I'm not quite sure what the destination is with this phone. This particular model seems to be for hobbiests who will use it as a second device for development, or purists who value privacy over all else.
I would prefer to pay double or triple for a phone that has all the opensource and privacy goals but also competes in performance and build so it can be my daily driver. I realize that we also want open standards and privacy for the masses but they will be the last group to adopt not the first.
If this is the secondary 'dev device' now because the platform isn't complete enough to be a primary, the price point makes sense. Can't wait for when it can be a daily driver. How far can you get with a good phone+contacts (voice calls), sms, and excellent web browser? Pretty far. Other apps are nice but they can be the add-ons.