[tor-talk] All I Want For X-mas: TorPhone

[Virgil Griffith]

Petition the blackphone people for this.  If they are willing to fund
it certainly possible to get it done.

-V

On Thu, Dec 25, 2014 at 2:47 AM,  <spencerone at openmailbox.org> wrote:
> Hello everybody,
>
> With all of the great development happening around the Tor network this
> holiday season, it seems fitting to ask for something that would help me out
> tremendously: TorPhone.
>
> We have a great back-end network, a sweet browser for most platforms [f/iOS
> & WP], and a kick-ass portable OS, just to name a few.  However, these do
> not necessarily meet my needs, and I presume the needs of many others, when
> on the road, which I am always on.
>
> I propose, and please point me in the correct direction if I am overlooking
> something that already exists, a bare-bones WiFi-only mobile device.
>
> Ideally it would run an open OS tied to an open organization and come with
> nothing installed on it except for a mobile version of TorBrowser. The best
> example I can think of now is a forked version of Android with Orweb/bot
> installed.  Other applications could be installed at the discretion of the
> human, like F-Droid and whatnot, presuming they meet the security ethics of
> the network.
>
> I could take most any Android device and only use WiFi but most offerings
> are through a cellular service provider on a WiFi-only SIM.  I could also
> just avoid using a cellular SIM altogether but the devices still come
> preloaded with all kinds of stuff that do things I don't want them to, like
> tracking and reporting, most of which can only be disabled, not uninstalled,
> at least not by me.  I could also throw an Android alternative on it but in
> most cases that requires entering into a contract with the manufacturer
> regarding the now unlocked bootloader, let alone the learning curve of
> actually doing so.  And I could get a device that comes without a locked
> bootloader like a Jolla running Sailfish or a OnePlus running CyanogenMod,
> though they are also quite tied to either a manufacturer or a provider, or
> both.  If Android isn't the best option, what is?
>
> Knowing very little about compiling or securing software, like most people,
> this out of the box experience seems quite valuable.
>
> If this is a reasonable request, and if this is the right place to make such
> a request, I am all aboard with assisting development in anyway that I can;
> form development, mechanical engineering, interface, experience, packaging,
> whatever...I just want to see a truly usable mobile device in my hand, and
> the hands of others.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
>
>
> Happy Holidays!
>
> Awesome,
> SpencerOne
>
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