5 ms·
It's not a phone?
by jdalgetty 2y ago
It's not a phone?
- popcar2 2y agoNope, which is very bizarre. I don't understand the point of the phone form factor if it doesn't have a SIM card slot. It even has a microphone and everything but you can't make calls from it.
- tired_and_awake 2y agoIf you install signal or WhatsApp would it work?
- gs17 2y agoYes, if you're on Wi-Fi. It's running Android and even comes with the Play Store. I have one of their larger readers and a lot of apps worked out of the boox.
- dingnuts 2y agonot if you don't have a WiFi signal available. The part that makes it a cell phone isn't the ability to run messaging apps, it's the cellular modem.
- antonyt 2y agoNope, it's an e-reader in a cell-phone form factor. No modem.
- ergocoder 2y agoLMAO what. I was really impressed and thought of buying one. I was thinking that it could replace my phone, and I wouldn't use phone as much.
- hombre_fatal 2y agoWhat's confusing is that it's not just a small e-reader. It has a microphone, SD card, the Google Play store, and normal smartphone apps. Everything except cell data / SIM card.
- bondarchuk 2y agoThrowback to ipod touch.
- hombre_fatal 2y agoYeah, good point. Because the iPod touch was also kinda awkward as a product, but it made more sense as a transitionary device when smartphone penetration wasn't fully ubiquitous. In 2025, the Palma product seems like feature creep since I wouldn't expect smartphone apps to appeal to anyone looking for less distraction. That's how most people use tablets which are dedicated distraction devices stuck on wifi.
- JansjoFromIkea 2y agoI've often wondered why there aren't devices that have all network operations bundled into a removable module; that way you could get both people who want some level of disconnect and those who want a more thorough level of disconnect.
- robocat 2y agoThere are attempts at module based electronics. Google had “Project Ara" https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara The HMD fusion budget smartphone has a pogo-pin port on the back for peripherals https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/03/hmd_fusion_review/ https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/03/hmd_fusion_review/ Not sure why they fail in the marketplace. Maybe look at other similar market failures like power tools with different interchangable heads? I suspect the sticker price of the individual modules scares consumers.
- culopatin 2y agoA hotspot?
- numpad0 2y agoI had one of these[1]. Worst part was that the push-push slot wasn't so secure and modem would crash silently. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W-SIM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W-SIM