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09-09-2019, 08:05 PM | #31 | |
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And that's why I use an old Blackberry Q10. Don't want Android or iOS. There's a couple Linux phones supposedly on the way — maybe one of those will be available when I need to upgrade. Otherwise it'll be a flip phone for me. (Even if Linux are available, I might still go with the flip phone. Text and talk is really enough for me.) Last edited by rcentros; 09-09-2019 at 08:09 PM. |
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09-10-2019, 12:30 AM | #32 |
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I don't think e-Ink technology is really suited to smartphones. It was designed to display black text on a white background. Anything more is pushing the boundaries. Unbox Therapy did a review of one not too long ago, the Kingrow K1, and it was pretty abysmal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS93u75NnPo
I like the idea of a minimalist phone but they don't need to resort to e-Ink for that. An OLED device with system wide dark mode and software optimizations could achieve the same effect. |
09-10-2019, 11:24 AM | #33 |
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I haven't made a study of the light phone, but I think they went with e-ink for the battery life. And to be fair, their device is purposely not a smart phone. You aren't browsing the web or using apps on it.
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09-10-2019, 02:12 PM | #34 | |
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Moreover, it might even be cheaper to do OLED than e-ink. A lot of niche e-ink based devices like the remarkable tablet are so pricey they never really take off. A mass produced, readily available technology like OLED could possibly save money over e-ink and bring down the price of the minimalist phone. |
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09-10-2019, 02:16 PM | #35 |
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09-10-2019, 02:46 PM | #36 |
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Honestly, any smart phone can be a minimalist phone if you just uninstall or don't use apps. That's my point. If you want a truly minimalist phone, just uninstall or disable apps you don't need or want. No need to buy a phone that is purposely restricted, especially when there's going to be that one useful feature that won't work (for me, it would be maps/navigation).
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09-10-2019, 04:06 PM | #37 |
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If I pay 350 for a phone, I want it to do all the bells and whistles, not a minimalist design.
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09-10-2019, 04:14 PM | #38 |
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Sure, but that's missing the whole point. There are people out there that want a minimalist phone. I don't get it myself and I don't think they'll sell at $350. But if they can do it, more power to them.
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09-10-2019, 06:11 PM | #39 | |
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So whether reflective LCD (which is front lit like E Ink), transmissive LCD, OLED or E Ink really doesn't matter. If for some strange reason one wanted a reflective non colour screen on a minimalist phone it would seem to me that ultra cheap (because they are widely used and been around for many decades) reflective LCD would be the obvious choice. |
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09-10-2019, 06:39 PM | #40 |
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Do you find reflective LCD as readable as eInk? I don’t. Still this thing costs too much, and you cannot even read books on it.
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09-10-2019, 07:27 PM | #41 |
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i don't get it (except for the e-ink display).
any phone, smart or otherwise, can be used as a "light phone". if all you are interested in is the basics then just don't use the other features. iphone and android alike, you do not need to sign in to apple or google. during the setup, you can opt NOT to sign into anything. the marketing for this phone and other phones like this blames the smart phone for complicating your life and offers this type of phone as a solution. are we humans so sad that not using facebook or instagram is not a choice we can make even if it's dangling in front of us? my 80 year old mom doesn't use any smart phone features at all...and not even sms that's available on a "feature phone". to her a phone is just used to make phone calls. so what i did for her is to remove all app shortcuts from the home screen except the phone app...a smart phone dumbed down. |
09-10-2019, 08:48 PM | #42 | |
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09-10-2019, 09:01 PM | #43 |
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On small displays displaying simple information yes I do, and a minimalist phone falls into that category.
While it has been around for many decades (in widespread use since the early 1970s when TN effect LCDs came along) few have bothered much improving reflective LCD for larger and detailed displays because transmissive LCD has been available (TFT LCD was in wide use by early 1980s) and is much more competent. And for a decade or so we now have emissive displays such as OLED. E Ink type displays, on the other hand, have no such competent related substitute so the technology languishes as its producers continue to struggle to find ways to improve it and increase its utility for actual applications. It is still stuck with adopted applications being in only a few niche products such as ereaders and shelf labelling (which is dependant on suitable store illumination realignment), where it is facing increasing competition from better or more convenient alternatives. |
09-10-2019, 09:34 PM | #44 |
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My Amazfit smartwatch is reflective LCD and it’s quite readable most of the time. It also has a backlight for poor lighting situations. Then again, it’s no Apple Watch. I only use it to check the time and while running. The biggest advantage of the reflective LCD display is my watch only needs to be charged once a month.
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09-10-2019, 09:38 PM | #45 |
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Good point. You can turn your smartphone into a minimalist phone simply by turning on maximum power saving mode. It disables all but the most essential features (e.g., phone, text, calculator), turns off notifications, and stretches your battery life.
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