Paula Austria
Fairphone 1 owner, Fairphone 2 owner, forum member, Fairphone Angel, active community member since : December 2014
I had always used iPhones before, but when planned obsolescence kicked in, I did some research for a more ethical option. I quickly fell in love with the Fairphone. It gave me a good feeling owning a device that was built under better circumstances than all other smartphones. When the Fairphone 2 came out as the very first modular smartphone, that blew my mind. After I purchased one, I used my Fairphone 1 as a secondary device until I donated it to our Austrian Fairphoners’ spare parts stock. I couldn’t imagine ever going back to an Unfair Phone! Every day on the forum I learn new things. After just a week of owning the Fairphone 1, I joined the forum to proudly post about all the cool free software apps I was using and how easy it was to avoid big companies that harvested your data. There were a lot of discussions about many different subjects, like sustainability, (free) software and DIY stuff. I really liked the feeling of community spirit at the first meetup I was invited to in Vienna. I also liked that the Fairphone was a device that was quite easy to repair, and people on the forum all seem to be willing to do that rather than send the phone somewhere for repair or even get a new one.
Our Movement
In 2017, I loved visiting Amsterdam and the Fairphone team on our Community trip. We have also been busy in Austria, with meetups, festivals and the newly implemented Angels Program. And of course I have been very active in the forum. There were a lot of great moments there : the launch of the (now official) Lineage OS community port for the Fairphone 2, the new community logo, and the introduction of the forum’s marketplace. My favorite moment might have been when I came out as transgender to the community and all the support and approval I got in return. In the coming year, I hope that Fairphone manages to improve spare parts availability and shorten the response time in the support team. Of course I also wish for a Fairphone 3, and that Fairphone manages to increase their positive impact in the world. I wish Fairphone and our community all the best for 2018!
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