Sky's Edge

As a note: there are almost no true dumb phones in existence anymore. Almost all flip phones are smart phones in disguise, with either a cut-down version of Android (with all the data collection that entails) or KaiOS under the hood. At this point, you might be best served by obtaining a Rotary Un-SmartPhone (https://skysedge.com/RUSP/index.html ) once they start production up again. Now that is a true dumb phone.

It doesn’t work well. Telephones haven’t changed for decades and are now practically a dead technology. The wires are used for data, and phone service is grandfathered in. You can reasonably say this is the result of a lack of innovation caused by government regulation. Edit: I say this as someone who loved the dial telephone era. I really want one of these: https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html I would have bought one, but then I realized that the phone is useless now.

(2023) judging by https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/electrical.html

I can never pass up an opportunity to mention Justine Haupt’s Rotary Un-Smartphone. Buy: https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/index.html Story: https://www.justine-haupt.com/rotarycellphoneinfo/index.html Edit: wait, was she not able to get it certified? Does it really say it won’t connect to a US network? Oh, > This is a regulatory approval issue which will take time to resolve.

I would like an open source feature phone. Something like The Rotary Un-Smartphone (https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/index.html). Just a plane phone. I have never had a connected smartphone and I do not think I am missing much in my life. I carry an old smartphone without a SIM. I can take pictures and browse the web with wifi. I would like to find some sort of "life recording" software. When I find a good Linux tablet I will use that.

Here's its alternate universe version - https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html

https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/ Some assembly required.

https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/ might have a more interesting BoM to look at if one wants to do things from scratch, since a bulky pi-specific board might be too much for most

Here's an example of living with the light phone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7G1pWYVtBg Honestly I think using an Android phone with minimal apps, or having two profiles, one for work, one for play/weekends makes the most sense. And on iPhone using screen time to force your grip from app vices makes more sense than the self punishment of these phones. That said my ADHD makes me want to buy one of these https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html

Just use a rotary cell phone: https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html

That does exist: https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html

Even rotary cell phones [1] I'm old but that is too much for me. I just bought my first smart phone and spent a while in developer mode quieting it down to extend battery life so some old people can do this. [1] - https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html

It's a uBlox Lara-R6 [0], which is a different one than the Quectel EG25-G of the PinePhone [1]. [0] https://www.skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html [1] https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/PinePhone_Pro#Specifications

Cool! More details here: https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html

Kit by Justine Haupt, at https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html previously discussed at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31166026 This is a new video demonstrating the assembled final version

There are rotary mobile phones available today: https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31166026

Related https://skysedge.com/unsmartphones/RUSP/index.html