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The Light Phone

thelightphone.com

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Re: The Light Phone

#91

Post by cheez »

mrspeaker wrote: post #78
crashedsnow wrote: post #68

Feels like a solution looking for a problem to me. Not only are phones trending away from being "phones" (rather portable internet terminals) but I'd wager the largest portion of smartphone use is content consumption, rather than content creation/collaboration. Both of which would suggest this device is a long, long way from product-market fit.

I think it's in the zeitgeist a bit now. Some people (I'm certainly one) are looking to unhook from their phones - get away from convenience and immediacy and... the internet in general (typing this from Emacs, so it seems more forgivable!). I know at least 5 people - a large percentage of my close network ;) - who would be interested in this device. I'm sure there's a big enough market for it if the execution is rig…

Here's the main problem: I am the target market and I can easily just make my Android phone behave in this manner. I rarely touch it except to read on the Kindle app and cast to the TVs.

Re: The Light Phone

#92

Post by _hhff »

mesozoic wrote: post #85
_hhff wrote: post #83

My team built the OS on a custom fork of Android ( https://www.sanctuary.computer ). I would say ask me anything but I’m in the middle of the Australian outback with virtually no mobile signal...! What I can say is that working with Eink is rudimentary - we had to build everything from a custom kernel driver all the way up to the view layouts and UX. We expected Eink would give us sophisticated SDKs, but unfortunatel…

The battery life must be immense right? AT least one advantage there? How long does it last.

The screen helps a lot, but because the device runs full Android (we have a complete Wifi and Bluetooth stack) there’s only so much we can optimize.

In very passive use (using airplane mode liberally), it can last 7+ days but realistically most users will see it last between 3 - 7.

Some more work can go into antenna tuning, however. We support two different markets (North America and Global) which have different bands. In areas with poor mobile service, devices usually spend a lot of battery power searching for signal. We’re hoping to improve on that in a future FOTA update!

Re: The Light Phone

#95

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

_hhff wrote: post #83

My team built the OS on a custom fork of Android ( https://www.sanctuary.computer ). I would say ask me anything but I’m in the middle of the Australian outback with virtually no mobile signal...! What I can say is that working with Eink is rudimentary - we had to build everything from a custom kernel driver all the way up to the view layouts and UX. We expected Eink would give us sophisticated SDKs, but unfortunatel…

Congratulations on the launch of Light Phone 2.

I like the premise of E-Ink as smartphone display for anyone who uses the smartphone display for text, light static graphics consumption. I'm seeing more manufacturers trying to bring cheaper E-Ink smartphones to the market[1][2].

I understand the philosophy of Light Phone and thereby it not having Internet browser; but, HN on Kindle Oasis has always been a pleasant experience to me if the linked article website uses standard web development practices(cough TechCrunch).

[1]https://www.gizmochina.com/2019/10/24/hisense-a5-with-an-e-i...

[2]https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kingrow-k1-the-healthy-ph...

Re: The Light Phone

#96

Post by _hhff »

cheez wrote: post #89
mesozoic wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The battery life must be immense right? AT least one advantage there? How long does it last.

Well they're using Android so... Probably not much. Display isn't that important to battery life (unless you're using it all the time.)

Yup, exactly. I would have liked to use something like KaiOS, but we had a short deadline and that would have meant porting/rewriting a bunch of Qualcomm drivers for the snapdragon on KaiOS.

We also couldn’t preempt the new features we’d like to add (directions, find my phone, etc), so full android felt like a safer option all things considered.

Re: The Light Phone

#97

Post by mumblemumble »

ekianjo wrote: post #69

You can do exactly that kind of things with your regular smartphone by not installing tons of apps that disturb you all the time. As far as I know the user is pretty much in control of what apps they choose to add.

You can, but, IMO, smartphones are starting to feel like a money pit, too, not just a time pit. You spend $500 - $1500 on a device that can't be expected to last more than 4 years (presumably a fair bit less if you cut too close to the $500 end of the range), and will have an annoyingly short battery life in 2 years. You have to constantly be careful with it, because if you drop it or it gets scratched by a key or something, there's a good chance that that enormous, fragile screen will shatter and need replacement. etc. etc.

I am considering switching back to a dumbphone because I miss being able to buy a phone for $100 and have it work, without fuss, more-or-less indefinitely. Throw a hotspot feature in there so I can get my $200 iPod Touch connected when I need to, and I've still got a decent enough way to listen to podcasts or catch up on my Instapaper feed while I'm waiting for the bus, or whatever, while saving a fair bit of money. It also theoretically lets me have all the apps and suchlike while still being able to mitigate distraction.

I like this phone in principle, but I'm afraid $350 price point is a bit tough to swallow. I assume that a big part of the price is the eInk display, which is a bit of a shame since it looks like it doesn't actually have any features that wouldn't also work just fine with a cheapo monochrome LCD.

Re: The Light Phone

#98

Post by dotnetcore »

mrspeaker wrote: post #78
crashedsnow wrote: post #68

Feels like a solution looking for a problem to me. Not only are phones trending away from being "phones" (rather portable internet terminals) but I'd wager the largest portion of smartphone use is content consumption, rather than content creation/collaboration. Both of which would suggest this device is a long, long way from product-market fit.

I think it's in the zeitgeist a bit now. Some people (I'm certainly one) are looking to unhook from their phones - get away from convenience and immediacy and... the internet in general (typing this from Emacs, so it seems more forgivable!). I know at least 5 people - a large percentage of my close network ;) - who would be interested in this device. I'm sure there's a big enough market for it if the execution is rig…

why not just put the phone down? i have a android phone but i don't check it 24/7 and sometime i even let the phone ring.

you can treat your smart phone as old boring phone by using it like a old boring phone.

Re: The Light Phone

#99

Post by _hhff »

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #95
_hhff wrote: post #83

My team built the OS on a custom fork of Android ( https://www.sanctuary.computer ). I would say ask me anything but I’m in the middle of the Australian outback with virtually no mobile signal...! What I can say is that working with Eink is rudimentary - we had to build everything from a custom kernel driver all the way up to the view layouts and UX. We expected Eink would give us sophisticated SDKs, but unfortunatel…

Congratulations on the launch of Light Phone 2. I like the premise of E-Ink as smartphone display for anyone who uses the smartphone display for text, light static graphics consumption. I'm seeing more manufacturers trying to bring cheaper E-Ink smartphones to the market[1][2]. I understand the philosophy of Light Phone and thereby it not having Internet browser; but, HN on Kindle Oasis has always been a pleasant exp…

Thank you! And yes - including a browser was a big debate, but ultimately we wanted to ensure minimalism and restraint was enforced on the software level.

A browser means instagram, facebook and email are all readily accessible. A lot of users like our device because it’s impossible to get to those platforms...

That said - grids of instagram selfies rendered to a 2.84” Eink screen would surely be an interesting art experiment, ha!

Re: The Light Phone

#100

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

cheez wrote: post #90
Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that case, Putting the phone in DND mode 24x7 and only using it only when we need it exponentially limits phone usage and interruptions. But, not many can afford having their phone in DND mode all the time due to their job/family requirements(I do it and I've read few others on HN doing it). Then again, there are jobs which require you to install apps on your personal device or at-least communication apps like Sla…

I have DnD 24x7 and it is bliss.

How is your relationship with your friends who are not located close to you?

P.S. Please don't mind the bland nature of my question.

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