Purism’s Librem 13 laptop with Qubes OS reached its funding goal on Crowd Supply. A similar 15” notebook from Purism, the Librem 15, has also managed to reach its funding goal, and both notebooks should now be moving into the next stage of development.
A key feature of these notebooks is the Qubes OS operating system, which attempts to protect your PC and personal information by compartmentalizing the system with “light” virtual machines. We discussed this aspect of the system in detail when Purism began its crowdfunding campaign earlier this month.
The Librem 13 is the 13.3-inch model and comes with a 1080p display, mobile Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 5500, 4 GB of memory and a 500 GB HDD. The system also has a 48 Wh battery, which Purism claimed can last up to 8 hours.
The Librem 15 is a higher-end system with a 15.6-inch 4K display. The system has a faster Broadwell i7-5557U CPU clocked at 3 GHz and a more powerful Iris Pro Graphics 6100 iGPU. The rest of the system specs are similar to the Librem 15, with 4 GB of memory and a 500 GB HDD. A 48 Wh battery is used on this system as well, but Purism claimed it will last only up to 6 hours.
Both systems also include several special kill-switches to shut off various parts of the system that could be used to collect information on whoever is using it. Purism stated that, “The Librem laptop computer features privacy 'kill switches' to physically shut off the camera, microphone and data connection, deterring data thieves, spies, cyberstalkers and hackers.” These kill switches can optionally be removed, which will reduce the system cost by $89, but as both of these systems exist primarily to give you great control over your system security, we imagine most people would choose to keep them.
Although Qubes OS is one of the primary features of the system, you can optionally order either notebook with Pure OS or with no OS installed at all. The systems that come with Pure OS also include several other programs from Purism, including Purism's office suite and PureBrowser. Hundreds of other compatible programs are also available for download.
| Purism Librem Notebooks | ||
|---|---|---|
| System | Librem 13 | Librem 15 |
| Display | 13.3” 1920x1080 | 15.6” 4K (3840x2160) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5 Dual-Core (4 Threads) | Intel Core i7-5557U dual-core (4 threads) 3.0 GHz |
| Graphics | Intel HD 5500 | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6100 |
| Memory | 4 GB (Up to 16 GB) | 4 GB (Up to 32 GB) |
| HDD | 500 GB (Up To 1 TB SSD) | 500 GB (Up to 1 TB SSD) |
| Battery | 48 Wh | 48 Wh |
| Connectivity & Input Devices | 1 x USB 3.01 x USB 2.01 x HDMI1 x RJ451 x 802.11n Wi-Fi Adapter1 x 720p Camera1 x Headphone jack1 x SDXC Card Slot | 1 x USB 3.11 x USB 3.01 x HDMI 2.01 x 802.11n Wi-Fi1 x 720p Camera1 x Headphone Jack1 x SDXC Card Slot |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 12.75” x 8.62” x 0.70” | 14” x 9.6” x 0.86” |
| Weight | 1.4 Kg (3.0 lbs) | 2.0 Kg |
| Starting Price | $1,624 | $,1949 |
Both systems are available now for pre-order, but an exact release date has not been set. Purism said that that if these notebooks are successful, the company will begin working on additional projects such as a Librem tablet and phone.
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