Dumb phone is a valid choice. And it works just fine, there is absolutely nothing that a smart phone offers that I can not do without, and not having a continuous distraction makes me a lot more productive than I would be otherwise. It's bad enough with the web and 'always on' internet, to have that in my pocket would completely kill my productivity.
I appreciate the sentiment but my phone now does so many things that I would really miss if I'd have to get rid of it. GPS and navigation, Mobile Banking, IM because nobody sends text messages anymore, Calendar and quick web searches and a decent camera I'll always carry.
I look at a map before I leave when on foot and in the car I have a navigator.
- Mobile Banking
Nothing that can't wait until I'm behind a desk.
- IM because nobody sends text messages anymore
Nobody sends me IM messages because I never used it in the first place.
- Calendar
Could be useful, once every month or so, but on the whole it is easy enough to do this stuff once I'm back behind my desk, worst case the other side has access and they can send me an invite. This really only comes up when someone on the phone wants to book some kind of appointment when I'm on the road, and in that case I'm actually really happy I am not going to be tempted to look at my phone, it is annoying enough that people expect your phone to be answered at all hours.
- quick web searches
I do a ton of those, but not when I'm out of the office or meeting people, I've had a case come up once or twice but usually I just make a mental note to check up on something.
- a decent camera I'll always carry
That's a good one, another one which would work for me would be to have something good to read wherever I go.
But those two can be solved quite easily: my dumb phone has a reasonably good camera and there's always a book in my bag.
Good for you. How is your FTP file synchronisation going? Sarcasm aside, surely you know how much of an outlier you are. Your comment sounds pretty limited on empathy for other lifestyles.
> Your comment sounds pretty limited on empathy for other lifestyles.
That problem is on your end I'm afraid, no judgment call on other lifestyles was implied or intended, I merely documented how I do stuff without commenting on how you do stuff or how I feel you should do stuff.
In a nutshell: I'm susceptible to being distracted with an ease that makes toddlers jealous and because of that I have to seriously restrict the kind of effect my environment has on me or I'll happily burn up my whole life without achieving anything. In order to do that I've decided that smartphones - besides being a security risk and a tracking device - are not for me.
In my experience, unless I do an inordinate amount of prior planning (printing out map directions, itineraries, hotel reservations, etc.) it is very easy to have navigation difficulties in unfamiliar cities with street signs in foreign languages....or no street signs at all. Where do you get an accurate map when you are trying to meet people at a newly-opened cafe in Hanoi's old French Quarter?
Nobody can send you an IM? So if you strike up a conversation with a Shenzhen entrepreneur, he wants to stay in contact to talk business and suggests WeChat, your only response is [US phone number] or [email]?
No web searches when out of the office? So if your next course of action is contingent upon a piece of information you don't currently have access to, you can't proceed with a decision on-the-spot because you possess no ability to access remote data while you are mobile?
I dunno, seems like a lot of potential inefficiencies and lost opportunities compared to dropping $150 on a dual-SIM rugged Android phone from China, and then installing a few apps on it. But hey, if it works for you.....
I took a family trip back to America recently and my jaw dropped watching my (74yo) father and his wife use a paper map to navigate to DisneyWorld. They complained that Google was giving them "bad directions". My older brother and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. PICNIC (Problem in chair, not in computer).
A shocking number of dumb devices play music, including most dumbphones.
Not the parent, but in my personal case I only listen to music in my car, and have my MP3 library synced to a device in my car. It doesn't cost me data and works in the middle of nowhere.
I used to hold this view, until I went and bought myself a dumb device and ended up ditching it a month later. Some apps are just too integral to modern life to lose, and many unavoidable places only function using apps now (my library, parking, bike rental, work access and expenses claims etc).
To counter this issue of distraction, I managed to get my app selection down to about 10-12 essentials, all heavily curated so there's nothing that will 'keep me scrolling'. It basically consists of Email, Messaging, Duolingo, edx, Instagram (only following about 200 close friends so my feed is at most 5-8 pictures a day), Uber, Spotify, MyFitnessPal, Audible, and the apps for the aforementioned uses.
After removing the "continuous distraction" apps from my phone it's gone from a procrastination machine, back to being the worlds most valuable tool.
I was a dumb phone user for years. I carried a refurbished LG 105c for about the last six years. The battery was great. I could go an entire week without charging it. MMS messages started crashing the LG in the past few years and this increasingly got worse. So I got a cheap Samsung smart phone (J35) just this year. MMS messages were the only compelling reason for me to switch (literally the phone would crash every time someone sent me an MMS). I love the smart phone now too. I'm not sure how I got by without one for the last decade, but had my old LG handled MMS messages, I would have never switched.
P.S. People often made fun of me for carrying the dumb phone. I'd always quip, "I'm too smart to use a smart phone." Feel free to use that quote when defending yourself ;)
I don't see any need to defend myself. My choices are mine and this is my life, that's all the defense I'll ever need. Other people are free to do whatever they want to but to position things as though 'apple or android' are the only choices available to me does simply not seem correct. Yes, I'm sure the percentage of tech people without a smartphone is low but outside the tech scene there are still plenty of people without smartphones.
I currently use a dumb phone that I got in early 2011. I really wouldn't mind upgrading, but the only dumb phones that are Verizon compatible seem to be flip phones, and I really don't want a flip phone. I honestly rarely use the thing anymore other than to text my mom good morning and call someone maybe once a month to verify plans.
Do you have a dumb phone recommendation, or would any do just fine? I've been seriously considering making the switch to a dumb phone that could just cover calls/texts/work emails.
