Less rage baity. Hahaha good one!. Engaged and enraged, that's the Lemmy way, just like reddit.
I've been thinking about it for a while. Back when I started getting more serious about internet privacy I had the idea of switching to a de-Googled phone but when I found out that'd be expensive as hell I had a second idea to get a flip phone and spread out what I use it for across devices. My laptop for services like YouTube and streaming, MP3 player for music, a digital camera for my camera, etc. Also expensive but the individual devices are cheaper so I can more easily slowly chip away at it, first thing I'm getting is an MP3 player because I got my Dad to buy me one for Christmas.
Many flip phones also work as MP3 players (some better than others) so those 2 could be combined in one device, depending on the features you want.
An mp3 player is good but I don't recommend flip phones. The build quality is pretty bad from my experience with alcatel and I think mobiwire may have the same issue.
I did. I have an s22 flip. Not fully "dumb", it runs android mobile. But so lacking on resources it is basically a dumb phone, with Spotify and maps. Fits my use case fine and much less distractions and constant gamifiyijng. I Miss NFC payments the most and my banking app won't even run on it, but it does the job of being a communications device just fine.
I've though about one of these but the videos I've seen make it look very annoying to use.
No I use to much self hosted services. My phone is mostly an audiobook/podcast playing device. And audiobook shelf is to good to give up.
Well. I don't have a dumb phone but I installed e/os on my fairphone and didn't install all those tracker apps. I like things like signal and writing with my friends, but I don't like google shoving me ADS for their crap services down my throat
i was thinking of using a steamdeck+ gsm router as an everything device
I tried the 2017 Nokia 3310 and a Samsung dumbphone but I think that my Google Pixel is waay better than those two.
I bought a ZTE last year as my first "cell phone". I hardly ever use a phone and when I do use a phone I don't like it. For what I use it for the monthly fee is way too high. I'd probably spend less than 10 dollars a month if it was like an old timey public "payphone". I no longer want to do ph'd level research just to discover what to purchase or find the cheapest alternative. The world has become too complicated or maybe I have become too stupid/lazy in my elder years.
Preface this by saying it has been a few years. I used to have a windows phone and when the platform died I used a "dumb" phone for a year until my wife told me to get an Android device.
I was using a Nokia ngage qd. It's a small phone that has a peculiar form factor, shaped like a controller. It was made as a gaming handheld, so it has a bunch of gaming apps and over the year a lot of Homebrew stuff. It definitely came from a different era. You need to explicitly lock the phone otherwise it would only lock the keys to prevent pocket dialing. Locking the keys does not require a code to unlock, only the manual locking does iirc.
Because it has games, it was still a great time killer in situations. It's has a small proprietary jack, but I have the original earphones so could listen to music (no mp3, but ogg).
Biggest pet peeve was not being able to sync my calendar. It uses a protocol I couldn't find a setup for. Device also utilized a WAP browser, which is useless now.
Calling and texting: great. Games: great, sometimes crashy or won't load. Homebrew: hit and miss, depending.
Find me one with an unlimited hotspot plan, and I'll switch tomorrow. Literally, that is what my smartphone offers. Not the hotspot, but unlimitted data plan and the means to use it to the fullest on the phone itself?
Close enough that this is my bar to meet, even though I would rather switch to a separate e-Ink tablet, dumb-phone-with-hotspot, and steam-deck-or-similar, for EDC-or-close-to; I would probably carry just the tablet and phone most days, maybe just the phone and deck on others.
As long as the phone has the ability to act as a hotspot (many dumphones do), the amount of data is up to the service plan you sign up for, not limited by the phone itself. I use Tello which offers unlimited data plans, but the plan I use only has 1 GB/mo (of which I use almost none). I guess you need to make sure the phone you buy is unlocked so you can shop around for the best service provider.
I use closer to a terrabyte a month, and I am well-aware that it is a plan issue. That doesn't change the fact that the only any-number-of-mobile-devices/plan pairing that allows me to do what I want where I want is a smartphone. That includes downloading content for offline-viewing with minimal hassle.
When my kids pay for their own phone service, maybe I'll go all-in on piracy instead, but in the mean-time, I'm exploiting that which I am already paying for, with a device I've had paid-off for years.
OK? I was responding to your original statement "Find me one with an unlimited hotspot plan, and I’ll switch tomorrow." since that made it sound like you didn't have any other criteria.
I don't, but there is no smart-or-dumb-phone that has it. The fact that's due to plan availability changes nothing, nevermind that with said plan, almost any recent phone would do.
I think the idea of a dumbphone is precisely for dumb people... or perhaps for addicts with no self-control. If you can't control your phone use and have to resort to buying another phone, which I'm sure they'll sell you at an exorbitant price, it's because there's something broken in your psyche. Buying another device isn't going to change your mindset.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
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