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If by "anti iPhone" you mean "the zombie apocalypse phone", then yes, absolutely. It's as well-tailored to the third would (for which is was specifically desig

by alexqgb 16y ago

If by "anti iPhone" you mean "the zombie apocalypse phone", then yes, absolutely. It's as well-tailored to the third would (for which is was specifically designed) as the iPhone is to the first. For instance, it doesn't use USB to charge (computers are hardly ubiquitous), and you can navigate all the commands using installed voice prompts, since basic literacy isn't a given either. Something else not reliably found everywhere: electricity. The F3 responds with an e-ink display that allows 500 hours of standby between charges. Dirt floors, on the other hand (to say nothing of paths and roads) are standard, which is why the one-piece membrane on the front is so well-placed. Unlike a many 'smartphones', it's not easily thwarted by moisture or grit. Indeed, at $22.59, it may be the smartest phone on the planet.

DLWormwood 16y ago
I consider myself an Apple tech fan (have an iPod touch and iPad myself, just not the phone), but I really do think there should be more of these kinds of devices in the first world, as well as the third. Apple’s first gen iPhone was a sort of return to Apple’s roots regarding simplicity, with limited functionality and easy usability, but the uproar over the whole “web app, no native app” concept Steve tried to push initially caused Apple to change course to an App Store model. There are a few companies trying to sell “minimum viable” cellphones in the States, but you don’t hear all that much about them… http://www.jitterbug.com/ http://www.jitterbug.com/
- sprout 16y ago
  I think the focus on keypads is a mistake. I'd love a phone roughly like the OP's phone, except with a full range of characters and a largish keyboard. I don't think there's a lot of reason the phone needs to be so small either. I would bet you could make a Droid X sized phone, but lighter, with a nice hardware keyboard and great shock adsorption for about the cost of the OP phone. The fact that 'minimum viable' lacks texting is the result of price-fixing on the part of American carriers, not an intrinsic faculty of mobile devices.
StavrosK 16y ago
I have one of those, I haven't charged it in a year. Let me check what state it's in. Fun fact: It uses the same jack for the headset as for the charger. Also, it uses a low-frequency pulse in its speaker for vibration instead of a motor. I wonder how I know all this, I must have opened it up at some point. EDIT: Jesus, it works fine and the battery is full. Apparently, this phone is something to keep in the car in case of emergency. A year unused and the battery is still full.
- blub 16y ago
  I doubt that it's physically possible for a phone battery to last a whole year at 100% even when it's turned off.
DannoHung 16y ago
I don't see the advantage in not using USB for charging. The charger device can have a USB male-dongle.
- dagw 16y ago
  I don't see the advantage in using USB for charging. And a couple of advantages of not using USB. Perhaps using a USB connector was slightly more expensive to manufacture than using standard dc-power connector. More importantly it's probably a lot easier to buy or build a third party power adapter with a standard dc connector than one with a USB male connector. Which is important when selling to countries without easy access to well stocked electronics retailers.

by alexqgb 16y ago

DLWormwood 16y ago

I consider myself an Apple tech fan (have an iPod touch and iPad myself, just not the phone), but I really do think there should be more of these kinds of devices in the first world, as well as the third. Apple’s first gen iPhone was a sort of return to Apple’s roots regarding simplicity, with limited functionality and easy usability, but the uproar over the whole “web app, no native app” concept Steve tried to push initially caused Apple to change course to an App Store model. There are a few companies trying to sell “minimum viable” cellphones in the States, but you don’t hear all that much about them… http://www.jitterbug.com/ http://www.jitterbug.com/

sprout 16y ago
I think the focus on keypads is a mistake. I'd love a phone roughly like the OP's phone, except with a full range of characters and a largish keyboard. I don't think there's a lot of reason the phone needs to be so small either. I would bet you could make a Droid X sized phone, but lighter, with a nice hardware keyboard and great shock adsorption for about the cost of the OP phone. The fact that 'minimum viable' lacks texting is the result of price-fixing on the part of American carriers, not an intrinsic faculty of mobile devices.

StavrosK 16y ago

I have one of those, I haven't charged it in a year. Let me check what state it's in. Fun fact: It uses the same jack for the headset as for the charger. Also, it uses a low-frequency pulse in its speaker for vibration instead of a motor. I wonder how I know all this, I must have opened it up at some point. EDIT: Jesus, it works fine and the battery is full. Apparently, this phone is something to keep in the car in case of emergency. A year unused and the battery is still full.

blub 16y ago
I doubt that it's physically possible for a phone battery to last a whole year at 100% even when it's turned off.

DannoHung 16y ago

I don't see the advantage in not using USB for charging. The charger device can have a USB male-dongle.

dagw 16y ago
I don't see the advantage in using USB for charging. And a couple of advantages of not using USB. Perhaps using a USB connector was slightly more expensive to manufacture than using standard dc-power connector. More importantly it's probably a lot easier to buy or build a third party power adapter with a standard dc connector than one with a USB male connector. Which is important when selling to countries without easy access to well stocked electronics retailers.