Fairphone has beat Google's Project Ara in launching the first ever truly modular smartphone into the public. And not only was it modular, but it is also made from conflict-free minerals. The company is also leading the way in giving workers in the supply chain a fairer deal. Fairphone is a social enterprise that started as a campaign in 2010 and later on went to be registered as an independent social enterprise in 2013.

And now the company is back with their latest device, the Fairphone 2, which is set to be shipped by January. The hand held device from the Dutch firm might appeal to most, if not all users, who doesn't want to keep on changing their phones every year.

The device can be easily repaired or even upgraded by the consumer. For example, if the user needs his phone's screen changed, they can just do it on their own. If they want to add more functionality, all they have to do is to buy a special module or case that will add more capability to their devices.

Aside from the ethical and environmental considerations, the device's unique design enables the user to dismantle the phone and fix it in different ways. Replacement parts can be purchased directly from Fairphone. In due time, more options or more third party merchants might sell some parts too.

Fairphone 2 specs run on a 5 inch full HD display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. It has a 2GB or LPDDR4 RAM and an internal storage of 32GB. It runs on a 2.2 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU. The smartphone also sports an 8MP camera and has an expandable memory via a microSD card. The device also has dual SIM support.

The latest flagship smartphone from Fairphone is currently available in Europe only and is now available for orders at €529.28 EUR. Shipments are expected to start by January.