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Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

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251–260 of 335 posts

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#251
post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I cant rent city bicycles without a phone in a lot of cities or use uber or lyft but okay.

Or pay for parking in many european cities. So I guess you are not forced into a hermit life as long as... you are already happy with your hermit life.

US cities as well, now that you mention it. Open lots often require scanning a QR code to pay. They watch cameras and tow your car very quickly if you don't.

Maybe the reason this guy gets away with not having a smartphone is that his friends use their smartphones for him whenever things like this pop up?

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, no surprise that it works in Germany, but I am not so sure it will in the Nordic countries for example.

And hopefully it stays that way in Germany. A state and its essential-to-life institutions and businesses (which includes cultural participation) need to be accessible to everyone . That includes people who don't own a smartphone, for whatever reason.

It is vital that government services must not depend on anything that is not government provided.

No government service can depend on having a product from a private corporation.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#253
post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"As an individual, it feels like my options are to either submit or try to live a hermit's life, bringing endless suffering and exclusion to myself." Classic "all-or-nothing", "black and white" HN comment No middle ground. Two extremes and nothing in between In the real world, few people think this way Not only that, but it's common today to have more than one computer There is no shortage of HN comments that keep cl…

This probably depends on location, but generally, you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app for 2FA. That's the status quo among banks. Whether it may be possible to convince a bank to give you a hardware token instead if they even still make them is not an assured thing.

> you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app

Where is this?

I have lots of bank accounts, probably more than most people. Three local credit unions, Fidelity, Schwab, Chase, BofA, Citibank, Barclays, two local area banks, and two international banks. Plus a few lesser known ones for 401k/IRA accounts.

I have never installed any bank phone app. I do all my bank interactions from my desktop via Firefox.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#254
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's so sad. I even clicked around on their page to find out how I could contribute as a developer, but their gitlab repo seems abandoned since way before the latest release and all "how to get involved" articles eventually point to 404 pages.

You might have more luck searching "ubports". https://ubports.com/ Personally I would recommend postmarketOS + plasma mobile instead, but I didn't think ubports/lomiri were dead yet.

The original site already leads there. That's where the dead links are for getting involved.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half of the voting with your wallet are blind to the fact that you can't vote anything else. My village has one football team, not N. There's one burger place, not two. For the rest, appealing to legality is pointless, I ain't bringing my family doctor to a tribunal over this, this is real life and me being petty for not wanting to use a phone. Being right years from now is beyond pointless.

Sounds like you have given up without a fight and deserve whatever you get.

Ain't life simple as you make it?

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#256
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can charge it just fine with regular usb-c charger. So not a problem.

At very limited charging speeds though. That goes against the USB-PD mandate.

I haven't noticed that when I tried them out. It was still charging faster than the Pixel or iPhone.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#257
post #253
post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This probably depends on location, but generally, you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app for 2FA. That's the status quo among banks. Whether it may be possible to convince a bank to give you a hardware token instead if they even still make them is not an assured thing.

> you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app Where is this? I have lots of bank accounts, probably more than most people. Three local credit unions, Fidelity, Schwab, Chase, BofA, Citibank, Barclays, two local area banks, and two international banks. Plus a few lesser known ones for 401k/IRA accounts. I have never installed any bank phone app. I do all my ban…

MFA is a requirement of the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) in the EU and many banks use their apps for authorising online card payments. Its also common to use apps as 2FA for logging in to online banking or making bank transfers.

There can be alternatives in some cases (some banks offer code generating card readers, for example) but for personal accounts in particular, it would probably be difficult to operate without banking apps.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#258
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cash does not to need to be used anywere, but cards can be avoided for weeks until I need to use it again. Your experience sounds interesting but I can't infer what this sentence means.

Sorry, I should proof-read my comments... Can't edit it anymore It is not necessary to use cash anywhere because cards can be used really everywhere. But if you don't want to use cards, it's still possible to avoid it for weeks in row. You can pay cash at most brick and mortar places and by bank transfer at most online sites.

"oh, so sorry, we do not have change". (The note was £20, not 100, not even 50.) Good luck ...

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#259
post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Browser is great until it tells you that you need to use a mobile device. This happens all the time on multiple KYC platforms in the US. My laptop is an equally mobile device, they just don't recognize that.

you have an example where you are forced to use a mobile device? genuinely interested cause while I have a smartphone I don’t have hardly any “apps” on it (on my iphone all the “apps” are on the first “page” (without grouping). I do not like the idea of losing a phone and potentially someone getting access to my entire digital life (my phone password is 6 zeros) and I genuinely do not use phone for anything important

My employer's background check app required it. Multiple financial institutions' KYC required it.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half of the voting with your wallet are blind to the fact that you can't vote anything else. My village has one football team, not N. There's one burger place, not two. For the rest, appealing to legality is pointless, I ain't bringing my family doctor to a tribunal over this, this is real life and me being petty for not wanting to use a phone. Being right years from now is beyond pointless.

Sounds like you have given up without a fight and deserve whatever you get.

epolanski@ is, unfortunately, right. You may try to "walk away" if you are not interested in the end result. If the fact of walking away for you is more important / feels better than actually doing what you came for. (And don't get me started on how girls look at you when you start fishing for petty change in your pockets - that seriously limits your dating pool LOL)
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