Here's the crowdfunding page with more pictures (renders?) and details:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-minimal-phone-first-e...
Their estimated shipping date is August 2024, which seems wildly optimistic.
Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
11–20 of 168 posts
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#12I'm the owner of a Light Phone II [0] and (other than battery life), the biggest downside to the Light Phone I can envision for most people is the absence of apps like Uber, Apple Pay and Spotify. I think 5G isn't that necessary on a phone like that, except maybe for future-proofing.
This phone seems to have a camera, though, and access to Play Store (although it will likely be messy) really sets it apart from most "minimal" phones out there. Plus, a real keyboard might attract the people who despise the on-screen one on the Light Phone. They're really devices of different classes at this point, though. The price does seem awkwardly low, however.
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least for me, any phone which can't access either the Google Play Store or Apple App Store is simply a non-starter. I use apps to: • Operate and pay for the laundry machine in the basement of my apartment building. • Confirm all of my students (I'm an elementary school teacher) made it outside during a fire drill. • See the real-time location of a private bus which picks me up in the morning. • Change the times wh…
I totally agree with you, I'm not saying there shouldn't be the Play Store on this device. What I mean here is that in the context of the questions about privacy, I think it's odd that the company is making broad privacy promises while still claiming to give you the full Play Store. They make it sound like it's a more privacy-concious device than a standard Android phone with Google Play Services, but in reality it's…
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Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#14[flagged]
which is not a bad thing
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least for me, any phone which can't access either the Google Play Store or Apple App Store is simply a non-starter. I use apps to: • Operate and pay for the laundry machine in the basement of my apartment building. • Confirm all of my students (I'm an elementary school teacher) made it outside during a fire drill. • See the real-time location of a private bus which picks me up in the morning. • Change the times wh…
I totally agree with you, I'm not saying there shouldn't be the Play Store on this device. What I mean here is that in the context of the questions about privacy, I think it's odd that the company is making broad privacy promises while still claiming to give you the full Play Store. They make it sound like it's a more privacy-concious device than a standard Android phone with Google Play Services, but in reality it's…
I see where you're coming from, but I think it's meaningfully more privacy-conscious if you're unlikely to actually spend much time in Play Store apps.
I realize it's a bit weird to say "we're more privacy conscious because we made the UX worse", but such is the inherent contradiction in all of these "a phone to make you less addicted to your phone" products. And although no one has cracked it so far, I do think there's a place in the market for a device like this.
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#16> The handset will feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with 5G currently being explored If this could be a wireless access point, I think that could be a differentiator. I would love a more minimal phone for daily carry -- but when travelling, it'd be nice to connect my iPad/laptop to an AP for those things that need modern apps.
Lack of 5G is a major oversight. The iPhone had that 4 years ago. Good condition iPhone 12 models go for under $300, and they want to sell this thing for $400. Seems like it's better to grab an iPhone 12, set the screen to greysfale in the accessibility settings, and then turn on screen time to block social media apps and other distractions. An OS settings preference selection isn't a product.
> Seems like it's better to grab an iPhone 12, set the screen to greysfale in the accessibility settings, and then turn on screen time to block social media apps and other distractions.
Better to use rsync than bother with Dropbox?
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#17I'm the owner of a Light Phone II [0] and (other than battery life), the biggest downside to the Light Phone I can envision for most people is the absence of apps like Uber, Apple Pay and Spotify. I think 5G isn't that necessary on a phone like that, except maybe for future-proofing. This phone seems to have a camera, though, and access to Play Store (although it will likely be messy) really sets it apart from most "…
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Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#18A minimal phone, with an e-ink display and an alphabetic keyboard, that costs $400? Umm, that is confused.
Here is what I would call a minimal phone: https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3310-192.php
Unfortunately those are all now bricked by the 2G/3G shutdown and nobody makes a phone with a similar feature set (i.e. absence of everything but voice calls) any more. The Jitterbug Flip 2 comes sort of close but it still has Alexa and other confusing stuff, and you can't buy it without an overpriced subscription.
I've been looking for a phone simple enough to not confuse some of my elderly family members and those phones no longer exist. So I'm constantly the involuntary tech support for whatever phone they use. I think of buying a cheap Android phone and writing a kiosk mode app that has no access to anything except dialing the phone. Maybe someday.
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#19I've got major doubts on a lot of these claims. Shimmying modern Android into an e-Ink display and physical keyboard is going to be a strange experience even if you truly want a zero-distraction phone. Supposedly it's going to protect your privcy but they also claim you can just download apps from the Play store. Seems like a bit of an unnecessary promise. Navigation with map apps in particular is going to be awful o…
E-ink has really come a long way, applications that involve lots of motion won't be that awful. I bought a Hisense A5C smartphone a couple years ago, which is an android smartphone with a (color!) e-ink display. I bought it as more of a toy/experiment, knowing it wouldn't support US carriers, to see what an e-ink smartphone would be like. I really ended up liking the concept.
Re: Minimal phone gets back to basics with E Ink display and real keyboard
#20I wonder how it went for Mudita with their "Mudita Pure" minimal phone? It is out of stock on their website and main focus is on alarm clocks.