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+1. I've intentionally never owned a smartphone. Living in Estonia and using a dumb phone, I can still comfortably query my bank account balance via a voice se
by marttt 5y ago
+1. I've intentionally never owned a smartphone.
Living in Estonia and using a dumb phone, I can still comfortably query my bank account balance via a voice service. I can also sign documents with my digital ID by confirming a secret and entering my PIN code. Buying intercity bus tickets also works, including season tickets for e.g. 30 days (by calling a number that includes your bus card identification string and another string for the type of ticket you want to buy). The newly created electric bike network in my hometown also sort-of works if you bind it to your bus card.
What I miss, though, is being able to work as a bike courier for Wolt or Bolt using just a dumb phone. Or maybe also use a Bolt electrical scooter. Not quite sure, but I think none this is possible.
All in all I'd say the quality of my life has massively gained from sticking to a dumb phone. No cravings to hug a smartphone in my sleep; enjoying the luxury to actually look out of the window during train commutes, etc. It seems obvious, though, that these simple, hassle-free, app-free, visual-glare-free solutions are on their way out.
Then again, seeing things like the Gemini protocol develop still gives me some hope. Maybe the next generation of nerds, facing climate and energy overconsumption issues, will start preferring really simple solutions again. Who knows.
- vbezhenar 5y agoYou're not obliged to hug a smartphone if you can. I have a smartphone, but I don't use it often. I use it for important services, like navigation, bank apps. I can read a book if I don't have nothing better to do. I can check out my messages once or twice a day if I feel like that, or I can leave my phone somewhere for a weekdays and forget about it existence if there are better things to do. IMO smartphone is a simple solution. Smartphone is an internet-connected computer. It's as simple as it gets. Phone calls, SMS are complex beasts with archaic protocols nobody heard about, without any reliability guarantees.
- marttt 5y agoI guess you're right in many ways. These days smartphones are everywhere, they're common technology, something akin to a TV set. There's nothing special about them any more, maybe even for small children? Thus they're also easier and easier to use just like a tool; something that you simply forget about when you don't need it. Got me thinking. Thanks for your reply.