4 ms·

Some scepticism here I see, but personally I think this is spot-on. I've been keen on a dumber phone for a while, but losing whatsapp & maps makes it a non-star

Some scepticism here I see, but personally I think this is spot-on. I've been keen on a dumber phone for a while, but losing whatsapp & maps makes it a non-starter for any real use. This is an excellent middle ground. The aesthetic is cool, and building this on Sailfish but with Android compatibility is awesome. Big fan of the concept.

kakacik 4mo ago
Phone like this, especially with whatsapp, is something I can imagine giving to my kids once they are older. They would love the design 1000x more than what biggest players bring on the market these days. Maps & whatsapp cover basically 99% of the needs I want them to be covered (contact with optional video & navigation). Full phone? No thank you, its enough to look around how it ends up.
kamma4434 4mo ago
For me, Id say that whatsapp is the phone. It’s so much better than pstn…
SirFatty 4mo ago
maps exist, you must have missed that... as for whatsapp, I have never used it once, and yet my phone provides "real use" (whatever that means).
- ubermonkey 4mo ago
  Try to understand that the person you're replying to clearly has different needs than you do.
  - card_zero 4mo ago
    That person might have a narrow, blinkered view, in which maps on a phone are essential, unable to understand that other people don't care.
    - ubermonkey 4mo ago
      The more obvious lack of understanding is yours w/r/t the scope of what they wrote.
  - SirFatty 4mo ago
    re-read my comment.. you're confused about what my response means apparently.
- dwb 4mo ago
  You are not a representative user, at least in a country where WhatsApp is dominant.
  - SirFatty 4mo ago
    I guess you only saw whatsapp in my comment and missed the rest of it.
    - dwb 4mo ago
      Only? It was half your comment. The point is that the amount of "real use" (I think we can all guess at a good-enough definition) of a phone without WhatsApp in a country where it's pervasive is not enough for most people. And what do you mean by "maps exist"? Paper maps?
- alexgieg 4mo ago
  Many countries don't use SMS, they use WhatsApp, for almost everything, from chatting with family and friends, to business contacts, to talking with your bank manager, to medical appointments, to 2FA, and even to transfer money. That's what prevents most people on those countries from having a dumb phone, and forces even the most illiterate of 90yo great-grandmothers to learn how to navigate around Android or iOS, all the while placing uncountable many calls to their great-grandchildren because they opened up some random app by accident and don't remember how to get back to the only thing that matters: WhatsApp (talking from experience here). A WhatsApp-capable quasi-dumb-phone would be a godsend for such places, provided it's cheap enough. At $500 this one definitely isn't, not when an ultra-cheap Android smartphone capable of running WhatsApp costs $90. But if this one sells well, cheaper ones may become viable down the line due to economies of scale. I surely hope that happens.
  - mingus88 4mo ago
    As long as Meta owns WhatsApp, don’t hold your breath. They operate the service to get your personal data into the hands of their customers (advertisers) so why would they support a dumb client that is designed to be incompatible with their business model
    - renaudg 4mo ago
      WhatsApp messages are end to end encrypted. It doesn't have the same business model as the rest of Meta (which by the way, is to get advertisers products in front of users eyeballs, optimized by their personal data. Not to hand said personal data over to advertisers or anybody else, which would be a bit dumb as it's Meta's crown jewels)
- trollbridge 3mo ago
  "Someone who has never used WhatsApp" is also known as "an American".
towledev 4mo ago
For me, Maps and pods. If it looked like a RAZR, I'd buy one today
pflenker 4mo ago
Yeah me too. It felt like it was designed exclusively for me, it ticks all the boxes in what a dumb phone should and shouldn't have in terms of functionality.
erickhill 4mo ago
The skepticism isn't around the concept (for some) - it's the bonkers $500 price tag when you can go get a 5G military grade waterproof flip phone with a very robust removable battery and much more impressive tech/stats for $200.
- acupofnope 4mo ago
  I’d be interested in this military grade phone, where can one acquire it?
  - erickhill 4mo ago
    There are several phones that fit the description, but I was thinking specifically of the Sonim XP3plus 5G.
    - deleted 4mo ago
      [deleted]
- thisislife2 4mo ago
  Exactly. But clearly we - people who are cost conscious about getting their money's worth - aren't the target market for these "niche" devices. Which is sad, as there is a real market for a reasonably priced device like this that many would buy as a "second" phone (and maybe even make it their primary phone). Just look at all the Nokia / HMD kind-of "premium" "feature phones" (calling them "dumb phones" is silly) still sold for around $150 - $250. The only reason that they aren't as "popular" now is because the Symbian OS or KaiOS they use is lacking in many aspects. And HMD (and others) don't understanding the user needs (for example, selling such 4G phones that don't even have the ability to be a hotspot device).
robertlutece 4mo ago
I'm perhaps misinterpreting your comment, but from the FAQ: > Callback includes SMS, WhatsApp, [..] > Callback includes Pure Maps, a popular Sailfish navigation app, and is compatible with several Android map, navigation, and transport apps, including Uber and Lyft.
Denkel 3mo ago
It specifically mention both Whatsapp and maps as being available, but to me the dealbreaker is blocking browsers. When I am out, I use the browser a lot, need to find if this is a good restaurant, or a good product to buy, what was actor form the 80's tv show?... Like I understand why the would not have one preinstalled, but preventing me from installing it?? No way, and then add the pricetag... I do hope it fails just because I don't want people to think that the solution to today's walled gardens is "differently walled gardens".
- trollbridge 3mo ago
  If that's what you need, you can simply buy a conventional smartphone. Conventional smartphones are available in flip-phone form factors, although I personally consider trying to browse the web from one to be a gigantic pain.

kakacik 4mo ago

Phone like this, especially with whatsapp, is something I can imagine giving to my kids once they are older. They would love the design 1000x more than what biggest players bring on the market these days. Maps & whatsapp cover basically 99% of the needs I want them to be covered (contact with optional video & navigation). Full phone? No thank you, its enough to look around how it ends up.

kamma4434 4mo ago

For me, Id say that whatsapp is the phone. It’s so much better than pstn…

SirFatty 4mo ago

maps exist, you must have missed that... as for whatsapp, I have never used it once, and yet my phone provides "real use" (whatever that means).

ubermonkey 4mo ago
Try to understand that the person you're replying to clearly has different needs than you do.
- card_zero 4mo ago
  That person might have a narrow, blinkered view, in which maps on a phone are essential, unable to understand that other people don't care.
  - ubermonkey 4mo ago
    The more obvious lack of understanding is yours w/r/t the scope of what they wrote.
- SirFatty 4mo ago
  re-read my comment.. you're confused about what my response means apparently.
dwb 4mo ago
You are not a representative user, at least in a country where WhatsApp is dominant.
- SirFatty 4mo ago
  I guess you only saw whatsapp in my comment and missed the rest of it.
  - dwb 4mo ago
    Only? It was half your comment. The point is that the amount of "real use" (I think we can all guess at a good-enough definition) of a phone without WhatsApp in a country where it's pervasive is not enough for most people. And what do you mean by "maps exist"? Paper maps?
alexgieg 4mo ago
Many countries don't use SMS, they use WhatsApp, for almost everything, from chatting with family and friends, to business contacts, to talking with your bank manager, to medical appointments, to 2FA, and even to transfer money. That's what prevents most people on those countries from having a dumb phone, and forces even the most illiterate of 90yo great-grandmothers to learn how to navigate around Android or iOS, all the while placing uncountable many calls to their great-grandchildren because they opened up some random app by accident and don't remember how to get back to the only thing that matters: WhatsApp (talking from experience here). A WhatsApp-capable quasi-dumb-phone would be a godsend for such places, provided it's cheap enough. At $500 this one definitely isn't, not when an ultra-cheap Android smartphone capable of running WhatsApp costs $90. But if this one sells well, cheaper ones may become viable down the line due to economies of scale. I surely hope that happens.
- mingus88 4mo ago
  As long as Meta owns WhatsApp, don’t hold your breath. They operate the service to get your personal data into the hands of their customers (advertisers) so why would they support a dumb client that is designed to be incompatible with their business model
  - renaudg 4mo ago
    WhatsApp messages are end to end encrypted. It doesn't have the same business model as the rest of Meta (which by the way, is to get advertisers products in front of users eyeballs, optimized by their personal data. Not to hand said personal data over to advertisers or anybody else, which would be a bit dumb as it's Meta's crown jewels)
trollbridge 3mo ago
"Someone who has never used WhatsApp" is also known as "an American".

towledev 4mo ago

For me, Maps and pods. If it looked like a RAZR, I'd buy one today

pflenker 4mo ago

Yeah me too. It felt like it was designed exclusively for me, it ticks all the boxes in what a dumb phone should and shouldn't have in terms of functionality.

erickhill 4mo ago

The skepticism isn't around the concept (for some) - it's the bonkers $500 price tag when you can go get a 5G military grade waterproof flip phone with a very robust removable battery and much more impressive tech/stats for $200.

acupofnope 4mo ago
I’d be interested in this military grade phone, where can one acquire it?
- erickhill 4mo ago
  There are several phones that fit the description, but I was thinking specifically of the Sonim XP3plus 5G.
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
thisislife2 4mo ago
Exactly. But clearly we - people who are cost conscious about getting their money's worth - aren't the target market for these "niche" devices. Which is sad, as there is a real market for a reasonably priced device like this that many would buy as a "second" phone (and maybe even make it their primary phone). Just look at all the Nokia / HMD kind-of "premium" "feature phones" (calling them "dumb phones" is silly) still sold for around $150 - $250. The only reason that they aren't as "popular" now is because the Symbian OS or KaiOS they use is lacking in many aspects. And HMD (and others) don't understanding the user needs (for example, selling such 4G phones that don't even have the ability to be a hotspot device).

robertlutece 4mo ago

I'm perhaps misinterpreting your comment, but from the FAQ: > Callback includes SMS, WhatsApp, [..] > Callback includes Pure Maps, a popular Sailfish navigation app, and is compatible with several Android map, navigation, and transport apps, including Uber and Lyft.

Denkel 3mo ago

It specifically mention both Whatsapp and maps as being available, but to me the dealbreaker is blocking browsers. When I am out, I use the browser a lot, need to find if this is a good restaurant, or a good product to buy, what was actor form the 80's tv show?... Like I understand why the would not have one preinstalled, but preventing me from installing it?? No way, and then add the pricetag... I do hope it fails just because I don't want people to think that the solution to today's walled gardens is "differently walled gardens".

trollbridge 3mo ago
If that's what you need, you can simply buy a conventional smartphone. Conventional smartphones are available in flip-phone form factors, although I personally consider trying to browse the web from one to be a gigantic pain.