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Comment by rationalist | Hacker News Reader

You know what would be good for security:

Having physical disconnect switches (Bluetooth/Wifi, Modem, Power, Microphone/Speaker), and integrated lens cover like Lenovo laptops (at least for the front camera whereas a case can cover the rear cameras).

On a side-note:

Triple active SIM would be amazing, but one can dream. I would love to have a phone that has an active AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon SIM at the same time.

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  > You know what would be good for security: Having physical disconnect switches

Wouldn't those become failure points? Anything mechanical will not only wear, but will be affected by dust, dirt, sand, dead skin cells, body oils, etc.

It depends on how durable they make the switches. Lightswitches, for example, tend to be durable.

the smaller something of that type is, the harder to make it durable (I think)

A reasonable assumption.

The Vibrate/Ring switches on the older iPhones seem to hold up though, so maybe something like that?

Light switches do not go with hundreds of thousands of people to the beach, the desert, left in hot cars, rained on, sat on, dropped, pressed against sweaty facts, etc.

Also a disconnect switch for the telco signal. Yet in my experience, even when turned off, a phone may send out a signal periodically anyway for tracking / triangulation purposes.

However to avoid that, removal of the battery is required. A disconnect switch for power would do the same?

I think moving to micro-PCs is the answer, and then having an add-on to get a telco-signal. Why trust Motorola? Start at grass roots where possible. Everything needs to be open-source and based on open standards. No trojans, telemetry or remote overrides.

Maybe the product is an adapter case for a Pi that adds a screen, battery, antenna and whatever else is required to make it a smartphone alternative?

Also, looking forward to Mecha Comet.

> switch for the telco signal

Sorry, that's what I meant when I said Modem.

> A disconnect switch for power would do the same?

I would think so. I don't necessarily care about removable batteries because I use a portable power bank. Why carry an extra battery that only works for one device, when I can carry a "battery" that works for many devices?

  I think moving to micro-PCs is the answer

Would be shocked if hardware is affordable enough for such a thing in a decade

This is the most cost-effective mini PC right now, that I've found. Also, one of the smallest.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005575993915.html

I'm not so fond of it because it has a fan. But if you could use it at home, and then had a "phone conversion housing" you could attach it to a belt and have a smartphone. Run wired earbuds out it. Have a trackpoint nub.

Here is a $15 screen. https://medium.com/@lee.harding/building-a-real-time-hn-disp...

There's something elegant about only requiring 1 computing device for everything. Even put it in the car!

It's what Steve Jobs would want.

The power draw looks like it's at least 4W with a max of maybe 45W. That's maybe 7 hr with a 10000 mAh battery assuming it's sleeping the entire time and not really doing anything. Not very practical for people used to a small phone lasting all day without a charge.

Surely there's a way to power down parts of it to reduce the draw? Is that a thing? Like having a V8 and only bringing in cylinders when they're needed. Couldn't cores be disabled or memory modules? On-demand telco and wi-fi. Even having minimal threads activated and perhaps on-demand DRAM over a typically DRAM-less SSD.

These ideas would have to go into a new design.

Also see: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004564646188.html

"At just 155 x 80 x 19mm, this pocket-sized M6 mini PC is perfect for travel, fitting easily in handbags or pockets."

You could power down portions and that's what a lot of modern systems do but you need to incorporate that into the design at a fundamental level. The entire PC would have to be redesigned and you even need a whole new cpu and motherboard design in order to be able to power down enough things while still being able to do useful work.

So yeah, it's possible but you'd basically be redoing the entire system from scratch.

I still think it's a good idea. Apple could do it.

I think you'd want a tiny switchboard where you could manually-override powering up/down parts of the system. Also, just because you're at a desk doesn't mean you want all cores going and when traveling only a couple - it could be on-demand. The other key thing is damage resistance. Just because you've got it in your pocket doesn't mean you want to risk it being damaged. Maybe a free-floating housing for traveling like with the old Sony Action cams.

"The X3000’s entire lens and sensor unit moves physically inside the body to compensate for shake. It is widely considered some of the best stabilization ever put into an action camera."

https://gemini.google.com/share/2839d2aa0a68

I wholeheartedly concur (see also: Linux phones), but what about device attestation requiring iOS or Google Play Integrity? That's my main worry, as age verification seems poised to making us dependent on those.

Example: the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet, discussed in multiple GH issues e.g. https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technic...

I would ignore it for the time being and make the phone for Adults Only. But anyone will be able to use it and age restrictions may only apply to the "megacorp regulated tech." I don't really know.

They are not a major OEM, but the Hiroh phone is going to offer hardware cutoff switches and and a de-googled OS: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Murena-taking-pre-orders-for-t...

Just get a SIM from another country and use roam like at home. I can use any network here as though it's my home network.

The provider isn't required to support this (they can give me 2 weeks' notice any time) but I use very little of my subscription (the smallest one they have) so I assume they're happy with the deal and don't have to pay the roaming carriers much

> I would love to have a phone that has an active AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon SIM at the same time.

If you are not aware, US Mobile offers a Super Carrier package that one account can use all three. https://www.usmobile.com/networks

I don't use them, only read about it on r/nocontract.

That's interesting, but it doesn't allow you to use all three at the same time unless you have a phone that can have three active SIMs.

Stored SIMs/eSIMs is not the same as active SIMs/eSIMs.

Triple active SIM would be amazing, but one can dream. I would love to have a phone that has an active AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon SIM at the same time.

You can fit several esims on one of these adapters AIUI.

https://jmp.chat/esim-adapter

i'm surprised this works, in the sense that there aren't tons of technical safeguards and/or lawsuits getting in the way of someone doing this

tried using this on ATT and was refused with not on esim whitelist

That doesn't allow you to have all of them active at the same time. You can already store multiple eSIMs in newer Pixel and iPhones (you just cannot use more than two SIMs/eSIMs at a time).

Stored SIMs/eSIMs is not the same as active SIMs/eSIMs.

Oh true I glossed over that part... Although tbh I don't understand the use case.

That's just security theater. If you can't trust the very CPU/OS that it only uses the camera/microphone when the notification is on, then what are you even doing with that device?

Google Fi will auto-switch between AT&T and T-Mobile but not Verizon, AFAIK.

Fi launched with Sprint and T-Mobile roaming and added US Cellular, but is presently T-Mobile only. I don't think AT&T has ever been a supporter carrier.

Removable battery

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