Lately I have been having a lot of fun playing around with mestastic devices, older phones, and so called “dumb phones”. I dont plan on getting rid of my current smart phone (at least any time soon) but I do want to see how it feels to go back to a dumb phone.
Anyone have a preferred dumb-phone setup that still works with 4G?
I want to be able to:
- Make/receive phone calls
- At least be able to see texting
- Replaceable battery
- (optional) some sort of directions (google maps/OSM+ etc…)
Things I have looked at:
- Ive been looking at some of the new Nokia offerings and it looks like they are going full retro which I like. I just dont like how thin the plastic looks. It looks like the phones could die at any point.
- I took a look at https://www.wiphone.io/ and that looked neat, but no GSM (phone calls outside of wifi) so thats a no go.
- https://dumbwireless.com/products/punkt-mp02 looked almst perfect…then I saw you can repair the device or replace the battery.
- https://dumbwireless.com/products/light-phone-2 looks nifty but again cant replace anything.
- Sunbeam F1 Horizon might be a good fit given that you can take out the battery but the price is a bit steap.
What do you all think?
Nokia 2660 flip or nokia 6300 4g are good ones
I looked for this and it sort of doesn’t exist. I need it for a technologically challenged family member who gets hopelessly confused by smart phones. I have had the idea of writing an Android dumbify app that runs in kiosk mode (i.e. there is no way to exit it) that just disables everything except phone calls, and keeps the phone keypad permanently on the screen, like an old fashioned phone with physical buttons. It’s on my infinite todo list.
Once you say google maps you are back in smartphone territory so forget that.
Fwiw woot.com had an older (4G) model Samsung Galaxy XCover for around $100 a couple of days ago, that might still be there. It’s one of the few Android phones with a swappable battery.
I looked for this and it sort of doesn’t exist. I need it for a technologically challenged family member who gets hopelessly confused by smart phones. I have had the idea of writing an Android dumbify app that runs in kiosk mode (i.e. there is no way to exit it) that just disables everything except phone calls, and keeps the phone keypad permanently on the screen, like an old fashioned phone with physical buttons. It’s on my infinite todo list.
A minimalist launcher is probably the easiest possible solution to that. Aster for example is available on F-Droid. The only issue I could see is it not having a lock function that would prevent them from accidentally entering some sort of edit mode.
$210 lol and it’s a semi smart phone that plays mp3s. The defining feature of a dumb phone IMHO is there’s no app switching. Front panel is completely static. Keypad plus some preprogrammed speed dial buttons that never change.
Thanks, that’s kind of interesting, though it is an Android (AOSP) phone with a physical keypad more or less. $60 isn’t too bad but it appears locked to Boost Mobile. An unlocked Moto G Play 2023 is $100 cash at Best Buy so that’s probably more attractive given a suitable dumbifying app.
OS shouldn’t matter, only the user experience. Just find your service provider of choice and sort phones by cost.
Being locked doesn’t matter much either considering the cost.
When I say it runs Android, the implication is that it is full of smart phone features, which it is. The idea of a dumb phone is that it is impossible for the user to get the phone into a confusing state, and there are no states that the user might want to enter but can’t figure out how. For example, if the phone can play music, the user will want to know how to activate the music playing feature, which means they will hassle you (you are the involuntary unpaid 24/7 tech support for this phone) to explain it to them, possibly multiple times per day.
So it is an IMHO essential feature of a dumb phone that it NOT have a music player, or any other feature that is not constantly visible in the UI. Phones of the 1990s could do that, but the technology has since been lost. ;)
Locked phone usually means you are stuck with that carrier’s expensive plans. A very basic MVNO plan for an unlocked phone is $5 per month or less. I don’t think Boost has anything like that.
Added: Hmm, here is a $65 “NeoFlip” phone that might not be locked: https://www.redpocket.com/shop/flip-phone/neo-flip-lte
I have a TCL Flip 2. Does email, plays audio files, and the web browser can play YouTube, but the web is hardly usable otherwise. It kept me off my smartphone well.
Perhaps a Doro? They have both dumb-phones and simplified smartphones. https://www.doro.com/en-gb/products/mobile-phones/
I turned off my cellular. I’d suggest trying that first before jumping into another piece of tech.
Ive done that but just wifi. It works. Its more of a “for fun” kinda deal. I cant get rid of my smart phone because of a couple of necessary apps for work.
The Light Phone III looks promising.
I don’t think you can have a dumb phone that has maps, but you can dumb down a smart phone.
Get yourself the cheapest fairphone and then… install a custom ROM? Like postmarketOS and then customize the DE to function like a dumb phone.
I would love to get a fairphone. Its just 4x the price of everything else. I cant possibly afford it here in the US.
None, they don’t run libre software.
Two cups and string.
I feel like Google Maps is going to be the biggest hurdle. I mentioned in another comment but a minimalist launcher might help.
Beyond that you could always consider getting a case for the Nokia phone off of Ali Express or looking up feature phone operating systems. For example KiaOS is quite popular among feature phones and appears on some Nokia ones.
