Flip-phones!

[akbatten]

I recently pulled the trigger on a dumb-phone. One of my top picks was the Sunbeam F1. It can do hotspot, so my thought was I could carry around my old Sony Z5 Compact in my backpack. It would have Google Auth, Snapchat, and other apps I would need maybe a couple times per day but I could keep it physically away and hard to get to.


Sunbeam is backordered for a while so I ordered a Light Phone II since it would ship sooner, plus they are running a 20% off promotion for the holidays. It doesn't have a camera and it's not a flip phone, but it does mostly the same things otherwise.


When I talk to other people about getting a phone with less features, people in their 20s usually react with "oh cool" and a couple say they're trying to do the same thing. It's people in their 40s and up that usually react with surprise and some confusion. For how much my grandmother wanted us kids to get off our phones/Game Boys on large family vacations, she's the one who is always pulling her iPhone out during dinner now.

[pistachio]

I've been a dumbphone user full-time since August and absolutely LOVE it. Currently using the Nokia 6300 4G, but unfortunately I bought a used unit that seems to have incurable battery problems lol. I was always intending on the Nokia being a kind of transition device to see if I could actually commit to the lifestyle, since it was so cheap, and as such I'm not overly bummed about having to replace it with a more durable phone now. Currently stuck between the Sunbeam F1 Orchid, Kyocera Digno 903kc and Kyocera Dura XV Extreme.

My ideal phone can call, text, navigate, and hold a charge for longer than a day. Ideally it's also durable and will last me at least 3 years. In terms of actual capabilities I really don't need bells and whistles other than mentioned. Needs to work on TMobile, but most dumbphones do as I understand it. If anyone reading this has any advice or recommendations, let me know!

[caracalled]

Ohhh I've been looking into flip phones so it's so good to see the topic being brought up here! Currently looking for a Nokia 2720 in white or maybe a kyocera 902kc in silver (this one is kinda out of my budget tho ) later if I think I wanna stay with it like you @pistachio :D

I would love something that I can customize to be as privacy forward as possible and otherwise also find open source stuff to customize it with (mainly want a notes app and a private messenger like signal/telegram), but I'm guessing that's pretty unlikely to find :( But if anyone knows anything about this please send any info my way bwahaha I would love to make my flip phone into a little project!

I recently also got an old ipod nano 7 and i've been loving it! getting off spotify and sorta "hunting" for music i like at the library, second hand stores and on bandcamp (and also other websites yarr) and I feel like being able to do something as simple as listening to music without looking at my phone seems so nice and i'd love continuing that with a flip phone hehe

[JackFrost]

I got a 902kc and it works! However, none of the apps do... Anyone have reccomendations on what to use with it and what android launcher looks most old school? I want to eventually switch to it entirely and replace my phone, but not for a long time. Its kinda disappointing that it has no headphone jack, but it does have a SD card!

[3lsie]

I recently got a Nokia 2660 Flip! Honestly it doesn't feel much smaller than my smartphone because it's kind of chunky. All the flip phones I could find were like this though - I think they are perhaps geared to an older audience and all have large buttons, so they're bigger than I remember flip phones being when I was a kid.

There are some things I can't figure out a way round needing a smartphone for, like 2FA and train tickets, which is a real shame, but I like having the option to ditch my smartphone in some scenarios and just carry around the dumb flip phone.

I thought it'd be met with some scepticism from my friends and family but they actually all said it sounded like a good idea when I told them I was doing it. It makes me think there must have been a shift in a lot of people's attitudes towards smartphones.