---
title: Nokia 2780 Review
date: 2024-01-21
tags:
    - featurephone
---

I've been using a Nokia 2780 flip phone instead of my Pixel 6 smartphone
for a few days now.
Here are my notes about it.

# Better than the Smartphone

* Fits in my pocket better: it's thicker, but smaller in the other two dimensions
* Battery lasts for days, not hours
* Speakerphone is somehow better
* Voice calls have lower latency: I don't feel like I'm interrupting people
* FM Radio
* Almost no compulsion to "check my phone": I know there's nothing going on there
* Conversation starter: nearly everyone who sees it wants to tell me about 
    a fond memory of a featurephone they once used


# Same as the Smartphone

* Connects to WiFi
* Can act as hotspot
* Basic calculator
* Plays music
* Group SMS support
* Calendar with reminders, syncs to Google
* Modern web browser with JavaScript
* Email client, syncs to Google
* Google Maps


# Worse than the Smartphone, but tolerable

* Camera is just okay
* Group SMS displays a blank subject before every message
* Google Maps doesn't have POV mode: you have to manually advance to the next turn
* No "location sharing", people can't see where you are, and you can't see where they are
* Only syncs one calendar
* Email is just the body: PDF attachments have to be saved and opened in another app
* Contact syncing breaks, so I had to manually transfer my core contacts
  * Google's contacts for me is massive, I don't recognize most of these people
  * Maybe this is actually a feature?
* QR Code Reader is an app (has ads)
* Podcast app has ads
* MMS (group texts, or photos) can take a few minutes to arrive when the phone is closed.
    This may be a power saving issue.
* Multimedia text messages must be opened to display them
* 200x320 screen resolution (smartphone is 2400x1080!)
* Limited set of emoji on keyboard


# Bad

* Headphone jack doesn't detect speakers, only headphones
* No way to automatically mute sounds during "quiet hours" (like, when you are asleep)
* Predictive text input guesses one 4 means "g", not "I"
* Will not play FLAC files
* "Battery Full" notification can't be disabled
* No international keyboard: goodbye, diacriticals!
