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Comment by Assossa | Hacker News Reader

My mom just recently got a Alcatel GO FLIP which is one of the first phones with KaiOS. I messed around with it a little and was very impressed by the OS. If you're wanting to get a dumbphone, but not go back 20 years in technological advancement, check out KaiOS phones.

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Nokia's 8110 4G looks somewhat interesting, it's KaiOS, relatively basic on-board, but can act as a hotspot for your tablet or laptop.

+1 for the Nokia 8110 4G. I had to go to Europe to get it, but I am very pleased so far. Very minimal with a few critical "smart" features like the wifi hotspot. For some reason it also has Google Maps, though it's barely functional.

> For some reason it also has Google Maps, though it's barely functional.

Google invested in KaiOS to get its services pre-installed[1]. Soon, you won't be able to get a phone without Google, unless it's targeted at Chinese market or is made by Apple.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/28/17513036/google-kaios-inv...

> Google invested in KaiOS to get its services pre-installed[1]. Soon, you won't be able to get a phone without Google, unless it's targeted at Chinese market or is made by Apple.

I agree with your concern, but I can report there are alternatives:

* SailfishOS (version 3 is due), successor or Maemo/MeeGo, uses Mer and official ports have Android emulation [1]

* LineageOS (with or without MicroG) [2] [3]

* UBPorts, a community project continuation of Ubuntu Touch [4]

* PureOS [5]

And then there's CopperheadOS though it has imploded last time I checked, and PostmarketOS which is a nice alternative if all else isn't updated anymore or otherwise fails.

I'm using LineageOS with MicroG on a FP2. If anyone got questions about that, shoot.

[1] https://jolla.com/sailfish3/

[2] https://lineage.microg.org/

[3] https://lineageos.org/

[4] https://ubports.com/

[5] https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/

It's not about a lack of alternatives, but about the lack of accessibility to them. How many phones can we find on Amazon shipping with any of these OSes today?

Yes, there are various problems with these alternatives such a lack of availability, a lack of backwards compatibility. Many of these problems are related to the network effect.

But also to your bubble. SailfishOS targets upcoming markets such as India and Russia. So no, you won't find those on Amazon. I wouldn't use Amazon as the sole holy grail in this regard. Also, you can buy a Sony Xperia X and buy a SailfishOS license for it. You can run in on a device such as a FP2.

Where did you buy it? I'm from Europe

I just ordered one of those, I'm pumped. To me, the biggest selling point of KaiOS phones is the fact that they have GPS. That was the main reason it took me so long to get rid of my smartphone in the first place.

I don't like the KaiOS philosophy of "you can't write software for your device unless we like the idea".

In order for mostly-dumb phone like that to be useful for me there are a few small things I'd need to sort out via software, but they won't allow it.

Stallman was right etc.

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