Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

91–100 of 224 posts

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

#91
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].…

A quick search and it does not seem to be available for sale in Europe.

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

#92
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].…

> These things are designed to be addictive

I would blame app designers, but I uninstalled all of them and ended up pissing away most of the day on HackerNews, so I think they're mostly blameless in my case.

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

#94
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 didn't like my 3310 because it didn't have a good keypad lock and I normally put it in a place in my knapsack where the keys could get pressed.

The first problem was that it would keep the display on as long as a key was pressed. That would kill the battery quickly.

The second problem was that the phone would happily dial 911 without unlocking the keypad. My city has asked that phones be configured to not be able to do that. As a result I had to return the phone.

Currently using an ancient Samsung A157. Flip phones solve the keypad lock problem entirely. Dunno what I will do for a phone if it breaks.

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

#95
post #40
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

Check this thread out that explains Google really has no control over the device: https://twitter.com/punkt/status/1103276818340212737

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

#96
I used a Kyocera DuraXE for a bit while travelling. It's rugged, and supports LTE/tethering, but I abandoned that experiment due to how unpleasant I find T9 texting.

I was recently looking for a new phone for my father... he currently uses a Gingerbread-era LG slider phone with keyboard. He's never connected it to data or wifi, only uses it for calls and texting. Doesn't look like there's much available to serve his uses anymore. Maybe a (significantly more expensive than his slider) BlackBerry KeyOne or Key2 which he can also leave disconnected from data.

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

#97
post #62

I'm using the new nokia 8810. The keyboard is annoying, but otherwise with this phone you have a hotspot turned phone in a classic shape with you. KaiOS isn't too bad either (no google stuff on my phone too).

Unfortunately, HMD hasn't released the 8810 with US bands, so it's not feasible to use it in the US.

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

#98
Not strictly a dumbphone, but KaiOS phones (https://www.kaiostech.com/) are sort of smart-ish. They're forked from FxOS, are easily hackable, are compatible with modern telephony standards (so the death of 2G won't kill them), and come from multiple suppliers.

They hit the "just enough" functionality for me: phone calls, access to smart-ish messaging, a music player, and the ability to act as a hotspot for a more dedicated device.

I haven't got one myself (there's a particular model I was waiting on 6 months ago when I last sniffed around), but I intend to this year.

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

#99
post #90
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 have the Nokia 3310 3G (relaunched version). It has many noticeable bugs/issues ranging from annoying to near deal-breakers, e.g.: * Terrible MMS/group chat support (and bugs, e.g. messages showing up in previews but not in the actual channel) * Inconsistent notifications * Un-removable built in apps (that auto-install on first open) I still use it but based on this thread I'm going to be following the Punkt MP02 (…

I use and like the 3310. It would be basically a perfect phone for me if MMS wasn't broken and I could disable the web browser. I'll take what I can get though since I don't have the self control to own a smartphone

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

#100
post #62

I'm using the new nokia 8810. The keyboard is annoying, but otherwise with this phone you have a hotspot turned phone in a classic shape with you. KaiOS isn't too bad either (no google stuff on my phone too).

woohoo, somehow I managed to miss this existing. I had an original 8110 back in the day and every now and then since I've daydreamed about just how cool it would be to have that same form factor with modern internals. It's real!

Yeah, I might just have to pick one of those up. :) What do you object to about the keyboard? And is it squishy rubber like the original 8110 or something harder?

Post reply on HN