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Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

#61

Post by perlgod »

kpmcc wrote: post #15

Nothing compares to the Punkt MP01 and MP02 IMO. I've had the MP01 for years and it's fantastic, the only issue has been with service and I imagine that would be resolved with the MP02 and 4g. https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ There's also the Lightphone and forthcoming Lightphone II. That being said, these won't really address privacy concerns per se. They don't support signal or other encrypted…

I have my eye on the MP02. Waiting until they get certified for VoLTE in the USA, otherwise it will drop to 3g for making calls. 3g coverage is limited in many metro areas of the USA as carriers move to 4g/5g.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

#63

Post by EvanAnderson »

perlgod wrote: post #18

You will be in a tough spot if you're in the USA. All the nice Nokias and decent low-tech phones are rapidly becoming useless as carriers phase out 2g (and even 3g) coverage to free up bands for LTE and now 5g. If your "dumbphone" doesn't support VoLTE you'll be frustrated with dropped calls and spotty service everywhere. I know this from experience. I settled on T-Mobile's only "dumbphone" - the Alcatel GoFlip [1].…

How's audio (MP3) playback on the GoFlip? I'm disenchanted with my options to replace my aging iPhone 4 (frustrated that old, unsupported 32-bit apps I like aren't going to work on a new iPhone) and I'm contemplating jumping-ship to a "dumb" phone. I would really like to play MP3s on the phone, however.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

#66

Post by jay_kyburz »

fastbeef wrote: post #25
rinchik wrote: post #4

Oh great question! I have tried asking almost the same thing here[1] with no luck. 8 upvotes, 0 replies. Very curious to see if this thread will get any traction. Personally, I was eyeing Nokia 3310 (relaunched version)[2]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15261955 [2] https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/nokia-3310

I bought the 3G version. It was bad. Really bad. I think we've collectivley forgot how much of a UI bump the iPhone was. I ended up never using it because there wasn't any way of of getting my contacts from my iPhone to it and I'm not spending several hours keying in my contacts.

I've been using my 3310 for a few weeks and its great. I just have to relearn how to type messages using the numbers again.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

#68

Post by mieses »

rinchik wrote: post #40
kpmcc wrote: post #15

Nothing compares to the Punkt MP01 and MP02 IMO. I've had the MP01 for years and it's fantastic, the only issue has been with service and I imagine that would be resolved with the MP02 and 4g. https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ There's also the Lightphone and forthcoming Lightphone II. That being said, these won't really address privacy concerns per se. They don't support signal or other encrypted…

And it runs Android. What a bummer. Otherwise this phone looks perfect

It runs Android AOSP - the open source version of Android without Google services.

Punkt patched many critical bugs in the month after initial release of the MP02 in December. https://www.punkt.ch/en/inspiration/news/s/mp02-software-upd...

Re: Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

#69

Post by pmoriarty »

ddebernardy wrote: post #41

Consider taking this a step further and trying no phone at all. But instead of doing something extreme like dumping your smartphone, just turn your current phone off unless you're OK with being reached and at home or at work. Anything in between, the phone stays off. This makes your smartphone a de facto land line for all practical intents, and you get to keep the potential to make exceptions and use it for e.g. GPS…

Another possibility to consider is carrying a pager. That way you'll at least know when you've got a call or a voice mail, and then you can turn your phone on temporarily to call back or check your voice mail, instead of having to periodically turn on your phone to check for missed calls.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best “dumb” phone?

#70

Post by flanbiscuit »

perlgod wrote: post #18

You will be in a tough spot if you're in the USA. All the nice Nokias and decent low-tech phones are rapidly becoming useless as carriers phase out 2g (and even 3g) coverage to free up bands for LTE and now 5g. If your "dumbphone" doesn't support VoLTE you'll be frustrated with dropped calls and spotty service everywhere. I know this from experience. I settled on T-Mobile's only "dumbphone" - the Alcatel GoFlip [1].…

In my last company (ad agency) we were talking to Dopamine Labs[1] (now called boundless.ai[2]) to integrate it into an app we were building. It honestly felt kinda gross but I on the other hand I can understand a company investing thousands (into the hundred thousands) to build an app and wanting people to use it.

Does more engagement equal app usefulness and adoption? I don't know. I have a lot of apps on my phone I don't touch as often but when I go and clean out apps I don't use anymore I still keep some because I still find them useful to have even if I don't engage with that much

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/08/meet-the-tech-company-that...

[2] https://www.boundless.ai/

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