Not smart but clever? The return of 'dumbphones'

... Ms West's decision to ditch her former smartphone two years ago was a spur of the moment thing. While looking for a replacement handset in a second-hand shop she was lured by the low price of a "brick phone".

Her current handset, from French firm MobiWire, cost her just £8. And because it has no smartphone functionality she doesn't have an expensive monthly data bill to worry about.

"I didn't notice until I bought a brick phone how much a smartphone was taking over my life," she says. "I had a lot of social media apps on it, and I didn't get as much work done as I was always on my phone." ...

And on cue, another article on the re-emergence of the dumb phone. I'd been engaged in a discussion with @tom grzyb and @Wayne Radinsky on the topic in this thread. The argument I made there was that various vendors are strongly incentivised to push increasingly user-hostile "smartphones" on the public for reasons which serve the vendors but not purchasers. It's nice to see some pushback.

https://diaspora.glasswings.com/posts/cc94cba07f2b013ae85028a1592b385a

When it comes to dumb phones, my principle issue isn't the phones but the system --- I don't want a device any idiot in the world can reach, but one that only the specifici idiots I wish to be able to reach me can. Phone spam has reached levels that the entire premise of universal direct-dial access is called into strong question.

And that's before the tracking and surveillance issues --- somewhat reduced with a dumb-phone, but you're still broadcasting your location whenever the device is on.

I would like a device to run interference between any more-trusted devices and the cellular network --- I'd rather have a tethered mobile data dongle than a SIM carded tablet or laptop. But I'd also prefer that mics and cameras be separable from my devices as well.

The problem of sorting out how to filter out all but selected call traffic is a major challenge, however.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60763168

#phones #smartphones #dumbphones #DeathOfTelephony #Privacy #Surveillance #SurveillanceCapitalism #distraction #attention

Death of Telephony: Lost hiker ignored unknown-number rescue calls

A man who became lost for 24 hours while hiking on Colorado’s highest mountain ignored repeated phone calls from rescue teams because they came from an unknown number, authorities say.

The hiker was reported missing around 8pm on 18 October after failing to return to where he was staying, Lake county search and rescue said.

Repeated attempts to contact the man through calls, texts and voicemail messages went ignored, according to a statement released by the agency. ...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/26/hiker-lost-on-us-mountain-ignored-calls-from-rescuers-because-he-didnt-recognise-the-number

There are two takaways from this.

The obvious one is that the hiker was an idiot. Given he'd managed to navigate his way not merely to civilisation but back to the trailhead from which he began ... he has at least some back-country capabilities.

The less obvious one is that the state of telephony in the US has reached a point where the expectation is that any call, if from an unknown source, is likely to be malicious or unwanted. Even by someone in an emergencysituation.

Robocalls and other forms of phone solicitation are likely costing lives now, and this will only get worse.

#DeathOfTelephony