5 ms·

The Rotary Un-Smartphone (2023)

63 points by tzury 5mo ago

nyc_pizzadev 5mo ago
Worth mentioning the Tin Can phone: https://tincan.kids/ https://tincan.kids/ All their batches are sold out, I guess it’s pretty popular. Interesting tidbit, it needs to be plugged in at all times, not meant to be mobile.
- ndespres 5mo ago
  Inspired by this I hooked up an old rotary phone to an ATA and got a number from a low cost SIP provider. Now my 5 year old can call his friends and family on his own. He loves when it rings and when he can call his pals to make his own plans. It lacks the features and network effects of the tin can system but is still pretty fun.
- AlecSchueler 5mo ago
  What's he benefit here over a landline phone?
  - nyc_pizzadev 5mo ago
    This one is wifi based, made for kids, it has a free plan, safety and security features. Pretty well put together.
  - wffurr 5mo ago
    You can't restrict callers as easily on a landline phone. You can block individual numbers, but most landline providers won't let you block by default. I can only imagine the support calls Comcast would get from people following some "never get spam!" guide but then not being able to get calls from their doctor or the plumber. If you're handy with tech like most folks on this forum, you can do all this yourself through a voip provider for significantly less per month, but you don't get a nice app interface to configure and you'll have to scrounge and hack to get cute hardware for your kid.
- wffurr 5mo ago
  Chatterbox has a BYO phone option and otherwise uses pretty standard wifi voip phones: https://voipkids.com/ https://voipkids.com/
nvr219 5mo ago
We have a “house phone” for the kids which is an iPhone with all the apps disabled on it.
hvenev 5mo ago
(2023) judging by https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/electrical.html https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/electrical.html
- deleted 5mo ago
  [deleted]
russellbeattie 5mo ago
I grew up with rotary phones... They really are not something to fetishize. I can close my eyes and still feel the plastic cutting into my index finger after repeatedly mis-dialing a long distance number, or having to redial a few times because the phone was busy. (Good luck if you were at a payphone.) You'd try to dial faster, but you'd always have to wait for the dial to return sooo slooowly... It took literally 15-30 seconds to dial a number. Then there was the yelling at someone to get off the line when they picked up and started dialing right away (clackada-clackada-clackada). Oof. Yeah, there are reasons rotary phones are gone for good, and it's not just because of touch tones. The "good ol' days" sucked and always will, no matter which generation is trying to claim otherwise, don't listen to anyone who tells you differently.
- righthand 5mo ago
  I love baking bread by hand even though sliced bread is readily available around me. I don’t care how waiting for a rise “sucks” and/or is a waste of time because tEcHnoLoGy made it easier.
- bloomingeek 5mo ago
  Absolutely, rotary phones sucked! Always in the way, slow as a sloth and a mis-dial was the worst. Having said all that, these "cell" phones look pretty cool.
- MichaelRo 5mo ago
  My first phone in the early 80s was a hand-cranked magneto phone like this: https://images.okr.ro/serve/product/572e8fdd848db2d3b02d36d2f5636318-2010766-235_235 https://images.okr.ro/serve/product/572e8fdd848db2d3b02d36d2... Connected by 12Km of telephone wire to a manual switchboard where an operator would pick my call and connect wires for local or long distance: https://alexandrone.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/110620111116.jpg https://alexandrone.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02... Yes, in the early 80s, Romania was still using 1950s technology. And with only 3 telephones in the village, it was a big deal to have one. Then at the end of the 80s moved to a nearby town and was amazed at how much more convenient a rotary dial phone is.
deleted 5mo ago
[deleted]
JKCalhoun 5mo ago
So beautifully designed. It feels like something the wealthy might own in the film Brazil.
alnwlsn 5mo ago
Should make it so you can send texts by using the letters and dialing a number multiple times like a T9 layout. Actually, hold on, I've thought of a design for my next keyboard.
NoSalt 5mo ago
I would LOVE one of these. If for no other reason than vexing my teenage son.
erelong 5mo ago
> $550 USD wonder if it came down in price in a few years since release as that's... enough to buy some used smartphones (plural)

63 points by tzury 5mo ago

Worth mentioning the Tin Can phone: https://tincan.kids/ https://tincan.kids/ All their batches are sold out, I guess it’s pretty popular. Interesting tidbit, it needs to be plugged in at all times, not meant to be mobile.

ndespres 5mo ago
Inspired by this I hooked up an old rotary phone to an ATA and got a number from a low cost SIP provider. Now my 5 year old can call his friends and family on his own. He loves when it rings and when he can call his pals to make his own plans. It lacks the features and network effects of the tin can system but is still pretty fun.
AlecSchueler 5mo ago
What's he benefit here over a landline phone?
- nyc_pizzadev 5mo ago
  This one is wifi based, made for kids, it has a free plan, safety and security features. Pretty well put together.
- wffurr 5mo ago
  You can't restrict callers as easily on a landline phone. You can block individual numbers, but most landline providers won't let you block by default. I can only imagine the support calls Comcast would get from people following some "never get spam!" guide but then not being able to get calls from their doctor or the plumber. If you're handy with tech like most folks on this forum, you can do all this yourself through a voip provider for significantly less per month, but you don't get a nice app interface to configure and you'll have to scrounge and hack to get cute hardware for your kid.
wffurr 5mo ago
Chatterbox has a BYO phone option and otherwise uses pretty standard wifi voip phones: https://voipkids.com/ https://voipkids.com/

nvr219 5mo ago

We have a “house phone” for the kids which is an iPhone with all the apps disabled on it.

hvenev 5mo ago

(2023) judging by https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/electrical.html https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/electrical.html

deleted 5mo ago
[deleted]

russellbeattie 5mo ago

I grew up with rotary phones... They really are not something to fetishize. I can close my eyes and still feel the plastic cutting into my index finger after repeatedly mis-dialing a long distance number, or having to redial a few times because the phone was busy. (Good luck if you were at a payphone.) You'd try to dial faster, but you'd always have to wait for the dial to return sooo slooowly... It took literally 15-30 seconds to dial a number. Then there was the yelling at someone to get off the line when they picked up and started dialing right away (clackada-clackada-clackada). Oof. Yeah, there are reasons rotary phones are gone for good, and it's not just because of touch tones. The "good ol' days" sucked and always will, no matter which generation is trying to claim otherwise, don't listen to anyone who tells you differently.

righthand 5mo ago
I love baking bread by hand even though sliced bread is readily available around me. I don’t care how waiting for a rise “sucks” and/or is a waste of time because tEcHnoLoGy made it easier.
bloomingeek 5mo ago
Absolutely, rotary phones sucked! Always in the way, slow as a sloth and a mis-dial was the worst. Having said all that, these "cell" phones look pretty cool.
MichaelRo 5mo ago
My first phone in the early 80s was a hand-cranked magneto phone like this: https://images.okr.ro/serve/product/572e8fdd848db2d3b02d36d2f5636318-2010766-235_235 https://images.okr.ro/serve/product/572e8fdd848db2d3b02d36d2... Connected by 12Km of telephone wire to a manual switchboard where an operator would pick my call and connect wires for local or long distance: https://alexandrone.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/110620111116.jpg https://alexandrone.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02... Yes, in the early 80s, Romania was still using 1950s technology. And with only 3 telephones in the village, it was a big deal to have one. Then at the end of the 80s moved to a nearby town and was amazed at how much more convenient a rotary dial phone is.

deleted 5mo ago

[deleted]

JKCalhoun 5mo ago

So beautifully designed. It feels like something the wealthy might own in the film Brazil.

alnwlsn 5mo ago

Should make it so you can send texts by using the letters and dialing a number multiple times like a T9 layout. Actually, hold on, I've thought of a design for my next keyboard.

NoSalt 5mo ago

I would LOVE one of these. If for no other reason than vexing my teenage son.

erelong 5mo ago

> $550 USD wonder if it came down in price in a few years since release as that's... enough to buy some used smartphones (plural)