The last time I looked into it, they intended to use the same Gemalto baseband modems as will be used in the Neo900.

Of course it could replace your phone to a certain extent. FSO or oFono provide full telephony stacks so that's not an issue, but it would be kludgy indeed. I'm not really sure that a comparison to carrying around a mini-ITX really constitutes as justification for the Pyra replacing your phone.

The point I was trying to make is that is not designed to be a phone. It's not really the optimal size for a phone. The microphone and speaker placement mean that you can't hold it like a phone to make calls. The clamshell design makes it awkward to answer calls efficiently. You could use a hands-free kit to work around these problems but that's not exactly ideal.

The software issues are a bit more of a concern. To leave the device in a state where it is ready to receive calls at all times will likely drain the battery very quickly. It's possible this issue may eventually be addressed but phone functionality is not a primary concern for the Pyra developers so don't expect this to be resolved any time soon.