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The Light Phone

thelightphone.com

21–30 of 291 posts

Re: The Light Phone

#21
I don't really care about the price of the phone, because I'm sure it's more expensive to produce on a smaller scale than mainstream manufacturers, but the plan is $30 for unlimited texting and calling? Really?

You can get unlimited minutes/SMS and several GB for $10-20/mo from various MVNOs nowadays. Why they would bother marketing a plan that is $30/mo with no data is beyond me.

Re: The Light Phone

#23
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 950mAh battery is extremely small.

It's still very low even given the battery size. The updated Nokia 3310 has a traditional display with a 1200 mAh battery and is rated for a standby battery life of 31 days. At 950 mAh that would be just over 24 days. I would expect an improvement in battery life with E-ink. https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/nokia-3310#details

Rated for means nothing. They always put out bullshit claims. Would you like these guys to lie too?

Re: The Light Phone

#24
Why not just get the bottom of the line unlocked Android phone from Walmart for $39?[1] Delete the Google crap, install F_Droid and some basic apps. That's basically what I have, on a Caterpillar Tractor ruggedized phone. No "social" anything. Base email, Fennic browser, ZANavi maps, Mozilla location info provider.

Someone could compete with these guys by buying low-end phones in bulk and reconfiguring them that way. Sell it for $49.

[1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/Plum-Compass-Unlocked-4G-GSM-Smar...

Re: The Light Phone

#26
My thoughts:

1. Needs a bigger screen so that texting in portrait is possible / texting in landscape allows you to see the convo. 2. Needs data and basic data-driven apps - google maps, spotify. Any apps that aren't addictive and are used every day seem like they should be in any modern phone, even those intended to be minimalist.

I "need" things like banking on my phone, as well as email realistically.

Re: The Light Phone

#28
post #7

I wonder where this is heading. The original light phone (version 1 if I remember correctly) was simply for calling and very minimalistic. To that I am a bit disappointed that they are adding more features instead of cutting prices.

More and more, the voice calling feature is becoming obsolete. With the exception of hands free use in the car while driving, I essentially never use my phone to make calls.

Text is asynchronous and thus the other party can respond when it's convenient. I resent voice calls as an intrusion and rarely answer them.

Re: The Light Phone

#29

My thoughts: 1. Needs a bigger screen so that texting in portrait is possible / texting in landscape allows you to see the convo. 2. Needs data and basic data-driven apps - google maps, spotify. Any apps that aren't addictive and are used every day seem like they should be in any modern phone, even those intended to be minimalist. I "need" things like banking on my phone, as well as email realistically.

Sounds like you aren't the target market. If I hadn't just last week finally deactivated my dumb phone from 2011 and bought a cheap Motorola, I'd seriously consider this.

Literally all I want from a phone is the ability to call / text for coordinating near-term meetups with people, and the ability to receive / send calls in emergency situations.

Unfortunately, they don't make phones like that anymore.

I have my new phone set in battery saver mode with everything deactivated except the calling app, the texting app, and Facebook Messenger. The battery can last four or five days with this configuration, which pleasantly surprised me. Still can't match the two weeks I'd get out of my old dumb phone though.

Re: The Light Phone

#30

I think an Apple Watch with cellular accomplishes a lot of what light phone does. Leave your phone behind and just keep all the social apps off the watch (they’re not really usable anyway). You can still accomplish a lot of what you need from a phone, and pair some AirPods and you have music, podcasts, easy hands free calling

I think that going out with an Apple Watch instead of a phone will become popular as a way of (partially) unplugging. It will also signal that the wearer is not an ordinary worker bee (who need to keep a phone around to respond to emails) but instead a member of upper management (who can skim important messages that come in, but needs not respond at length).
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