We just think that surfing the web with a decent screen and physical keyboard is simply more productive and comfortable.

The folks at Mudita are saying the right things. The Pure phone looks promising but I’m definitely waiting for reviews before even considering it.

@simonwoods This looks promising. Have you considered Punkt MP02 phone?

@rishabh I have yep! After taking a serious look at both I have decided that when I do try this option for the first time I’ll opt for the Punkt phone. I much prefer the size.

@maique ha! Yes. For me, assuming it works well enough, this will be a second phone for the weekends. Then over time I’ll aim to gradually have it replace my smartphone. There are lot of ways in which that might not work out but it’s my current strategy in an effort to opt out of the attention-greedy tech industrial complex.

@simonwoods There is also The Light Phone.

@rishabh The concept for that was intriguing. Unfortunately the reviews have been pretty bad with regard to reliability. The MP02 appears to be about as rock solid as you need, which ties into my desire to have a simple device that works for my limited needs and lacks what I consider to be a major flaw: the need to actively manage the device with updates, charging, and so on.

@rishabh @simonwoods I have a Light Phone II that I think I made one call on. Would happily sell it. Mostly because if I’m going to go that route, it’s gotta have real buttons.

@jack Tactile… what a word.

@rishabh @simonwoods - thanks for sending me this thread, Rishabh. Lots of food for thought. So I discovered you can’t use the Mudita as a hotspot, and the LP2 usability looks… interesting (though with hotspot/podcasts/GPS), if it was easier to use it would be a no-brainer for me. I need to have a proper look at the Punkt.

@jasraj The Punkt got a big update at the end of last year but I didn’t find any reviews where this was considered with an edit of any kind. I did notice a few people who own the phone comment that the update helped to fix some issues alongside the new features.

I’ll be honest, I’m looking forward to getting it now. Recently I found myself dumping my iPhone, Apple Watch, and big computer for almost all of the past few weekends and it has worked so well.

@simonwoods ah, interesting. I feel like we’re the ‘early adopters’ here. And yes - I feel great whenever I spend the weekend away from the phone/laptop. Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport) and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (John Mark Comer) really spoke to me.

@simonwoods here’s another - at least on paper, it ticks exactly the boxes I’m after, in terms of functionality/limitations: boringphone.com (cc @rishabh)

@jasraj Oh yeah, I forgot about that phone. Difficult to tell if they’re still selling it or not. Unfortunately for me it’s still too big. The smaller size is a feature, since it makes it easier for me to forget that it’s in my pocket and stuff.

In the meantime I’ve stripped back my iPhone so that even during the active days (weekdays pretty much) it stays away from the big distractions that are better suited for the computer/TV/iPad. That’s definitely helped.

@simonwoods yeah, I’ve fou be surprisingly little information about it online. Hmm, that could be a shout. Do you use anything like Freedom? Part of the problem is that if I know I can use things, I’ll often use them.

@jasraj What’s Freedom? Sounds familiar.

A thing I’ve discovered by myself is that if I am using something just because it’s there, then there is another more important problem; something at the root, whether it’s a localised specific point or something broad in scope. And that’s what I’ve been working on. For example: sleep, hydration, food, exercise, and even breathing. On top of that allowing myself the spare time in which I literally just think about what it is that I am doing, from a meta POV; the decisions I’m making, the way I spend my time, etc.

@simonwoods It’s Freedom.to - it’s handy, lets you block websites/apps across desktop & mobile, either at the press of the button or scheduled in advance.

And yes - I hear you re: there being an underlying issue. My ‘trick’ is to keep my phone on airplane mode/downstairs and try to only check it a couple of times a day. But I also know the temptation to scroll/switch be re even apps is real - and likely will be until the habit is slowly worn down.

@simonwoods ps. I feel a lot of online addiction (like gaming, or any addiction) stems back to some sort of unhealthy emotional pattern - numbing out, avoidance, escapism, etc. It’s frightening how easy it is to “numb out” - back in the day, just staring out into space/daydreaming/being bored was a thing, and a healthier one IMOGO.

@jasraj Personally, I find myself asking why do I want a minimalist phone. Ultimately, the tool is not the problem, but how we use it. Sure, I’d like to get a Punkt phone, but do I need it? Well…! ☺️

@rishabh this is a very good point. I could just leave my iPhone downstairs, and check it just a couple of times each day. Ultimately, we are in control of how we use our devices 🙃

@jasraj Yep. 🙂