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Open source doesn’t imply letting go of copyright. Mudita still holds the copyright and any derivative works can be forced to share their code back so that any improvements would directly benefit the source. Any competition that wants to outshine Mudita would have a very hard time.
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…or alternative smartphones, depending on your preferred verbiage.
I’m currently reading this thread as it’s been a while since I’ve not been there. And I see that the open source problematic is still present.
I wonder then why people are so focused on using an opensource OS ? As I often say , all is about the right decision, for the right situation. If the open source OS isn’t the right decision for the company, maybe that it’s because it wasn’t the right moment.
I personally think that open source isn’t always the right solution. It’s good for projects that need a high diversity of skills, or ambitious scientific/IT projects. Concerning Mudita, it’s a very unique, still newborn project, that needs to grow. I feel like the Team has to get things done step by step.
Finally, the question isn’t really about how they should do it (at least, it’s not the right question at this moment), neither if they should do it or not. For me, the question is mostly about if it’s useful for the company to make the OS open source, and if it is, when to make it so.
PS: I second @Filip_Popescu as well. :3
Love and Balance ^^
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I belive the prevelance of questions about releasing the MuditaOS as opensource project, points to the fact it has become one of the key selling points of this phone.
I’d like to add my - probably too long, and convoluted, but oh well - analysis to this thread.
It’s always the end user that decides what would be the practical application of the device, and i belive the marketing department of Mudita have missed an opportunity (or point) with planning of this phone.
Sure, the phone is innovative in some ways, and designed with quality in mind, but it is also limiting the user by design, and definitely expensive for its capabilities.
The question is who can eaisly forgo the features missing in Mudita phone, and pay the premium for such a device?
I belive those obsessed-with-nature people you see in starbucks, or other venue featuring 100% vegan burgers (oh god, why does this have to exist?) owning 3 instagram accounts each, would not be interested.
It’s common knowledge, the primary reason to become “In tune with nature” nowadays is to tell other people how they are wrong, brainwashed, and slaves to the mainstream media, or to just feel different, while you remain effectively the same, so why would you willingly cut yourself off from social media? (hyperbole intended)
It’s difficult for me to see this phone as a status symbol either (Laughs in iPhone), so why bother?
Sure, there are people who stand up to their ideals out of their sheer will, but is it economically viable to market your product towards exceptions, rather than the larger community?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s certain there is market for this phone among:
- People who are fed up with the quality of feature phones released over the last 5-10 years, that is nothing short of an insult to the customer.
They just need a good feature phone, that doesn’t fall apart, or have an inherent flaw/flaws that render its features less useful, or useless, i.e. Nokia 3310 2017’s “Less-than-ideal” call speaker, and BT module, in an otherwise excellent phone. - People who keep a loaded shotgun around just in case the printer makes an unexpected noise.
I believe they largerly subscribe to the first point aswell, but as you can see in this thread a lot of people take issue with the system not being released as an open source, and the lack of an encrypted communication client. - Seniors, and other gift-recievers, as Mudita would make a great, lasting phone for a less tech savvy person,
Essentially the less technical, and quality issues, the better
, and here we have an (supposed) epitome of just that. - People who ackgnowledge the harmful effect of radiation on the body.
As it’s the “lesser evil”, you can’t really fix with other devices. - People who use their phone as an mp3/audiobook player.
Good BT module is a rare sight in feature phones, and there’s no eaisly crackable screen either, so why not.
So yeah.
The market is definitely there, though I belive it’s not the market the marketing department of Mudita intended to sell this phone to.
Perhaps it’s about time to reevaluate the concept - at least in the sense software features?
Kind regards
Infiriel
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Sure, I can live with a decision at a later point in time. It’s just me and a handful of other persons that are not going to buy the hardware if we have no influence and auditing possibility on the software. I sincerely wish Mudita the courage to make the right decision (and that may not be what I am advocating for)!
To me, it’s obvious now, that T9 predictive text input will be non-existant in the beginning and likely forever. If the OS was open source I could contribute this feature for myself and anyone else that likes T9, but I will not buy a phone that doesn’t do what I need and then beg the manufacturer to develop those features for me. Either the phone comes with the tools to build on it, or it comes with the features that I need. Buying into a walled garden is not an option. That’s also why I am never buying any Apple product anymore and haven’t for the last 6 years.
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I would like to see a simple typing game that perhaps outputs a quote of the week, such as “Do or do not, there is no try.”
Timer starts on standard input, insertion point moves forward when you make a correct input, beeps when you make an error, audio of the quote plays on completion.
Great news! We decided to go Open Source with MuditaOS 
Find out more in this new thread and sign up for the Developer Preview!
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Yes!!! I am so happy. Glad to hear!
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Level 1 - turn it off and on again - IT person here. Hello!
After reading the comments I have a better grasp of what an open source OS would be and what it would mean for the phone. But now that we will have an open source OS, I still some questions if I am understanding correctly…
People can make their own software and apps for the phone. These would go into an “app store” where people could CHOOSE to download or not. (Right?)
Would they be checked or vetted by anyone before being available to download?
Or is it mostly for the capability to change and customize your personal phone?
Would this effect the general phone updates (or versions of the OS) that happen? Would people have a hand in that and be updating those too or would that be just those at Mutida and the panel selected to help?
The things that initially won me to the MutidaPure phone: Low-SAR and no wi-fi, no big tech, privacy, e-ink, and conversational messaging design. Music capabilities was a fun bonus but when it comes to the OS, I admit my knowledge only confidently goes as far as knowing that means, Operating System. So thank you in advance
Open Source does primarily mean that anybody can see and review the code that makes up Mudita OS. If you are not a software developer yourself, the move from closed to open source does not effect you immediately. You will still use the official releases of Mudita OS provided by the company. The Mudita Team will choose which apps they want to include in their official releases. So most likely there is no change in the apps that come with the phone.
However, other enthusiastic code savvy developers might decide that the official release is lacking a specific feature they really want to see. And then they create their own “modified” Mudita OS. And because of the Open Source License, these modifications will once more be open to the public for code review.
If you are a tech savvy user yourself, you might want to try a modified, unofficial version on your own phone.
Or you just wait until the Mudita Team chooses to integrate a certain cool feature developed by someone else in their next official release.
So no, going open source does not necessarily mean there will be an app store or applications you can just download and install onto your phone. (Apples iOS for example is closed source).
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Hi @madjam,
thank you for your comment!
People can work with the MuditaOS in the following ways:
- Fork it (create a copy of it), change it (write a new app) and upload it to their phones. Changes will be available to others so other people can also install this version of the software. Mudita doesn’t take responsibility for installing such versions.
- People can make changes on the original repository which if get approved will land in the official release of MuditaOS and will be available to all users.
As of today, there’s no app store
Cheers!
Lukasz
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Very cool. Thank you, team.
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Understood! I am quite relieved. It is much simpler, than it started to sound.
If you have the knowledge, you can get as intricate and customized as you want. If you just want a phone, you have a simple phone. 
Sounds like this is a win for the techies and a win for the folks that are just looking for a simple phone.
(As of today, I am glad to hear that )
So…where can I sign up for this developer panel? 
Kidding 
Thank you!
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The phone looks awesome and now that it’ll be Open Source I will seriously consider buying it.
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That’s fantastic! You sealed the deal for me, now I’m definitely getting one for me and maybe one for my partner as well. I’m looking forward to working on T9 and Emoji support! And maybe an authenticator (TOTP) app as well.
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Wow, you cannot believe how filled with joy I am! Such an excellent move; you are building a strong foundation of trust for the community and the customer base. Long live Mudita, the future looks bright! 
PS: I would definitely have to meet the team one of these days, to have a good time and discuss strategy. Cheers! Do not hesitate to PM me
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