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Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

nytimes.com

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Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#71

Post by jonknee »

jimmy1 wrote: post #35
ctrl-j wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get lost and have to stop/call for directions? Abandoning modern technology doesn't seem like the better alternative in this case.

> Get lost and have to stop/call for directions? Why is, it in these type of questions, people always immediately go to the worst case scenario to try and prove their point? What about the average case: people again learn to plan their routes in advance, use their instincts, road signs, and if necessary, how to use a map. You also assume you can't get lost using a GPS. All data has the potential to be stale. Maybe th…

> In my experience, GPS is great for city driving with clear path to the sky (and >50% battery for any trip that is over an hour). Not so good in mountainous or remote locations.

I use my phone's GPS in the wilderness all the time and it's an amazing help. Having a topo map where you can see exactly where you are is awesome. Even just having altitude is a big help like the other day when I was trudging up a steep forested ridge and wanted to know how many more hundreds of feet I had to go before the summit.

Of course you can live without GPS, but I just can't make any sense out of arguing that it isn't anything other than amazing. I'd give up a lot of stuff before I'd give up GPS.

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#72

Post by klez »

phil248 wrote: post #23

The article uses the word "phone" about 40 times. Based on my own usage patterns, I don't even have a phone. I have a portable computer. I happen to use it to make phone calls a few times every week. I use my desktop to make video calls a few times a month, but I don't call that a phone. We all know a smartphone is a computer, and I'm not trying to be pedantic about the words we use, but I think our insistence that t…

I have trouble understanding how not calling it a phone changes what the article is speaking about. Can you please help me understand your point?

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#73

Post by themoat »

gjs278 wrote: post #56
SamReidHughes wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spend a few minutes looking at a map before the trip?

road closed. detours. insane levels of traffic you didn't anticipate. have fun.

This comment kind of reads like the lead-in to a bad infomercial. It's not that dramatic.

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#74

Post by maerF0x0 »

klez wrote: post #72
phil248 wrote: post #23

The article uses the word "phone" about 40 times. Based on my own usage patterns, I don't even have a phone. I have a portable computer. I happen to use it to make phone calls a few times every week. I use my desktop to make video calls a few times a month, but I don't call that a phone. We all know a smartphone is a computer, and I'm not trying to be pedantic about the words we use, but I think our insistence that t…

I have trouble understanding how not calling it a phone changes what the article is speaking about. Can you please help me understand your point?

It's a bit of a misleading hypothesis. DumberPhone is probably a better Phone. Few want a Phone anymore and but use the word "Phone" as a placeholder for what they want-- "4-6 inch tablet in my hand" is what many use phones for (if it werent for a few family members and archaic organizations I probably would do away with my phone number entirely) .

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#75

Post by scarface74 »

kleiba wrote: post #28
ctrl-j wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get lost and have to stop/call for directions? Abandoning modern technology doesn't seem like the better alternative in this case.

First of all, not having a GPS does not automatically imply getting lost. People used to be able to navigate just fine most of the time before that technology was available. And then, what's wrong with asking someone for directions? I've been asked many times in the olden days and never once was it an unpleasant experience.

And then, what's wrong with asking someone for directions?

Ask this 14 year old....

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/14/us/michigan-man-shoots-at-tee...

The last thing I want to do is be lost somewhere in the South. Yes I live in the south.

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#76

Post by sandov »

wffurr wrote: post #34
sandov wrote: post #17

For those who want their phone to respect them, while still maintaining smart functionality, I recommend LineageOS, it's a distribution of android without all the google's proprietary crap.

That doesn't actually change anything about the smartphone being a distraction machine. All the same apps, social networks, constant notifications, etc are still there. The fundamentals have nothing to do with "Google's proprietary crap" and everything to do with being an internet enabled distraction machine, which is true for all modern smartphone OSes.

I could say that open source apps — like the ones in f-droid — don't present the same amount of dark patterns that closed source proprietary apps do.

But I agree, getting rid of google's proprietary apps doesn't necessarily mean get rid of this attention/dopamine seeking world we find ourselves in.

However, I think a great part of how uncomfortable it feels to know that there's a smart phone in your pocket is knowing that it's spying on you, and getting rid of google's crap means that your phone doesn't spy on you, at least not by default.

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#77

Post by huntie »

gjs278 wrote: post #56
SamReidHughes wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spend a few minutes looking at a map before the trip?

road closed. detours. insane levels of traffic you didn't anticipate. have fun.

None of these are problems with proper planning. I usually add an hour for every three hours of driving as a buffer. It's worth noting that GPS doesn't solve this either. If there's an accident a few miles ahead of you that blocks the road you run into the same problem.

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#78

Post by germinalphrase »

samwalrus wrote: post #61

I now only use a huawei watch 2 with LTE as my only phone. I do not pair it with a smart phone. It allows me to use google maps, call an uber and see my upcoming appointments by syncing with google. But I can't check my email, facebook or the news, or other websites. This means it is not distracting, but I have the really useful bits from a smart phone. The only problem is battery life, and the fact that sometimes it…

Moving toward a watch/headphones combo would be an attractive phone alternative to me. I would need to really sit down and weigh out the benefits/loses compared to keeping a phone vs going whole hog and disconnecting completely though.

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#79

Post by trumped »

alchemism wrote: post #6

I've just abandoned using a smartphone in favor of a $20 dumb Alcatel phone that can only do three things: calls, alarms, and an FM radio. It doesn't even vibrate. I offloaded every other functional use into my tablet, in this case an iPad Pro. The phone battery lasts for days on standby; I can drain my tablet battery without concern. I can leave the tablet at home if I want to stay light or if I want to stay focused…

I disabled all notifications (except for phone and text) on my smartphone and enabled the power saving mode and now my battery can easily last 3 days...

Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?

#80

Post by rjsw »

alchemism wrote: post #6

I've just abandoned using a smartphone in favor of a $20 dumb Alcatel phone that can only do three things: calls, alarms, and an FM radio. It doesn't even vibrate. I offloaded every other functional use into my tablet, in this case an iPad Pro. The phone battery lasts for days on standby; I can drain my tablet battery without concern. I can leave the tablet at home if I want to stay light or if I want to stay focused…

I have a Nokia 130. As well as the features you list it will also play MP3 files, lasts several weeks on standby.
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