154 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
154 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: The Featurephone Experiment
|
|
date: 2024-02-05
|
|
tags:
|
|
- featurephone
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
Jr and I have spent the last year paring down our smartphone usage.
|
|
This last December,
|
|
we found we were using the phones about 30 minutes a day.
|
|
When I realized last month that Jr's phone would stop getting security patches
|
|
in August of this year,
|
|
I was not looking forward to dropping another $500-$800 on a phone
|
|
that we're trying our best to not use.
|
|
|
|
So I moved to a featurephone.
|
|
|
|
I have a few basic needs:
|
|
|
|
* Need to be able to play one album to wired speakers: I run sound for the dance school
|
|
* Group texting: surprisingly, this is still an uncommon feature in 2024
|
|
* Rudimentary maps app I can use for walking
|
|
* Calendar with alarms that syncs to some online service
|
|
* Allows tethering my laptop
|
|
* Battery lasts a full day
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Nokia 2780
|
|
|
|
Initially,
|
|
I tried the Nokia 2780.
|
|
This is a flip phone, running KaiOS,
|
|
a browser-based mobile operating system.
|
|
|
|
Checklist:
|
|
|
|
* [ ] Play one album to wired speakers
|
|
* [x] Group texting
|
|
* [x] Maps for walking
|
|
* [x] Calendar with alarms
|
|
* [x] Allows tethering my laptop
|
|
* [x] Battery lasts a full day
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other neat features:
|
|
|
|
* $70
|
|
* Camera with flash and geotagged photos (remembers where you were when you took it)
|
|
* Displays photos sent over SMS
|
|
* Email client, synced to Google Mail
|
|
* Possible to write JavaScript apps for things like playing ebooks
|
|
* Battery lasts a full day
|
|
* Alarm clock
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bummers:
|
|
|
|
* USB C charging port is still directional and won't charge in one orientation of the cable
|
|
* Dings for dumb reasons like "battery is full", with no clear way to turn that off
|
|
* Music player won't play to wired speakers (but wired headphones are okay: I don't understand how they did this)
|
|
* JavaScript apps cannot use "native" controls: you have to scroll a cursor around with the d-pad
|
|
* Larger than flip phones used to be (but still smaller than a smartphone)
|
|
* Predictive text input makes you send "G will be there" instead of "I will be there", unless you're vigilant
|
|
* Some built-in apps, and all store-installed apps, have ads
|
|
* Google is all over the shortcuts, even when it doesn't make sense
|
|
* OS will probably never be updated
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jr wound up taking this device,
|
|
and seems to be fairly happy with it.
|
|
For me,
|
|
it was pretty good,
|
|
but I felt like it could be better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Light Phone 2
|
|
|
|
This is actually running Android
|
|
with a custom front-end for displaying on a small e-ink screen.
|
|
You can hack it to run any Android app,
|
|
apparently.
|
|
I'm going to try hard not to do this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Checklist:
|
|
|
|
* [x] Play one album to wired speakers
|
|
* [x] Group texting
|
|
* [x] Maps for walking
|
|
* [x] Calendar with alarms
|
|
* [x] Allows tethering my laptop
|
|
* [x] Battery lasts a full day
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other neat features:
|
|
|
|
* Will auto-forward MMS attachments to your email
|
|
* Small: fits in my jeans watch pocket
|
|
* E-ink display looks cool
|
|
* Lots of the setup you do is actually on a web page you access with your computer
|
|
* Alarm clock
|
|
* Podcasts built into the core OS
|
|
* Gets regular updates: seems like about 2 updates per month!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bummers:
|
|
|
|
* $300
|
|
* USB Micro charging adapter
|
|
* Music is organized as a flat list of every song you added
|
|
* Percent button on calculator makes no sense to me
|
|
* Sends notification tone when it pairs to Bluetooth or regains signal
|
|
* Does not sync messages over bluetooth to the car
|
|
* Does not sync contacts over bluetooth to the car
|
|
* You have to turn it on to see if you have any notifications
|
|
* No camera
|
|
* No ability to display images
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Where Things Stand
|
|
|
|
Jr has the Nokia 2780 and so far likes it.
|
|
I suspected this would happen: it feels more "fun" somehow,
|
|
and the camera is a big deal.
|
|
|
|
I'm enjoying the Light Phone 2.
|
|
It checks all my boxes, and... that's about all there is.
|
|
$300 feels like a lot,
|
|
but if I can keep it for 2 years,
|
|
I'll be spending the same amount per year as I did on smartphones.
|
|
If I can keep it for 5 years,
|
|
it will be much cheaper.
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
More interesting to me is that
|
|
*I still need a smartphone*.
|
|
I'm leaving it powered off,
|
|
but I need to turn it on for:
|
|
|
|
* Depositing checks
|
|
* Obtaining SMS codes (I still haven't ported my phone number over)
|
|
* Video calls with my family
|
|
* Authention app for work (!)
|
|
|
|
I *think* I can do business travel without the smartphone.
|
|
I've got the work authentication app installed on my personal Chromebook,
|
|
and while I was at it,
|
|
I set up a Plex app,
|
|
so I have some stuff to watch on my next train trip.
|
|
|
|
Will this stick?
|
|
I guess only time will tell!
|