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I was very excited by this phone but KaiOS seems worrying though hopefully I just misread: they seem to be quite closed-source even though they are based on Fir

I was very excited by this phone but KaiOS seems worrying though hopefully I just misread: they seem to be quite closed-source even though they are based on FirefoxOS [1], the app store is closed and carrier controlled [2], and the hotspot functionality also seems to come with carrier control [3], which given the lack of openness and root capability, means that it may very well be disabled if you buy the phone through the wrong carrier. As a basic phone with features, it still seems exciting (priced at $99USD I think) but after LineageOS, this feels like a step back in terms of openness and control. [1] https://www.kaiostech.com/faq/#question-14 https://www.kaiostech.com/faq/#question-14 [2] https://www.kaiostech.com/faq/#question-6 https://www.kaiostech.com/faq/#question-6 - to me, this means outdated apps or ones that will eventually die (such as the YouTube app on Sony DVD players a couple of years ago.) [3] https://www.kaiostech.com/faq/#question-16 https://www.kaiostech.com/faq/#question-16

romwell 9y ago
If you want a dumb phone, why would you even care about locked app store? You aren't getting it to use the apps. Same for root capability; either WiFi hotspot works with your carrier out of the box, or you don't buy the phone. If you have to fight your carrier on that, hacking every device you use on the network is not a solution anyway. And a closed-source OS doesn't mean it's not hackable. Back in the day, you could mess a lot with Symbian.
- abawany 9y ago
  True. The thing is that under the covers, this thing is kind of a smart phone and as such, the lack of control bothers me a bit. Your other points are valid though - one could just get this device for hotspot/call functionality and be happy.
jrcii 9y ago
My requirement is I need a sandboxed baseband or at least the ability to actually know it's off. There's a 4G DragonBox Prya coming out that you can put a SIP client on, and there's the ever-on-the-horizon Neo900.

romwell 9y ago

If you want a dumb phone, why would you even care about locked app store? You aren't getting it to use the apps. Same for root capability; either WiFi hotspot works with your carrier out of the box, or you don't buy the phone. If you have to fight your carrier on that, hacking every device you use on the network is not a solution anyway. And a closed-source OS doesn't mean it's not hackable. Back in the day, you could mess a lot with Symbian.

abawany 9y ago
True. The thing is that under the covers, this thing is kind of a smart phone and as such, the lack of control bothers me a bit. Your other points are valid though - one could just get this device for hotspot/call functionality and be happy.

jrcii 9y ago

My requirement is I need a sandboxed baseband or at least the ability to actually know it's off. There's a 4G DragonBox Prya coming out that you can put a SIP client on, and there's the ever-on-the-horizon Neo900.