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Setting up phones is a nightmare

joelchrono.xyz

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Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#121

Post by jazzyjackson »

Get a Sonim XP3+

It's an android (11) flip phone but without Google store and without touchscreen, so almost nothing works on it

There's no setup, besides disabling the PTT button and making it open the application of your choice (as long as your choice is Clock, Voice Memo, or Music/FM Radio)

The ability to slam the phone shut to hang up, and call via speed dial without opening the "phone" app more than makes up for the lack of Instagram.

If you want a chatbot put 1800CHATGPT on your speed dial

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#122

Post by mikestew »

mhitza wrote: post #53
mikestew wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For many people around my area, iPhones are a status symbol choice. People in your area are very forthcoming. Not once have I ever heard someone vocalize that they bought an iPhone as a status symbol. “Easy to use”, “it’s what my friends use, and they like it”, but never “it makes me appear higher in the social strata”. They might think it, and I’m sure some do, but it’s not said out loud. Or maybe that’s not why the…

My area is eastern europe. Where an iphone is like 3-4 minimum wage salaries or so. People take loans to buy iphones! And you could probably also correlate them with luxury item buyers, around here. Good thing the US message color thing is isolated over there and the peer pressure on Gen Alpha hasn't reached us. But yes, I stick to my claim. You don't have to hard press those people to tell you that they don't use ph…

Thanks for the context, I imagine it makes a bit of difference. :-)

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#123

Post by ddtaylor »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #121

Get a Sonim XP3+ It's an android (11) flip phone but without Google store and without touchscreen, so almost nothing works on it There's no setup, besides disabling the PTT button and making it open the application of your choice (as long as your choice is Clock, Voice Memo, or Music/FM Radio) The ability to slam the phone shut to hang up, and call via speed dial without opening the "phone" app more than makes up for…

Seems like it will cause me to get stuck at an airport or train station while an employee tells me about the virtues of an app.

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#124

Post by jazzyjackson »

ddtaylor wrote: post #123
jazzyjackson wrote: post #121

Get a Sonim XP3+ It's an android (11) flip phone but without Google store and without touchscreen, so almost nothing works on it There's no setup, besides disabling the PTT button and making it open the application of your choice (as long as your choice is Clock, Voice Memo, or Music/FM Radio) The ability to slam the phone shut to hang up, and call via speed dial without opening the "phone" app more than makes up for…

Seems like it will cause me to get stuck at an airport or train station while an employee tells me about the virtues of an app.

This is a possibility, but so far the only public place I've found lacking any paper backup has been ticketmaster music venues

And malls that replaced their maps/hours with QR codes but this seems to be a California thing so can be avoided by not being Californian

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#125

Post by bsder »

sonofhans wrote: post #8

“Phones” in the title is doing lots of heavy lifting. “Android phones” is the key missing piece. I love Free software too, and I wish I could run more of my life on it, but it’s no longer my hobby. I like cars, too, but I don’t work on a hobby car. The author’s experience is why I use proprietary stuff like Apple for these parts of my life. A new Apple device is usually a non-event: charge it, authenticate, wait for…

> “Android phones” is the key missing piece.

iOS/macOS is no better. My wife kept getting weird errors on her iPhone.

Turns out, her photos were only in the cloud and, quelle surprise, she had run out of room in "The Cloud(tm)" in spite of having almost half a terabyte free on her phone.

All the companies want to hold your data hostage.

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#127

Post by kwanbix »

pibaker wrote: post #118

I am an iPhone user myself, but the number of "this is an android problem" and "just use iPhone" in response to the author's complaints surprises me. I thought HN was more anti apple in the past? Maybe we are all old now and tinkering with our devices is out of fashion, but this doesn't make the author's complaints illegitimate. And if we zoom out a bit, iPhones are only 20% of the global phone market. The overwhelmi…

I don't use Android because iPhones are more expensive. In fact you can get Android phones that are as expensive and sometimes more expensive than iPhones. I use Android phones because it is a much more flexible ecosystem, where I can choose my browser, for example.

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#128

Post by hollerith »

drittich wrote: post #126
deejaaymac wrote: post #16

If you use android and don't choose GrapheneOS then idk what to tell you, its been an awesome experience with no issues for the last ~5ish years I've used it.

Tell me why they only support Google Pixel phones, v6 through 10.

Those are the only phones that meet their stringent requirements.

They have been talking to a manufacturer with the goal of getting a non-Pixel phone on the market that meets the requirements.

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#129

Post by LostMyWords »

n8cpdx wrote: post #105
t0bia_s wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that isn't all that different from getting a Pixel. Paradox is, that with Pixel device you can get most freedom and security togather. Installation of GrapheneOS is easiest custom ROM installation that could possibly be.

I tried it, Graphene isn't really a good alternative because the built in apps are so bad that you end up needing to install the Pixel/Google versions anyway. If I have to install Google Messages for RCS, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, Pixel Camera (which forces you to use Google Photos for basic functionality), … where is the benefit? If I have to turn Graphene into a Pixel to make it usable, and I did, there’s n…

> Pixel Camera (which forces you to use Google Photos for basic functionality)

I disabled Google Photos but I didn't notice any issues with Camera except for not being able to open the photo just taken from the camera interface. Am I missing something else?

Re: Setting up phones is a nightmare

#130

Post by microgpt »

LostMyWords wrote: post #129
n8cpdx wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried it, Graphene isn't really a good alternative because the built in apps are so bad that you end up needing to install the Pixel/Google versions anyway. If I have to install Google Messages for RCS, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, Pixel Camera (which forces you to use Google Photos for basic functionality), … where is the benefit? If I have to turn Graphene into a Pixel to make it usable, and I did, there’s n…

> Pixel Camera (which forces you to use Google Photos for basic functionality) I disabled Google Photos but I didn't notice any issues with Camera except for not being able to open the photo just taken from the camera interface. Am I missing something else?

That's basic functionality?
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