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Comment by bryogenic | Hacker News Reader

Slightly off topic, are there actually any good (i.e. recommendable) dumb phones? It has been an interesting market to try to navigate and research.

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I actually spent some time looking into dumb phones a couple years ago. My favorite would be the motofone. It's got an e-ink display, which is great for battery and sunlight, and 2 antennas which is also great if you heaven forbid make actual calls with it. Also, pretty sturdy, small, and light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Fone

Beware though, if you txt a lot, you won't like it. Not enough real estate for the crazy font they use.

There are also these printed cell phones showing up. Do a google for "card phone". Pretty interesting.

Do you happen to have a recommendation for an e-ink phone that is favorable for SMS?

Other than the F3, nope. There's not a lot out there (supposed to be an android one coming soon though).

http://www.eink.com/customer_showcase_cell_phones.html

You'd think there'd be more considering how ideal it is for outdoor visibility and battery longevity.

I had a Motofone (also called F3) for the last 7 years. It started with a two week working battery life. It's a pain to text message on since it only shows 4 or 5 characters on, but it just worked as a reliable phone. Finally switched to an iPhone 5 after it became vital for me to have full Internet access 24/7 for work. If it weren't for that, I'd still have my F3. I love it as much as I love my iPhone 5.

You can still find some of them on eBay. I'd offer mine, but I'm keeping it as an emergency (911) phone for my car.

F3 to iPhone 5 has to be the biggest jump I've heard of lately. I've been meaning to pick up a dumbphone myself, maybe I'll grab an F3 - I remember when they came out, I was dying for one. It's a bit like buying the... junker of your childhood dreams.

I used this phone for about 6 months. The screen made it hard to navigate the menus and got in the way of even simple things like adding someone to your address book. The battery life was good but it was not significantly longer than the battery life of other dumb phones (since the screen is mostly off it doesn't make a huge difference).

Eventually I traded it in for a cheap nokia with an lcd.

I've been using the Motofone for three years now and I love it. The texting doesn't bother me either. It's also the lowest common denominator of phones that call and text, so we test all our dumb apps against it.

Googling for "card phone" doesn't actually bring up a lot of card phones. I see more prepaid cell phone cards and banks with mobile apps. The first card phone for sale isn't until page 2, and it's an eBay link.

I believe Nokia Asha line of phones is leading the charge in dumb phones in developing countries, Nokia Asha 501 being the newest. It has pretty freaking awesome (especially in countries where access to electricity is a luxury) 48 day standby time (beat that iPhone!). In addition, Asha 501 actually has some kind of support for 3rd party apps.

I can't wait to get my hands on the 501 - I am pretty excited about this phone.

And if you want physical keypad instead of touchscreen, then the 301 is probably the best featurephone available. Similar crazy long battery life, good looking design, and all the features you'd need (aside flashlight). 301 also has 3G connectivity, so I believe it has better reception than pure 2G models such as 501.

I have a Nokia 1202 that I keep in my emergency drawer, that I take with me hiking and so on. It's very reminiscent of the 3315 in build quality. It talks, it txts, it has snake. What more do you need!

I actively use a Nokia 100 (as my "family calling" phone - calling and minimal texting -only-). A brand new one cost £18.99, it has a monster battery life, is super light and yet an absolute rock in build quality.

I'm sure it has some additional bling like FM radio, a media player or whatever and some games, but I use literally use that phone for nothing other than calling and texting.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0068ZAPB0/

I lived for the last 2 years with a Nokia 1610. Highly recommend but they discontinued in January and a new model came out with a camera (which was against my minimalist ethos at the time).

I ended up breaking the chain and switching back to an iPhone 5 but this app store has got me pining for the simpler days of pure sms and voice based comms.

I'm also pretty frothy on this $12 phone.

http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3040

Any used Nokia 3310 on eBay will probably outlive you.

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