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John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

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Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#141

Post by bane »

jacquesm wrote: post #14

This is a very good idea executed poorly. SMS has become a way of life and you'll be receiving messages that you can not read, also a paper phonebook requires that you carry a pen with you. Play it again, John, this time with a pager sized (text) display and I'll buy one. edit: added the (text), it does have a display but can't display text messages.

Ugh, I'm always surprised when I meet people who still SMS text. It's weird. I think I know two people who do it. Everybody else just emails each other.

(in 2010, I received and sent 6 txt messages, 3 people texting me, and 3 responses from me telling them to email me instead)

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#142

Post by bane »

jacquesm wrote: post #31
rubidium wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Anyone who texts shouldn't buy this phone. However, I would say that it's not aimed at SMS'ers and as such is not executed poorly. Strikes me to have two major markets: (1) people who only want to talk to people via phones (e.g. some of the elderly) and (2) as a fashionable item. The gold one would be a head-turner and topic of conversation. Some people want to get rid of SMS from their way of life (or never…

> hark back for simpler times. When it comes to phones I go through alternating phases of high-tech and as simple as it gets, mostly because I get frustrated at how bad high tech phones usually work as phones (they're great little computers, but I mostly use my phone to call). SMS is no longer optional, even if you want to get rid of it, typically service messages are only sent using SMS, not voice and people will si…

For people that insist on SMSing me junk, I give them my Google Voice number instead and tell them don't expect me to respond in a timely fashion.

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#143

Post by brianwillis »

yason wrote: post #138

Where are all the phones that are minimalist in size ? We used to have quite small phones in the turn of 90's—00's but now that the smartphones are everywhere, and even for non-smartphones everyone is assumed to want internet and lots of features, the current phones are so big and come with such a big screens that my first Nokia 1611 has stopped looking like stoneage in comparison. Something similar to MacBook Air bu…

If size is really all that matters to you, consider the Motorola V3 RAZR. They're still possible to find if you look hard enough. I had one for a few years. Great hardware, solid build quality, tough as nails, but disappointing software.

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#144

Post by potatolicious »

yason wrote: post #138

Where are all the phones that are minimalist in size ? We used to have quite small phones in the turn of 90's—00's but now that the smartphones are everywhere, and even for non-smartphones everyone is assumed to want internet and lots of features, the current phones are so big and come with such a big screens that my first Nokia 1611 has stopped looking like stoneage in comparison. Something similar to MacBook Air bu…

There's a reason we don't have those anymore. I remember in '01-'02 there was a small war between manufacturers to get their phones smaller.

What came out were ludicrously small phones that made dialing and usage a pain.

There's a limit to how small phones can get before they get downright unusable. I remember back then some even had voice dialing to compensate, which was - and still is - just a plain bad idea.

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#145

Post by jessriedel »

mseebach wrote: post #126
derekdahmer wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you vastly overestimate the level of technology people can pick up. My grandmother couldn't figure out how to work the new radio we got her - which just had two giant large dials. We got her a dead-simple cell phone and it was never used. One thing she does know how to do is use the 12 button landline phone thats mounted on her wall, and this looks exactly like that and works nearly exactly like that. This wo…

> and this looks exactly like that and works nearly exactly like that Except for the two small switches on the side, having to charge it, and having to push pick-up and hang-up instead of lifting and replacing the receiver.

Well, my grandmother can operate a wireless home phone, so the pick-up and hang-up are OK. And she can probably just ignore the switches on the side. So the only hurdle for her would be to remember to charge it.

Maybe we could get her to drop it in her keychain bowl when she comes home, and outfit it with one of the charging pads.

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#146

Post by jessriedel »

potatolicious wrote: post #144
yason wrote: post #138

Where are all the phones that are minimalist in size ? We used to have quite small phones in the turn of 90's—00's but now that the smartphones are everywhere, and even for non-smartphones everyone is assumed to want internet and lots of features, the current phones are so big and come with such a big screens that my first Nokia 1611 has stopped looking like stoneage in comparison. Something similar to MacBook Air bu…

There's a reason we don't have those anymore. I remember in '01-'02 there was a small war between manufacturers to get their phones smaller. What came out were ludicrously small phones that made dialing and usage a pain. There's a limit to how small phones can get before they get downright unusable. I remember back then some even had voice dialing to compensate, which was - and still is - just a plain bad idea.

Still doesn't explain why I can't get a phone which is 4mm thick.

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#147

Post by msluyter »

potatolicious wrote: post #144
yason wrote: post #138

Where are all the phones that are minimalist in size ? We used to have quite small phones in the turn of 90's—00's but now that the smartphones are everywhere, and even for non-smartphones everyone is assumed to want internet and lots of features, the current phones are so big and come with such a big screens that my first Nokia 1611 has stopped looking like stoneage in comparison. Something similar to MacBook Air bu…

There's a reason we don't have those anymore. I remember in '01-'02 there was a small war between manufacturers to get their phones smaller. What came out were ludicrously small phones that made dialing and usage a pain. There's a limit to how small phones can get before they get downright unusable. I remember back then some even had voice dialing to compensate, which was - and still is - just a plain bad idea.

Reminds me of the tiny phone gag from Zoolander:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niallkennedy/856357878/

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#148

Post by yason »

jessriedel wrote: post #146
potatolicious wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a reason we don't have those anymore. I remember in '01-'02 there was a small war between manufacturers to get their phones smaller. What came out were ludicrously small phones that made dialing and usage a pain. There's a limit to how small phones can get before they get downright unusable. I remember back then some even had voice dialing to compensate, which was - and still is - just a plain bad idea.

Still doesn't explain why I can't get a phone which is 4mm thick.

A credit-card-sized clamshell that is 4mm thick. (Or 3+3 mm.) Should be good for many.

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#149

Post by dotBen »

bambax wrote: post #45
jacquesm wrote: post #14

This is a very good idea executed poorly. SMS has become a way of life and you'll be receiving messages that you can not read, also a paper phonebook requires that you carry a pen with you. Play it again, John, this time with a pager sized (text) display and I'll buy one. edit: added the (text), it does have a display but can't display text messages.

It's also very expensive. Basic Nokia phones that don't do much more than calls and SMS and that are very simple to operate and very sturdy, can be found (new) for around EUR 20.

This is a great recent roundup of cheap mobile phones, if you are looking to buy simple cheap (GSM) phones:

http://www.reghardware.com/2010/12/03/ten_essential_cheap_vo...

Re: John's Phone: a minimalist cell phone

#150

Post by jacobolus »

janulrich wrote: post #117
jacobolus wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> SMS has become a way of life Not for everyone. For example, I send one text message every two or three months. I could easily live without the ability to send or receive texts. The thing I don’t like about this phone is the silly pen-and-paper address book. Are there any phones out there that just make phone calls, and nothing else?

Check out the Motorola F3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE_F3 . It has an e-Ink display, so you can read the clock without having to push a button and the battery life is awesome.

Any way to use one of those on Verizon? Googling around, people claim that (a) the F3c (CDMA version) isn’t available in the US, and (b) non-Verizon-branded phones can’t be made to work on their network.
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