The Light Phone

Post by kurthr » Sat, Jan 04, 2020, 4:32 PM UTC

ken wrote: post #246

Hamuko wrote: post #156

Do the makers think that there's a sizeable portion of people that hate their iPhones or Galaxies and want to spend $350 on a phone that doesn't do things? Doesn't do social media, doesn't do email, doesn't do news. Most consumers would at this point ask "What's the fucking point?" Smartphones are popular because people want to do the things that they enable. You probably need to live in some sort of a niche social c…

I looked seriously at the first Light Phone. The main problem I found was that it's explicitly designed to be a second phone. You still needed to have a primary smartphone, and it would pair with that (and use the same number, somehow). It was just a phone for "I'm going out to dinner and I don't want to potentially be distracted by the internet, but I still want to be reachable". That seems to me like the intersecti…

Post by Hamuko » Sat, Jan 04, 2020, 5:10 PM UTC

war1025 wrote: post #223

Hamuko wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you aren't the target market either, since you want a phone that only does phone calls, text messages and Facebook Messenger, the latter of which the Light Phone does not do ("it'll never have social media!"). Furthermore, it's not even gonna have a better battery life than your jerryrigged phone since it apparently only does about a week on standby due to its tiny battery. And they expect you to pay $350…

> Also, I have no fucking idea when you say that "they don't make phones like that anymore", since Nokia still makes the 3310. As others have mentioned, most of the phones that do fit the criteria of a modern dumb phone don't work on Verizon. I had plans to buy the 3310 if they ever released a 4g version. > Sounds like you aren't the target market either, since you want a phone that only does phone calls, text messag…

Post by paulcarroty » Sat, Jan 04, 2020, 5:31 PM UTC

Swizec wrote: post #38

gnicholas wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

> (who can skim important messages that come in, but needs not respond at length). iWatch + Airpods + dictation, my friend. It is amazing. If only the apple watch could play audiobooks (on Audible) and music (on Spotify) without a phone nearby, it would be the perfect minimalist phone. Alas until that happens I have to continue to lug my phone around when sportsing. You can download books to the Audible watch app but…

Post by StuffedParrot » Sat, Jan 04, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

lostgame wrote: post #142

StuffedParrot wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple Watch + AirPods is more than the price of a new Apple phone.

Unless you’re buying second-hand, or on contract, this is categorically untrue.

Post by war1025 » Sat, Jan 04, 2020, 7:00 PM UTC

Hamuko wrote: post #263

war1025 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, I have no fucking idea when you say that "they don't make phones like that anymore", since Nokia still makes the 3310. As others have mentioned, most of the phones that do fit the criteria of a modern dumb phone don't work on Verizon. I had plans to buy the 3310 if they ever released a 4g version. > Sounds like you aren't the target market either, since you want a phone that only does phone calls, text messag…

> I had plans to buy the 3310 if they ever released a 4g version. There's the Nokia 8110 4G (€49), the Nokia 800 Tough (€119) and the Nokia 2720 Flip (€99).