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Show HN: Dumbphone – Turn your smartphone into a dumbphone

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82 pointsbozho69 comments

I do something similar, and highly recommend it. Here's what I did:

  1. I don't have data on my iphone 4
  2. I removed Safari, and blocked the icon using Jailbreak
  3. Ditto for youtube, gmail. I  have none of those apps.

I use my phone for the following: calls, text, calendar, occasional notes, Facebook messenger

The calendar syncs with gcal when I am on a wi-fi network at home. FB messenger is because a lot of friends message me this way and it avoids my having to check Facebook online.

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Before talking about the benefits, I'll address the three major objections:

  1. What about google maps?!

Without a map on my phone, I'm forced to learn how to get around my city. If I'm in a new city, I'm forced to learn that street map.

Doesn't take long. I was just in Victoria BC and NYC. Within a day or two I knew my way around both cities. I have mental maps of a couple dozen cities sitting in my head.

  2. What about important email?

I can safely say I have ZERO emails that can't wait 2-6 hours for me to get home. If something is truly urgent, I'll get a text.

Maybe your situation is different, but for most of you it probably isn't.

  3. What about reading stuff on your phone?

I don't like reading stuff on my tiny phone screen. I'd rather read things on my full screen at home.

When I am out and about, I either bring a book, observe things mindfully, or talk to people.

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I feel much more calm when out and about. There's no need to use willpower to avoid checking my phone, because my phone doesn't do anything.

I've been doing this for three years, and have had zero problems. Whatever use case you're thinking of, I can assure you that either there's a trivial workaround, or it doesn't actually provide much benefit (for someone in MY situation – perhaps yours is truly different).

I am interested in why you decided to do this originally?

As an aside to my question, I find the cycles/fads that society goes through fascinating.

I read the four hour workweek, where he talked about batch processing, and realized that it was inefficient to check things constantly.

I run an online business, so there's lots of things I could check. But none of them depend on timely input. So it didn't make sense to look at things as they came in.

Why would you even purchase an iPhone then? Why not just use a dumbphone/featurephone?

It's like buying a sports car and putting a governor on it that won't let you go over 35mph because you don't have the willpower to not push the pedal. Why not just buy a golf cart and save the money?

I already had an iphone when I started this. But even if I didn't have one, a used old iphone works really well and looks nice without costing much.

>Without a map on my phone, I'm forced to learn how to get around my city.

To each his own, but I feel like that's kind of overkill. I use maps to find new destinations, but it really only takes a small number of drives to that place (often relative to the distance traveled and how often I go to that area) to memorize it. Eventually, it's more work to open the app than it is to go by memory. For me, using Google Maps is indispensable for learning new areas. I see no reason to make it harder for myself. Not ever getting lost is nice too -- what if you end up in an area you'd rather not be?

If your goal is to challenge yourself, then it would seem like a worthwhile pursuit.

Google maps is also really great for public transport in new cities.

Rather then try to figure out if I need a bus or train, or if there's no public transport where I need to go, I can just punch in an address, say when I need to arrive and it tells me what to do.

Reminds of an interesting debate around using the mini-map in games like GTA that ruin gameplay vs learning the city itself to enjoy the game more. You're forced to remember landmarks and know your war around a bustling sity. See: http://kotaku.com/5828760/youve-been-playing-gta-iv-wrong

Personally I use Google Maps to learn the layout of a place and then navigate as much as possible by memory.

It's sad that you need to do this to feel calm. Technology is an every day part of the 21st century and learning to live with it , not running away from it is a far healthier approach.

Not sure how yo removed Safari since it's not one of the removable apps, but if you really want this why not replace that old iPhone 4 with an actual dumb phone, wouldn't that be the smarter thing to do?

All of your points are kind of sad, if you don't like reading stuff on a small screen, either don't, or get a phone with a bigger screen - removing the email app was the wrong solution. As for the comment about "forced to get around the city", well.. again just the dumbest thing I've heard in a long while.

I have the youtube app but I seldom use it. I seem to manage just fine with it on my phone and not opening it.

>It's sad that you need to do this to feel calm. Technology is an every day part of the 21st century and learning to live with it , not running away from it is a far healthier approach.

That's what I'm doing, I think. I run an online business – I'm not a Luddite. I found email and other notifications too distracting if they were with me constantly.

I'm hardly the first person to use batch processing for email. It's simply not efficient to deal with it all over the place, as it comes in.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/06/12/how-batch-proc...

While I'm not to the same level as you, I agree with your larger point. Being constantly interrupted leads to a state of unease and inability to think clearly.

My limited approach to this is to put my email icon on my 5th screen of my phone, and remove all vibrations from my phone that aren't phone calls. Texts don't vibrate, and e-mails only increment the badge counter on the icon.

No reason to believe technology is at all conducive to calm, or that we'll be able to live with it in a healthy relationship. That's Pollyanna thinking. Nobody is measuring or planning what media saturation point is compatible with a healthy Homo Sapiens. Companies make ever-more-frantic devices and apps; people buy them. Nobody figuring out if its good for us.

> iphone 4

so all the drawbacks with no benefits? brilliant!

You should get a Nokia feature phone.

Is there an option to install java applets?

I like this. Just switched back to dumb phone about a month ago. I wonder if there would be a market for a touch screen phone with a really nice and simple interface, but no apps; just call and text.

Its called a Nokia Asha and no data connection (because Nokia S40 OS is a pain to set up data on).

Some basic stats for anyone curious http://i.imgur.com/jdkGpb3.png

When I go to that page I get a 503.

To be honest I held out on smartphones until 2012. The Nokia kit coming out before that was excellent. It's pretty good now as well but I find my cheap Moto G more useful.

Why did you switch to a dumb phone and what dumb phone did you switch to?

When I had an iPhone, I couldn't bring it to the library to do (school) work, because of the risk of bullshitting on the phone for who knows how long after receiving a text or something. So I would leave my phone at home every day and always miss everyone's calls. My family was not a fan of this, nor was my girlfriend.

I bought a used LG flip phone from around 2007.

The Nokia 515 (http://www.wired.com/2013/08/nokias-nicest-dumbphon/) has a pretty nice interface, I don't think a touchscreen would really give much advantage over the hard keys and d-pad - although that's mainly due to the OS being designed for that.

This is almost exactly what I had in mind. Nice.

I was quite interested when Nokia announced these 3xx/5xx phones with superduper battery lives. Too bad that their estimates seem wildly optimistic, in reality their battery life seems to be <1 week which is far less impressive.

Honestly curious, why would you want touch screen for just call and text?

I'm guessing s/he doesn't want to go back to T9 for texting, or use a phone with a hardware keyboard.

I switched to a BlackBerry Curve (9320) from an iPhone. Perfect type of "dumbphone" that maintains a full keyboard for texting yet has a small screen and limited app selection that makes it hard to want to use it for anything other than text/phone. You also save a lot by not having to spend on a data plan.

Extreme power saver mode on the HTC One M8 does this essentially. You can only Call/Text/Email/Calendar/Calculator while in the mode and you get some crazy battery life as well.

Not my screenshot: http://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files...

Ah, I might have a use for it. If one could also only disable the status bar and lower android buttons.

It would be perfect for my family older generation. Big screen, big nice colorful buttons, super easy interface. They would love it.

Might be able to find a launcher that fits your needs. Quick google search turned these up:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tbeasy.lar...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.kunes.and...

Also on the M7.

define crazy, dumbphones last 30 days (simple nokias, samsung solid)

I've had the idea for a while to allow users to own a dumbphone and smartphone and be able to switch them back and forth easily to receive your main #. Smartphones are so expensive and I don't need the functionality over 50% of the time so it can cut down the risk of breakage by just bringing the flip phone instead.

not trying to be a smartass here, but a sim card?

By taking out a sim card you don't remove the risk of physical damage to your phone. By replacing a $10 phone with a $600 phone you can eliminate the risk.

I think the idea being presented is to physically own both devices, and simply swap the SIM card from device to device as needed.

I'd imagine that swapping (micro)SIM cards gets quite old quite fast. Heck, just rebooting phones all the time would be annoying imho.

SIM cards/trays are not physically accessible and sturdy enough to make that practical as a daily activity.

A "family" plan across both phones is more likely solution.

Was unaware that is all thats needed to transfer a number. Thought about porting a number to Twilio, then to have 2 phones which one would have to pay for and just switch the call forwarding.

I'll check out the sim card solution, thanks for the info!

Google Voice? Sure it'd require two phone plans, but I guess it's either that or swapping SIM cards around.

Some carriers will let you have two active sim cards for one number simultaneously.

My SIM card is damaged, and since it's registered under my ex and I need her to get replacement (and she's busy), I've been without GSM connectivity for 2 weeks now.

At first I felt really clueless, like an addict craving to check email and nothing to bury my head in while waiting for train.

But then I start using my "new" free time to let my mind wander and brainstorm for ideas, or simply close my eyes and nap. I feel more in control. I'm not entirely disconnected though, I still use the Wifi at work/home.

Obviously I still need a SIM card. I can't do internet banking since they always send SMS verification, and I can't use Uber since the app doesn't allow me to attach notes to the driver (they always call me right after I book to pinpoint my location).

Having this experience makes me realize how a smartphone can make you dumb (or, at least, make you always occupied).

If it's useful: if you're in the UK, most of the networks here will provide you with a blank SIM, and perform a SIM swap, without account holder verification.

Cool idea, I'll give this a try.

I switch my Android phone for an old Nokia candy bar phone about every 6 months for a few days. It helps me clear my mind and not check my phone all the time for notifications. But it's pretty terrible for text messages so I switch back when I get fed up with the keypad.

"I have no self control" "there's an app for that"

I love this idea with one caveat: I'd like my phone to almost always be dumb but still allow me to stream music. Since it immediately crashes on my N4 (CM11-M7), I don't know what will and won't do. Presumably though, making a phone "dumb" would me merely a matter of disabling cellular data and turning off wireless networkwing.

For some time now I've wanted a dumbphone with a good radio. Basically an old Nokia brick capable of 3/4g and wifi+hotspot. This way I could use my phone as a phone the bulk of the time, and when necessary carry a separate laptop/tablet to use for internet/navigation.

This is great. I recently ditched my iPhone for the cheapest samsung phone T-Mobile had, and I regret it about 50% of the time. I like having it when I actually need it, but the rest of the time I feel my life slowing slipping away.

Enhancement request. Please give it the UI of a Nokia 3310.

Or you could just buy a windows phone. I kid. I kid.

Haa..you joke, but I bought a Nokia 521 running Windows 8.0 for $50, unlocked. It still does a ton more than a dumb-phone, though. Just enough internet to be useful, scan emails, check out twitter, but not as slick to make you want to waste a lot of time using it.

But will it blend?

I don't think that's the narrative Microsoft was going for.

This is a pretty good idea, actually. I might have to try it someday! :-)

http://gph.is/1nzQD2V

kudos on the Zach Morris reference

maybe this is unrelated, but I've always thought that the Winklevoss twins looked like grown up Zach Morris.

It just keeps saying "Please don't open apps" for me, even though I'm not even touching it, and I can open all apps normally.

Reminded me of a dumb store for all phones

http://www.dumbsto.re

Pretty nice idea.

I wish there would be an app, where you would pay for example $1 and other persons phone would get blocked for 1 hour - and they would got this $1 as an incentive.

This would solve a lot of social issues with people reaching for their phones when out with friends while still provide incentive for people to actually install app.

I think that really patronizes both people. The person buying the time for a dollar now knows their time is worth a dollar, and the person getting the dollar knows they can be bought for a dollar.

Invert this idea, do a 'swear jar'. You put your phone into dumbphone mode, and if you have to break it, the other person gets a dollar.

Most people that are a--holes enough to pull out their phones and play on apps while with their friends wont mind $1 lost imo. Unless they are really on budget.

Well one could just set the price they want for others turning off their phone. If the other party thinks its worth it, then they do it.

I've seen an interesting 'swear jar' implementation when I went to a bar with friends last time - someone suggested everyone put their phones on a pile, and the first person who touches his/her buys a round for everyone.

Cost me a bit of money, that time.

An app 'swear jar'? Interesting. Soon, a real app swear jar that listens to you to know if/when you swear. Or a Causes swear jar app that donates a small amount for every swear word.

What I could use is a way to add an iphone as a dumbphone to a shared data/minutes plan. I have a spare iphone 4s (Verizon US), unfortunately, and I want to be able to have my son use the phone without data without paying the $40/mo that adding the iphone to the shared plan would cost.

This is as brilliant as it is moronic. Basically, I don't know what to feel.

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