Great review - thanks for writing it.
I love e-ink screens and physical keyboards, so this looks ace. Almost like a cyberdeck but with all the advantages of access to android apps.
I wonder how easy it would be to 'de-google'.
Since it runs Android, you should be able to use any app in the store, right? So, let's say you need to buy train tickets, take care of banking, track package deliveries, check your PUK code, troubleshoot a wifi router, control smart lights, book a time for the dentist etc. There are a variety of random things where the modern world expects you to have either Android or iOS with you, so can this phone handle those situations too?
About 10 years ago, you didn't really bump into situations like that very often, so you could get stuff done by making a phone call, using a browser etc, but the 2020s are getting increasingly app dependent. It's just wild how many things you can't do these days unless you have a reasonably modern smart phone with you.
can this phone handle those situations too?
It can, the Minimal Phone is not a dumbphone, privacy-focused or even minimalist and that was a conscious choice by the company. It's just a normal Android smartphone with an e-ink display and a physical keyboard (and a headphone jack). The "Minimal" in the name is referring more to minimalising the phone's influence on your life, because the e-ink screen is a barrier to so many addictive activities like doom-scrolling and video playback. It is not minimal in features at all and is designed to be able to do all of the important real-world task stuff, should you need it to.
Tip for regular android users: Install an alternative open source ROM such as LineageOS, GrapheneOS, Calix OS, eOS... They come without Youtube, Google News or any other addictive bloatware that cannot be uninstalled.
thank you for an elaborate and in-depth review, enjoyed imagining owning it. although it has a lot of nice-to-haves (e-ink, keyboard, etc) at 10x (that's TEN times) the price of my usual phones Imma forget about it as soon as I click "post".
What smartphone costs 40-50$?
I'm guessing second hand mid level phones from a few years ago, but I'm no op
I've been following this phone for a while, it's nice to see there is a market out there for this kind of thing. The BlackBerry-esque design does look quite cool, although if I were to use a minimalist smartphone myself I'd probably go for the Mudita Kompakt instead. It's just a bit more practical for my lifestyle, with the much smaller body, normal on-screen keyboard and de-Googled OS. There's also another newish one called the Bigme Hibreak Pro which is the most "normal" overall.
That's the phone this thread is about.
haha sorry I got lost digging
I bought one of these for my wife and we she has unfortunately had to switch back to her other phone due to some bugs. It seems to fail to be able to make phone calls or maintain bluetooth connections frequently. She has never had an issue receiving calls though. I'm still working on trying to find a solution for her because her old phone is a Pixel 6a which Google just nerfed the battery into oblivion like they did my 4a. I swear they have it out for us.
I love a good e-ink device, but this seems performative. FFS, just get a dumb phone.
What dumb phone has reasonable security and the ability to run Signal?
https://josebriones.org/dumbphone-finder
Take your pick.
How does one install or use Signal on any of these?
I've watched a couple videos on some of the dumb phones listed, as I was curious about alternatives as well. The ones that can install Signal are not true dumb phones and have android installed.
What sets then apart is the physical form factor is still very much dumb phone. That means it typically has a smaller screen, and a number pad style keyboard.
Thanks for the helpful clarification. So it's literally superficial, disappointing but unsurprising.
Depends on the phone I imagine. Whatever you search for online will be just as good as anything I search for and regurgitate back to you. Why trust me as a filter for knowledge when you can search for answers yourself?
I'm precisely asking because my understanding is that a "dumb" phone by definition has no "apps". Signal is, as far as I can tell, only delivered as an app targeting specifically Android or iOS on mobile.
The person you replied to asked for Signal and you provided a link.
My understanding what then that you were answering their request. Was I wrong?
A feature phone is somewhere in between a true "dumb phone" and just a basic smartphone. In practice there's a grey area, but feature phones can do some basic basic stuff with 2G and 3G data. Feature phones vary, and sometimes only have a carrier or manufacturer app store, so sideloading Signal and just not accepting video posts would be possible on a phone from 2005 or so.
But since the feature phone market is very niche in developed countries, it's not the same as just all the phones running on one of two operating systems.
To answer the question of how does one install Signal on a feature phone? It will really vary by phone. Likely just moving a JSON file or something onto a the phone, but just a guess.
I broke my Boox screen, and I’m very upset with myself. I don’t even know how it happened.