I’m fond of the idea that a dumbphone can detach us from tech in a meaningful way. I’m slowly adding components of this decentralized electronic device/system in my life. I have a DSLR for photos, a laptop for learning, working and leisure, a Fiio M3K digital audio player for music. I require gps for navigation in my day-to-day travels. I’m at the point where I’d like to ditch my android smartphone and go with a 4G LTE dumbphone that is compatible in both North America and Europe.
Since the phone being produced by Mudita OS doesn’t come out until April, maybe I should get a used, de-googled phone off of eBay to try out in the interim? Then I can "have the facts"and see if I should keep a smartphone, albeit a de-googled one with me, or just keep on the path of having a device for each need that I have.
Thoughts on this?
I love the Mudita / Light Phone ideas, but they’re not available in my country, and it costs too much for what I need.
I’ve used Android phones and then been using iPhones for years, but slowly but surely kept going back to dumbing and locking them down. But even then, I would just sit and fiddle with the settings and do other things to just be able to use my phone.
Then I got a Nokia 105 in 2017, with 2G and texts and calls. I’ve used that a while on and off, but fear of “inconvenience” made me go back to my smart phones every time. Got a KaiOS phone for the Whatsapp addition, as that’s the main form of texting over here, nobody uses sms.
Then after trying and dipping my toes in the water, I just went with the newer Nokia 105 4G, which has VoLTE, so the calls are better. Battery lasts a week still if I don’t call much, which nobody really does, as you just text or use social media to talk.
Gave my iPhone and Apple watch to my wife, got a Casio watch and using the Nokia now as my daily driver. I use an old iPhone that’s switched off and stashed away in the cupboard only for GPS and banking 2FA, otherwise I can’t bank on desktop. But that phone is locked down to GPS, Whatsapp and banking only.
So now I feel like it was in the early 2000’s and it’s so peaceful.
PS: I’m new to the Fediverse and looking for /nosurf, /dumphones and /digitalminimalism type communities too. Just found and joined this one, if you guys want to chat there too. (I’m not a mod, just a happy subscriber. :-)