4 ms·

I would love to have a modern "dumbphone", but with ability to build own apps, either with J2ME or similar technology.

by butz 3y ago

tpmx 3y ago
I both loved and hated J2ME. It kinda had what you needed though, apart from the often "openly" idiotic device implementations that were kind of the norm. Only Sony Ericsson had a great one (fast, high code quality, sane security policies/prompts). Nokia came at second place with medium performance, high code quality and outright user-hostile security policies/prompts.
jkestner 3y ago
The sweet spot for me for a while was the iPod Touch. Could load stuff into Instapaper to read on the subway, take notes, write emails, and otherwise be left alone by the Net so I could peoplewatch instead. Now I think the main excuse to have a phone is the camera, and I'm looking at pocketable digital cameras on eBay.
OfSanguineFire 3y ago
Consider getting a PinePhone. The A64 CPU on there is so old that web browsing is painful, but you can still use it as a music player, check email, and hack together whatever little apps you want with your Linux framework of choice.
- fsflover 3y ago
  Alternatively, consider Librem 5, if you need more performance.
riidom 3y ago
So what I did: Trying UBports. Got an used phone from this list: https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io (in my case, a Google Nexus 5, bought it 4 years ago, I think - I'd get something newer today) and get a prepaid sim-card without internet. I do my updates and app installations at home when it connects to my router. Without internet, I never use the browser, don't have chat/social media apps installed. Maps work offline (download the regions you need at home beforehand). Music is stored on the device as well. If you need an overview of available apps, this is the store available on the phone: https://open-store.io https://open-store.io For app development (I don't do that though) I think this is a good starting point: https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/appdev/ https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/appdev/ and probably https://forums.ubports.com/category/35/app-development https://forums.ubports.com/category/35/app-development

I would love to have a modern "dumbphone", but with ability to build own apps, either with J2ME or similar technology.

by butz 3y ago

I would love to have a modern "dumbphone", but with ability to build own apps, either with J2ME or similar technology.

tpmx 3y ago

I both loved and hated J2ME. It kinda had what you needed though, apart from the often "openly" idiotic device implementations that were kind of the norm. Only Sony Ericsson had a great one (fast, high code quality, sane security policies/prompts). Nokia came at second place with medium performance, high code quality and outright user-hostile security policies/prompts.

jkestner 3y ago

The sweet spot for me for a while was the iPod Touch. Could load stuff into Instapaper to read on the subway, take notes, write emails, and otherwise be left alone by the Net so I could peoplewatch instead. Now I think the main excuse to have a phone is the camera, and I'm looking at pocketable digital cameras on eBay.

OfSanguineFire 3y ago

Consider getting a PinePhone. The A64 CPU on there is so old that web browsing is painful, but you can still use it as a music player, check email, and hack together whatever little apps you want with your Linux framework of choice.

fsflover 3y ago
Alternatively, consider Librem 5, if you need more performance.

riidom 3y ago

So what I did: Trying UBports. Got an used phone from this list: https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io (in my case, a Google Nexus 5, bought it 4 years ago, I think - I'd get something newer today) and get a prepaid sim-card without internet. I do my updates and app installations at home when it connects to my router. Without internet, I never use the browser, don't have chat/social media apps installed. Maps work offline (download the regions you need at home beforehand). Music is stored on the device as well. If you need an overview of available apps, this is the store available on the phone: https://open-store.io https://open-store.io For app development (I don't do that though) I think this is a good starting point: https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/appdev/ https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/appdev/ and probably https://forums.ubports.com/category/35/app-development https://forums.ubports.com/category/35/app-development