Review: The Minimal Phone wants you to hate phones, and it works
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I was looking into getting one of these. Saw a clickbait thumbnail along the lines of 'black and white mode for free?' and I realised, I can make my current phone less addicting for free with monochrome mode. And it works. (My screen time has no moved to my PC, but no more endless scrolling.)
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I think the general idea of these phones has legs but the addition of a physical keyboard on the Minimal Phone puts it into an extreme niche. It feels more like a passion project designed specifically for the use of the company founder than something tailored to the market, and is stuck between the practicality of the smaller Mudita Kompakt and the performance of the Bigme HiBreak Pro. If the Minimal Company makes a Minimal Phone 2 I'll be interested to see how different the design is.
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Really sketchy company so far. My order hasnt come after 4 months
This one seems better: https://mudita.com/products/phones/mudita-kompakt/
Example of setup: https://old.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1kszt14/my_current_set_of_minimalist_apps_on_the_mudita/
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This one seems better: https://mudita.com/products/phones/mudita-kompakt/
Example of setup: https://old.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1kszt14/my_current_set_of_minimalist_apps_on_the_mudita/
Thanks for the idea! But I need my open source apps
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I really like the idea but why the fuck is it $400
Because of economies of scale
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I could downvote because we've seen this a lot: underpowered phone that does nothing and costs as much as my Pixel that does everything. Its not technically a scam, but it feels like those magical paper notebooks that supposedly boost your productivity for some reason.
I read the article: $500 and the same battery as my phone. Definitely a scam. I would get one at $100 though.
That's not what the Downvote button is for
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People don't seem to get sarcasm here, huh
That would require "/s"
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Thanks for the idea! But I need my open source apps
You can install F-Droid and any open source Android app.
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I think the general idea of these phones has legs but the addition of a physical keyboard on the Minimal Phone puts it into an extreme niche. It feels more like a passion project designed specifically for the use of the company founder than something tailored to the market, and is stuck between the practicality of the smaller Mudita Kompakt and the performance of the Bigme HiBreak Pro. If the Minimal Company makes a Minimal Phone 2 I'll be interested to see how different the design is.
I mean, when Blackberry existed, it seemed like everyone had one, and the physical keyboard was what people loved about it.
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Yes. Unihertz have a couple I'm aware of but their software is dog shit, fx tec pro is out dated and over priced. The blackberry keytwo was the absolute best phone I have ever owned but that is now too old for security updates too so really isnt the best thing to have as your main phone.
Would be happy to hear of some others I may have missed. I backed the planet computers astro slide on indiegogo and they only delivered around 2000 units before stealing everyone elses money. Fucking cunts they are.
Maybe a phone with a clicks case? I’ve been contemplating getting one for my iPhone, but I think it will be way too top heavy. They’ve also now done one for the moto razr series foldables, those lend themselves a bit better for the extra length of a keyboard
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Maybe a phone with a clicks case? I’ve been contemplating getting one for my iPhone, but I think it will be way too top heavy. They’ve also now done one for the moto razr series foldables, those lend themselves a bit better for the extra length of a keyboard
Looks interesting, thanks for replying, I hadn't heard about this. I wonder how it compares to a blackberry keyboard to actually use. A bit too expensive for me as I would have to buy a new phone and all the options currently available are quite expensive phones but I'm definitely going to keep this on my radar and maybe try and get one to try when I can get a second hand pixel 9 for a good price maybe.
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Looks interesting, thanks for replying, I hadn't heard about this. I wonder how it compares to a blackberry keyboard to actually use. A bit too expensive for me as I would have to buy a new phone and all the options currently available are quite expensive phones but I'm definitely going to keep this on my radar and maybe try and get one to try when I can get a second hand pixel 9 for a good price maybe.
Yeah that’s keeping me from it as well. And maybe the fact that I use a keychron at work that I can just connect via bt to my phone for some lengthier chats
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I mean, when Blackberry existed, it seemed like everyone had one, and the physical keyboard was what people loved about it.
You could say that for any piece of old and irrelevant technology. I'm sure people thought rotary dial telephones were amazing too before something better came along.
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Yeah that’s keeping me from it as well. And maybe the fact that I use a keychron at work that I can just connect via bt to my phone for some lengthier chats
There is also this "Fairberry" project that is basically building the same thing but with a blackberry keyboard that I have had saved for years now I just don't really feel confident with being able to put it together myself and also don't have access to a 3d printer to make the case part or the skills to modify it for my phone.
I have wanted to look into getting someone to make it for me but when the cost of materials and then paying someone to construct it is going to start costing a similar amount to what I paid for the phone it becomes harder to justify.
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You could say that for any piece of old and irrelevant technology. I'm sure people thought rotary dial telephones were amazing too before something better came along.
Phones with on-screen keyboards existed at the same time. People stopped buying Blackberries because they stopped being available, not because phones with on-screen keyboard were better or more technologically advanced.
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Phones with on-screen keyboards existed at the same time. People stopped buying Blackberries because they stopped being available, not because phones with on-screen keyboard were better or more technologically advanced.
Yes, and landline handsets with buttons existed at the same time as rotary dials...what's your point?
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Yes, and landline handsets with buttons existed at the same time as rotary dials...what's your point?
My original point is that I don't think a phone with a physical keyboard appeals to only a niche group, based on its wild popularity when it was last available for purchase.
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My original point is that I don't think a phone with a physical keyboard appeals to only a niche group, based on its wild popularity when it was last available for purchase.
Wild popularity? BlackBerry had the entire physical keyboard mobile market to itself and still failed catastrophically. Its only successful period was prior to the existence of the iPhone. As soon as that was on the market, with its touchscreen keyboard, BlackBerry sank like a brick. What does that say about the popularity of the physical keyboard? Its last release was nearly 8 years ago at this point - it's a dead, irrelevant brand and its major selling point, the physical keyboard, is an extreme niche in today's market.
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There is also this "Fairberry" project that is basically building the same thing but with a blackberry keyboard that I have had saved for years now I just don't really feel confident with being able to put it together myself and also don't have access to a 3d printer to make the case part or the skills to modify it for my phone.
I have wanted to look into getting someone to make it for me but when the cost of materials and then paying someone to construct it is going to start costing a similar amount to what I paid for the phone it becomes harder to justify.
I have seen it before! Also not confident enough for it haha
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Wild popularity? BlackBerry had the entire physical keyboard mobile market to itself and still failed catastrophically. Its only successful period was prior to the existence of the iPhone. As soon as that was on the market, with its touchscreen keyboard, BlackBerry sank like a brick. What does that say about the popularity of the physical keyboard? Its last release was nearly 8 years ago at this point - it's a dead, irrelevant brand and its major selling point, the physical keyboard, is an extreme niche in today's market.
I mentioned the brand as an example of the feature's popularity. People stopped buying them because they stopped being made, not the other way around. Like other physical controls on cellphones disappearing, I suspect it's a reflection of the cost to produce rather than any technical benefit or a statement of what people want. That's why so many people still use their decades-old phones today.
