• Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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      9 days ago

      They were cool until the industry decided tall, skinny rectangles were the final form factor.

      I’m on the last week of my dumb phone challenge (been daily driving a flip phone for the last 3 weeks), and I think I’m gonna keep it.

      • HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com
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        9 days ago

        my dream is a dumb phone that can access the internet and act as a wifi gateway for my laptop or tablet. oh also a local webpage for managing the phone.

        • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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          9 days ago

          I was actually surprised to learn that most current dumb phones (at least ones that run KaiOS like most of the Nokia ones) do actually support acting as a wifi hotspot. Not sure of any that have a REST API for management, though. They also have at least primitive web browsers.

          Actually, you might be able to make a REST API (and web app to use it) with NodeJS or Python with Termux, though that requires an Android device (so not applicable for a dumb phone). Termux has an API that lets you interact with the phone hardware, though I’ve had issues with some things not being implemented (I’ve only briefly played with that, so I may just be missing something).

          The “dumb” phone I chose for my challenge is the CAT S22 Flip which runs Android 11. I disabled most of what made it “smart” for the challenge, though. At the end of the week when the 30 days are officially up, I’m going to re-enable some of those features just for convenience. (That device was $20 cheaper than the true dumb phone I was looking at, so I figured I’d just dumb it down for the 30 day challenge and then use it as the unique smartphone it is after that).

        • THEWIZARD@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          There is an OS for dumbphones of certain types that makes them smart phoens to an extent a browser and facebook etc on tbem skyoe is on some dumber phoens to already, You can do the opposite with certain launchers as well convert a smartphonex o dumbphone eg. the oddly named Baldphone on F-Droid for elderly peolle needing bigger buttons andxless modern sh@t I mean bloatware sorry lol it also adds an ease of opening the dialpad oviously in bold digits and other simplicities.

          Baldphone remember to oot out of extra tracking it has anti-features

          BaldPhone (Replace your phone’s interface with a big, simple and friendly one) https://f-droid.org/packages/com.bald.uriah.baldphone/

          Other alternative maybe YAM Launcher or similar apps.

          YAM Launcher (YAM Launcher is a minimalist text-based launcher for Android with weather!) https://f-droid.org/packages/eu.ottop.yamlauncher/

          Nothing dumber looking than text for your items and apps installed

          Here Techcrunch come up with ideas on dumbing smartphones down in this article

          https://www.techlockdown.com/guides/dumb-phone-android

          • HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com
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            9 days ago

            I mean its not about the interface as much as the way that smartphones feel like tracking devices. yeah any cellphone can be tracked but the ios and android are made seem to be at its core. Then there is the expense and don’t last as long. I just don’t want to be paying for a pocket computer when I just want a pocket phone/wifi