Tired of my tvs no longer updating to the latest software, tired of my phone no longer connecting to my car, tired of my few years old tech being considered legacy and no longer supported. Can anyone suggest non-android, non-apple, non-AI, non-connected, non-smart ‘dumb’ tech you’ve bought that makes a difference in your life? Should be hardy enough to last maybe 20 years (my even older plasma tv is still going on strong with a beautiful tv and forward firing speakers, while my newer Samsung lcd stopped receiving updates) and just do it’s job. I can live without mu ai enabled washer telling me how to wash my clothes.

  • PonyOfWar
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    21 days ago

    There are totally still working dumb phones that use 4g. Just be prepared for giant buttons, as the target group is mostly elderly people.

      • PonyOfWar
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        20 days ago

        This one for example. Don’t know whether it technically has internet, but the smartest function it seems to have is FM radio.

        • solrize@lemmy.world
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          20 days ago

          That looks interetsting but they won’t ship it to the US and it’s unclear if it works with US carriers. I see some similar ones on amazon.com that might be worth looking into, though they are on the expensive side and most have unrecognizeable brands that make me a bit queasy. No-name 2G GSM phones were often below $20, and some were tiny.

          Anyway thanks, that was valid answer. I had mostly looked at Nokia and similar models that had Facebook and stuff like that.

            • solrize@lemmy.world
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              20 days ago

              Thanks, but that is literally an Android phone:). I guess my use case for a dumb phone has decreased though. It’s now just disappointing that even “dumb” outs are bigger, more expensive, and power hungrier than old 2g phones were. It seems like a technological regression. :(

              • Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                20 days ago

                What do you mean by dumb then? You can’t get any other apps on it, and the smartest thing in it is a browser. I wouldn’t really know though, I wasn’t old enough to have a phone when flip phone were popular.

                • solrize@lemmy.world
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                  20 days ago

                  Browser = excessively smart! And why would it run Android if you can’t other apps on it? My original flip phone only did voice calls. No SMS. That came later. I don’t remember if it even had speed dialing, but it’s still in a drawer someplace, so I might check. 2G phones had voice and SMS but no internet of any sort. No browser, for example. They were great. Some were as small as cigarette lighters. Maybe there are smart watches now that can make phone calls independently though.

                  I spent a while searching for a super-dumb phone for the sake of a guy I knew who got hopelessly confused by his Android phone, but it’s now no longer needed.