I tried a true dumb phone but was breaking out my laptop too much for everyday tasks (dumb phones these days can do hotspot).

The flip phone I have runs Android 11, so I have the bare minimum necessary chat apps, email, GPS maps, and such. The main draw is that those work well enough, but anything more than that is possible but very frustrating. That’s kind of what the Minimal is about: e.g. yeah, you can watch YouTube videos on it, but you won’t want to.

Then, when the detox period is up and you’re fully off the addiction, you can get the standard phone back.

That’s kinda what I did. I used my flip like a true dumb phone for 30 days as a challenge and then un-dumbed it a little bit back to where only my basic needs were met and nothing more. I assumed I’d have rushed back to my old smartphone, but after breaking a bunch of habits, I found I didn’t really want to. Plus, I really missed T9 texting as weird as that sounds lol.

Yeah the marketing for it was lost on me. I already digitally detoxed last year when I switched to the flip phone I’m currently using, so I ignored the sales pitch and just looked at it from the cool hardware perspective and mostly reasonable price.

Credit where it’s due, though: I tried unsuccessfully to just uninstall the time sink apps from my regular smartphone and always ended up just reinstalling them. It took using a device that couldn’t feasibly run those (plus a weaning-off period) for me to fully let go. Seems like that is what the marketing is trying to target.

I honestly don’t think they’d tell me, but I’d also be interested to know. Fingers crossed they have some stock on hand for the occasional replacement.

It does have a physical keyboard, too. Sadly can’t give it much of a review given the circumstances, but it does have a good feel and seems like it would be pleasant to type on.

Yeah, I have a ticket in with support but haven’t heard back yet. I did ask specifically about the turnaround time for a replacement. Hopefully that’s a reasonable amount of time. I definitely don’t want $400+ tied up until the next batch ships in September.

Mostly the e-ink display and the QWERTY keyboard.

By its nature, it’s not great for doom scrolling, TikTok, or videos (the major time sinks with most phones). Those aren’t my use-cases anyway; I’m more of a reader than a watcher so I figured this would be like a supercharged version of my Kobo (which I love) that has a physical keyboard (which I have missed terribly in smartphones).

Edit: Plus, its 4:3 e-ink display and keyboard just scream “install Termux on me!” Also planned to use it as a nice portable SSH terminal like I used to have back when smartphones had slide-out keyboards.

I’m rocking an aging Cat S22 Flip right now and have been trying to figure out what to replace it with. The Minimal Phone seemed like exactly what I wanted. Sad that it arrived DOA and am probably not going to bother replacing it; waiting weeks for something that arrives DOA is a hard thing to recover from.

Well, I don’t even know what to say to that. Except that in Puerto Rico, a McFlurry it’s called a Señor Flurry.

https://lemmy.ca/post/46655208

Just defederated from usagi [dot] reisen just in case federation starts working on that end.

Sadly, that’s an eBay photo I searched for the comment. I had that exact setup, but it got sold at a yard sale over 2 decades ago :(

Probably different batches. Recall info said it was due to an issue with a single supplier. Not even all of the listed models are affected, just certain serial numbers for each model.

I mean…I tend to take potential lithium fires seriously, especially when they’re in my everyday carry. Companies don’t issue recalls and mass-replace units on a whim.

HAHAHA. 🤦‍♂️ I’ve called them “Ankler” for freaking years and am just today learning it’s “Anker”.

It’s “Downtown Abbey” all over again lol.

No, they’re on the form. Was just providing experience of what the process is like in case people expect it to be super painful.

Yep. I’ll note that in the post. Thanks.

Process was pretty easy. Basically you have to:

1. Fill out the recall form (linked in post).
2. Provide info for the unit:
   • Model number
   • Serial number
3. It will check to see if that exact unit is part of the recall. If it is, you’ll also need to provide:
   • Where it was purchased
   • The order number associated with the purchase
4. Let them know if you want a replacement unit shipped to you or a non-expiring gift card for Anker.com
   • I selected “replacement unit” and had to provide my shipping address. Not sure if gift card needs that or not, but would assume so.
5. You have to submit two photos of the unit:
   • Write the current date and the word RECALL on a piece of paper.
   • Upload a photo of the back with the serial number visible with the paper in the shot
   • Upload another photo of the front with the paper in the shot. Also, you have to write RECALL on the device itself in Sharpie (not sure if they’ll be able to see it in mine since the case is black and you can’t see the marker at all)
6. It said the turnaround time is approx. 5 days.
7. It advises to send the unit for recycling after you submit the form, but I’m holding onto mine for now because I’m not sure if they’re gonna complain about the Sharpie not being visible in the second photo.

I had this one; felt like I was living in the future.

Web app, specifically, or any apps?

I’m also familiar with these three (web) apps:

• Alexandrite: https://alexandrite.app/
• Mlmym (Old Reddit Lookalike): Not sure if there’s an “open” instance of it, but several instances offer it. See https://old.lemmy.world/ for an example (not sure if SJW offers Mlmym or not).
• Voyager: https://vger.app/

Might also also check out https://lemmyapps.com/ which has a good list that you can filter by platform/feature.

It’s rare when I agree with Marsha Blackburn on anything, but broken clocks and all that.