#66

It’s a full colour version! Utterly disgusting. It’s monochrome-on-green or nothing for me.

4 Likes
#67

Wish I saw this earlier.

I felt the same way after testing the iOS 11 betas this summer. Sold my iPhone 7 Plus and bought a OnePlus 5, which I really enjoy. This is a slim phone, that looks similar to an iPhone 7/8 but lighter and well faster. Got 8GB of ram, a Snapdragon 835, dual camera system and the Dash charging system which is incredible. Cost me $539. No bloatware, nice custom typeface, OLED display and dark mode. Plus, all the customization you could ever want. I’ve got Nova Launcher on mine and its been really great. This is definitely superior to the iPhone 7 Plus had. Recommended.

Android has definitely matured and getting out of the iCloud ecosystem is a lot easier than you’d think. Just rip off the Band-Aid.

1 Like
#68

I’d never seen the OnePlus 5 before, and it looks really nice!

How is their version of Android?

#69

Pretty close to stock. They have a few cool features like a 3-way alert slider and “gaming do not disturb” mode in their skin. Also, a pro-mode on their stock camera app, which is stellar. Shoots raw.

From what I hear, the Oreo update for their OxygenOS is imminent, too.

#70

I got interested in the light phone after reading about it here and just got an email that they’re working on a follow-up.

Has a e-ink touchscreen, headphone jack(!!), and they’re exploring more things that are helpful day-to-day (messaging, directions, playlist, ridesharing, music playlists, weather, etc.).

If they can build most of that stuff, this thing could actually fully replace my phone.

4 Likes
#71

I also have a lightphone and I generally agree with @madeofoak.

For me, I was drawn to the “phone away from phone” part as much as I was the aesthetic of the object. Unfortunately, I’ve found the build quality to be absolutely terrible-- within a month the plastic cracked and chipped off. This wasn’t from particularly heavy use, mind you, just from keeping it in my pocket.
Another point of friction is that it only works on 2G cell networks, which are being disbanded in the US by 2020 and are only present in metropolitan areas.

The campaign for lightphone projected this image of a phone you could take with you on camping trips or whatever to get away from the hustle-bustle of you smartphone life, but ironically the phone is too fragile to take anywhere and tethered to the very places it claims to offer relief from. I wish I had a better experience to convey, because I waited two years for it.

I’m with you on the flip-phone thing. My favorite phone, to this day, was my sony ericsson from 2006. I’m interested to hear if anyone has flip-phone reccomendations.

#72

It’s sort of depressing to me to see an IndieGogo/Kickstarter that predicts a year+ wait! I do like the idea, though.

I’m still using a Google/LG Nexus 4, which I’ve had for ~5 years, and I get by on a $30/month T-Mobile plan. I am currently just trying to stretch the device as long as I can, but options are looking pretty slim for an eventual replacement as I personally want a smaller phone and mine is already small by modern standards. I find it strange that a large manufacturer doesn’t offer a stripped down smartphone given that most of the folks here and almost every dad I’ve met basically want the same thing.

1 Like
#73

An issue here, is that people all want different things from a dumb phone… I would be interested in the lite phone (build quality not withstanding) however ‘rideshare’ is useless to me, but I would suffer without Whatsapp. As that’s what is used to plan socialising.

Everyone deciding to meet somewhere else and then someone having to remember to text me, would end up with me in the wrong place 60% of the time…

#74

maybe it is no longer in production but I have a Nokia C5 and it’s working great, but it’s also just a phone (with a very outdated web browser).

#75

I’ve also been strongly considering getting a “designer dumb phone” in the next few years because I’m frustrated with tech companies trying to pull me toward replacing things. Light phone 2 looks very intriguing if it can fix build issues, but there’s also this, which has existed for a while, has a lot of the same capabilities, a very nice looking build and promises a long battery life:

Right now, you definitely don’t want to buy it but because it relies on nearly-extinct 2G mobile service, but an obscure tweet by them mentions that they’re working on a 4G version.

Kind of feel like this could be the “monome” of smart phones but I don’t own one so it’s hard to say.

#76

Update Punkt was mentioned earlier but I was kind of expecting that

Did you like while you could still use it @pxxlhxslxn ?

#77

My old person response to modern socializing habits is to invite people to visit me on the farm. That way I’m in the right place whether they show up or not. :wink:

5 Likes
#78

I did like the punkt phone a lot, although certainly should have done my research about the state of the 2G network in Australia before buying. I especially liked the simplicity of navigation as well, with a dumb phone once you cut everything else out you don’t need a very busy menu.

I’ve since switched over to a Talkase phone, which is a lot cheaper and a lot smaller (pretty much the same dimensions as id/credit cards). I would recommend that as a better start for someone trying out living without a smart phone, although it can be a bit buggy with network connectivity or waking up can take a couple of button presses. Also dishonorable mention for dropping the ability to recieve messages for a few weeks until I twigged what was going on (and probably aliented my entire social circle in the process).

1 Like
#80

it may just be the circles i run in, but i have been hearing and seeing so much about this “dumb phone” stuff. almost everyone i know is trying to backpedal in some way to a simpler technology. lately i have been getting really terrified of the smartphone addiction. i feel like i need to set goals for myself like an addict of anything else would have to. i can’t just let go of my phone, and i really do think the excuses about not having email or access to social media from a business perspective are just that - excuses. i think time out of a day can still be set aside to do all internet business without having a piece of technology that you sleep next to and start to have a panic attack about if you think you’ve lost it for 5 minutes.

i’m also curious to see if apple will pick up on this trend and make their own dumb phone…

3 Likes
#81

The talkase definitely seems interesting to me but I’m curious what your experience with the magnetic charger has been.

I backed an audio-recorder on kickstarter a few years ago called Kapture that used the same mechanism and I found that the connectors somehow wore out really quickly.

Have you had any problems charging your Talkase?

#82

@gkaijones mag charger hasn’t been a problem so far, but I have only had it a month or two. Something to keep an eye on as it would certainly be more complicated to replace than just a new usb cable. If it does short out I’ll put a message up!!

@stripes I can identify with this, and it seemed like a revelation to me a few years back to realise that not only are the corporate interests of facebook/apple not in line with the personal happiness of users, in a lot of cases it can feel like the exact opposite. They do really want a future in which all spare time and attention is spent with their platforms and devices (for this reason I can’t see apple putting out any product that encourages distance from their app store etc).

Personally, my main push was having a child and realizing I didn’t want the phone to be diversion when we are out at a playground etc. I do miss the ability to take photos at a moments notice, but that means I should go buy a small digital camera. In any case the interaction is more important than the documentation of the interaction.

1 Like
#83

I have some close friends who have switched back to flip phones. They seem to be happy with the choice, and any inconvenience it might have caused as a friend is more due to their own personality quirks (people who are hard to get in touch with when you’re trying to make plans/get into their apartment building/etc. are hard to get in touch with whether they have smartphones or not :v:)

Similarly, my boss/friend has never owned a cell phone (but does use an iPod Touch with WiFi often). He still easily spends more time on Facebook in a day than I do in most months, so various bad (as I would define them) still can be present without smart phones, though less conveniently.

My most convincing (to myself) excuses for keeping a smartphone are directions (I don’t even own a car and I drive less than once a week!) and real-time transit schedules, but I easily waste more time on it than I would waiting a little longer for a train or getting lost occasionally.

2 Likes
#84

I have only had dumbphones and I like them. But the touch interface on newer smartphones is such a well engineered interface and they have dsp libraries too. A while ago I got to borrow an iPhone 5c that was literary just lying around for now use and I got intrigued about developing an app for it, so one hand I can do without a smartphone and still manage my communication needs and on the other I get excited about the possibilites for creating software for these smartphones. I just don’t want anyone to turn into a zombie.

#86

right there with you. this is admittedly sad but I set a goal of never having my phone in my bedroom, which is great when I stick to it (I lapse sometimes, like flossing hahah) - but I’d highly recommend it as a starting point. It makes it so that it’s never the first or last thing I see in a day, which makes a huge difference.

3 Likes
#87

This is a great idea, I use mine as my alarm but that also means it’s the first thing I pick up in the morning. Might have to try doing this, it’ll be liberating to force myself into the scary situation of having my phone away from me for a bit lol