8 ms·

Relaxing with Runcible, the circular 'anti-smartphone'

85 points by ivank 12y ago

igvadaimon 12y ago
"It runs on Mozilla's Firefox OS platform and lets you make calls, ask for directions and browse the web. So when you're heading out to grab dinner with friends, you can leave your smartphone at home and avoid the temptations of Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat." I don't understand these two sentences at all. If you can browse the web, how does it help "avoid the temptation"? It's a nice looking round thingy, but "anti-smartphone"?..
- charliefg 12y ago
  Box model sites on a round screen... Sure, you could if you really wanted. On a side note - this device actually piqued my interest... dunno why?
  - igvadaimon 12y ago
    Because its round and made of wood? ;)
    - charliefg 12y ago
      Yep, that is the most likely reason. Also the dude holding it at the top looks like he could be a lovable-rogue antiques dealer, in a similar vein to Lovejoy.
- qznc 12y ago
  Because Firefox OS has no Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat Apps (yet).
  - Digit-Al 12y ago
    But if you have a browser you don't need the apps... Just log in via the appropriate website.
    - Xylakant 12y ago
      using the twitter mobile website removes all temptation for me.
    - benologist 12y ago
      Having a browser != having a browser you want to use. The e-ink kindles have browsers that would only be well suited to an emergency.
  - fabrice_d 12y ago
    Not true. Facebook & Twitter have official apps, meaning they have a manifest to let the OS install them, and in Twitter's case they have a bit more integration, like being able to use Activities to attach pictures.
slyall 12y ago
Video review of demo version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlo8jHHeP8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlo8jHHeP8Y
grey-area 12y ago
The anti-smartphone I'd love to see is a small bluetooth communicator with a mic, buzzer and speaker in some sort of small badge, with an SDK like pebble's, but it has to be small and thin. You could do an awful lot of notifications with subtle sounds, and of course have phone calls, send voice messages or text messages (speech to text) via your phone. Love the filtered notifications idea here though. Once you start adding a screen, the battery requirements go through the roof and you need something very big, at which point it's like a cut-down phone without the internet connection and battery life and size become a constant issue. The Apple watch is chunky and ugly in its current incarnation because of these problems, and unfortunately this device is pretty big too. We need internet connected things which complement phones and enhance our lives, not compete with them in different form-factors. Another thing that'd be nice is some sort of colour epaper scroll for a reader which winds up really tight into a tube. It is interesting to think about where the future could take us with printable electronics and better performance, but it feels like we're on the cusp of all these technologies becoming possible, but not there yet - a little like 90s feature-phones - promising but not persuasive.
- lmm 12y ago
  Have you seen the Samsung neckband thing? It does vibrating notifications, has a mic and reassembles into earphones. I wouldn't use it myself but I'm glad someone's experimenting with weirder form factors.
- joshuapants 12y ago
  Your epaper scroll idea reminds me of what Rob Pike said at the very end of this interview: http://rob.pike.usesthis.com/ http://rob.pike.usesthis.com/ >The world should provide me my computing environment and maintain it for me and make it available everywhere. If this were done right, my life would become much simpler and so could yours. >I would allow the setup to force me to carry a computer screen around, as long as it rolled up and fit inside something the size of a pen and had touch input when unrolled. As long as it had no local storage.
  - snowwrestler 12y ago
anonymfus 12y ago
It reminds me Siemens Xelibri series.
netcan 12y ago
There seems to be an interest in making, and perhaps owning secondary mobile devices. The problem, IMO is that most people have one SIM for their phone. If phone companies would give you a 2nd SIM for the same number, I think a new little market could emerge for them.
- lmm 12y ago
  I was thinking this just yesterday. Samsung have a nice new smartwatch with "full" phone capability (i.e. its own 3g connectivity, can make calls on it), but the salesman told me you simply can't get it on contract in this country yet.
- fit2rule 12y ago
  Its quite easy to get a second SIM, and multiple SIM-slots are one of the reasons for Androids' popularity in various non-US markets, namely: Asia. Its very common to have two SIM's per phone - one for private, one for work, or one for calls and one for Internet.
  - icebraining 12y ago
    Yes, but the point wouldn't be to have two numbers on the same phone, but two phones with the same number, so you'd need two SIMs with the same number.
    - soapdog 12y ago
      I don`t know over there but here in Brazil you can get multi sim contract with carriers which will give you extra sims on the same account. I think the extra sims have only data access so they are good for tablets and modems but I don`t know if they have a callable number.
    - fit2rule 12y ago
      Well its probably different for your market, but I have no problems calling my telco and asking for a second SIM for my account - same #, same plan, etc.
mhomde 12y ago
Maybe they should have picked a name that doesn't mean "masturbateable" in Swedish :)
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
My Moto 360 is this and more. The Runcible just looks like a poor re-invention of the smartwatch. Its almost looks like a comically archaic pocketwatch version of a smartwatch, which is a form factor no one is really playing with. I love having Google now and Google search just one whisper away from my wrist. Just the other day at dinner, we were discussing the ages of certain celebrities and I just whispered, "Ok google, how old is William Shatner" and got the proper answer with a headshot. I didn't just get a link to wikipedia or a list of search results - I got the actual result with next to no effort. Pulling out my phone and doing this just seems like a pain in the ass now. The Android Wear products are full of hidden gems like these. The minimalist mobile device is already here. The Runcible guys seem to have been leapfrogged by AW and by whatever Apple finally releases.
- userbinator 12y ago
  Its almost looks like a comically archaic pocketwatch version of a smartwatch I'd call it a dumbphonepocketwatch.
hemmer 12y ago
This reminds me of the aesthetic in Her [1], which was summarised nicely here [2] by the production designer: "You could say that Her is, in fact, a counterpoint to that prevailing vision of the future–the anti-Minority Report. Imagining its world wasn’t about heaping new technology on society as we know it today. It was looking at those places where technology could fade into the background, integrate more seamlessly. It was about envisioning a future, perhaps, that looked more like the past. “In a way,” says Barrett, “my job was to undesign the design.” [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/ [2] http://www.wired.com/2014/01/will-influential-ui-design-minority-report/ http://www.wired.com/2014/01/will-influential-ui-design-mino...
RankingMember 12y ago
Perhaps it's time we stop beating around the bush and just release a StarTrek communicator already. Looking for screenshots, I found someone already did: http://www.orionlabs.co http://www.orionlabs.co
- grey-area 12y ago
  That's about 5 times the size of a StarTrek comm badge and far uglier, still, at least it's a step in the right direction.
  - ivraatiems 12y ago
    Surely you're thinking of the TNG-VOY-DS9 era combadges, not the clunky flip-phones from the original series?
    - grey-area 12y ago
      Oh yes probably.
  - RankingMember 12y ago
    Indeed, definitely ugly, but I could imagine the Star Trek universe having an ugly duckling communicator like this somewhere between the original series and "The Next Generation". :P
verisimilitude 12y ago
I assume the name is a reference to Edward Lear's favorite nonsense word? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible
Zigurd 12y ago
Chumby 2.0

85 points by ivank 12y ago

"It runs on Mozilla's Firefox OS platform and lets you make calls, ask for directions and browse the web. So when you're heading out to grab dinner with friends, you can leave your smartphone at home and avoid the temptations of Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat." I don't understand these two sentences at all. If you can browse the web, how does it help "avoid the temptation"? It's a nice looking round thingy, but "anti-smartphone"?..

charliefg 12y ago
Box model sites on a round screen... Sure, you could if you really wanted. On a side note - this device actually piqued my interest... dunno why?
- igvadaimon 12y ago
  Because its round and made of wood? ;)
  - charliefg 12y ago
    Yep, that is the most likely reason. Also the dude holding it at the top looks like he could be a lovable-rogue antiques dealer, in a similar vein to Lovejoy.
qznc 12y ago
Because Firefox OS has no Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat Apps (yet).
- Digit-Al 12y ago
  But if you have a browser you don't need the apps... Just log in via the appropriate website.
  - Xylakant 12y ago
    using the twitter mobile website removes all temptation for me.
  - benologist 12y ago
    Having a browser != having a browser you want to use. The e-ink kindles have browsers that would only be well suited to an emergency.
- fabrice_d 12y ago
  Not true. Facebook & Twitter have official apps, meaning they have a manifest to let the OS install them, and in Twitter's case they have a bit more integration, like being able to use Activities to attach pictures.

slyall 12y ago

Video review of demo version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlo8jHHeP8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlo8jHHeP8Y

grey-area 12y ago

The anti-smartphone I'd love to see is a small bluetooth communicator with a mic, buzzer and speaker in some sort of small badge, with an SDK like pebble's, but it has to be small and thin. You could do an awful lot of notifications with subtle sounds, and of course have phone calls, send voice messages or text messages (speech to text) via your phone. Love the filtered notifications idea here though. Once you start adding a screen, the battery requirements go through the roof and you need something very big, at which point it's like a cut-down phone without the internet connection and battery life and size become a constant issue. The Apple watch is chunky and ugly in its current incarnation because of these problems, and unfortunately this device is pretty big too. We need internet connected things which complement phones and enhance our lives, not compete with them in different form-factors. Another thing that'd be nice is some sort of colour epaper scroll for a reader which winds up really tight into a tube. It is interesting to think about where the future could take us with printable electronics and better performance, but it feels like we're on the cusp of all these technologies becoming possible, but not there yet - a little like 90s feature-phones - promising but not persuasive.

lmm 12y ago
Have you seen the Samsung neckband thing? It does vibrating notifications, has a mic and reassembles into earphones. I wouldn't use it myself but I'm glad someone's experimenting with weirder form factors.
joshuapants 12y ago
Your epaper scroll idea reminds me of what Rob Pike said at the very end of this interview: http://rob.pike.usesthis.com/ http://rob.pike.usesthis.com/ >The world should provide me my computing environment and maintain it for me and make it available everywhere. If this were done right, my life would become much simpler and so could yours. >I would allow the setup to force me to carry a computer screen around, as long as it rolled up and fit inside something the size of a pen and had touch input when unrolled. As long as it had no local storage.
- snowwrestler 12y ago

anonymfus 12y ago

It reminds me Siemens Xelibri series.

netcan 12y ago

There seems to be an interest in making, and perhaps owning secondary mobile devices. The problem, IMO is that most people have one SIM for their phone. If phone companies would give you a 2nd SIM for the same number, I think a new little market could emerge for them.

lmm 12y ago
I was thinking this just yesterday. Samsung have a nice new smartwatch with "full" phone capability (i.e. its own 3g connectivity, can make calls on it), but the salesman told me you simply can't get it on contract in this country yet.
fit2rule 12y ago
Its quite easy to get a second SIM, and multiple SIM-slots are one of the reasons for Androids' popularity in various non-US markets, namely: Asia. Its very common to have two SIM's per phone - one for private, one for work, or one for calls and one for Internet.
- icebraining 12y ago
  Yes, but the point wouldn't be to have two numbers on the same phone, but two phones with the same number, so you'd need two SIMs with the same number.
  - soapdog 12y ago
    I don`t know over there but here in Brazil you can get multi sim contract with carriers which will give you extra sims on the same account. I think the extra sims have only data access so they are good for tablets and modems but I don`t know if they have a callable number.
  - fit2rule 12y ago
    Well its probably different for your market, but I have no problems calling my telco and asking for a second SIM for my account - same #, same plan, etc.

mhomde 12y ago

Maybe they should have picked a name that doesn't mean "masturbateable" in Swedish :)

drzaiusapelord 12y ago

My Moto 360 is this and more. The Runcible just looks like a poor re-invention of the smartwatch. Its almost looks like a comically archaic pocketwatch version of a smartwatch, which is a form factor no one is really playing with. I love having Google now and Google search just one whisper away from my wrist. Just the other day at dinner, we were discussing the ages of certain celebrities and I just whispered, "Ok google, how old is William Shatner" and got the proper answer with a headshot. I didn't just get a link to wikipedia or a list of search results - I got the actual result with next to no effort. Pulling out my phone and doing this just seems like a pain in the ass now. The Android Wear products are full of hidden gems like these. The minimalist mobile device is already here. The Runcible guys seem to have been leapfrogged by AW and by whatever Apple finally releases.

userbinator 12y ago
Its almost looks like a comically archaic pocketwatch version of a smartwatch I'd call it a dumbphonepocketwatch.

hemmer 12y ago

This reminds me of the aesthetic in Her [1], which was summarised nicely here [2] by the production designer: "You could say that Her is, in fact, a counterpoint to that prevailing vision of the future–the anti-Minority Report. Imagining its world wasn’t about heaping new technology on society as we know it today. It was looking at those places where technology could fade into the background, integrate more seamlessly. It was about envisioning a future, perhaps, that looked more like the past. “In a way,” says Barrett, “my job was to undesign the design.” [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/ [2] http://www.wired.com/2014/01/will-influential-ui-design-minority-report/ http://www.wired.com/2014/01/will-influential-ui-design-mino...

RankingMember 12y ago

Perhaps it's time we stop beating around the bush and just release a StarTrek communicator already. Looking for screenshots, I found someone already did: http://www.orionlabs.co http://www.orionlabs.co

grey-area 12y ago
That's about 5 times the size of a StarTrek comm badge and far uglier, still, at least it's a step in the right direction.
- ivraatiems 12y ago
  Surely you're thinking of the TNG-VOY-DS9 era combadges, not the clunky flip-phones from the original series?
  - grey-area 12y ago
    Oh yes probably.
- RankingMember 12y ago
  Indeed, definitely ugly, but I could imagine the Star Trek universe having an ugly duckling communicator like this somewhere between the original series and "The Next Generation". :P

verisimilitude 12y ago

I assume the name is a reference to Edward Lear's favorite nonsense word? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcible

Zigurd 12y ago

Chumby 2.0