I'm glad I saw this post because I've been trying to find the tobiphone thing for ages. I remember seeing it in HN, but then I lost the page I couldn't remember what it was called, and it was oddly difficult to google (at least at the time).
One thing I've been thinking is that maybe a way to permanently lock my phone in greyscale mode would be sufficient to cure my phone addiction.
The first phone in that list isn't a dumbphone - Clicks Communicator is a full-on smartphone, just with a keyboard. Same goes for the Unihertz Titan 2 and some others on the list.
But why would someone pay $675 to $1,235 plus $18/mo membership for a locked down iPhone without browser and apps - surely there is a way to lock them down yourself if you really want to.
edit: reading a bit further I find the LLM-prose on the website really jarring. Maybe I'm unfair here but it just reads like written by a machine.
Yeah, it's nuts, these are significantly more expensive than a low-end smartphone. I hope by the time my kid's a preteen there will be enough of a market for dumb phones that there will be cheaper options. I would think almost any parent would want one for their kid at some point.
One thing I've been thinking is that maybe a way to permanently lock my phone in greyscale mode would be sufficient to cure my phone addiction.
Gonna see if Claude has any solutions for me.
But why would someone pay $675 to $1,235 plus $18/mo membership for a locked down iPhone without browser and apps - surely there is a way to lock them down yourself if you really want to.
edit: reading a bit further I find the LLM-prose on the website really jarring. Maybe I'm unfair here but it just reads like written by a machine.
For that money and less you can get an older smartphone and strip it down yourself if you are inclined.
Or use accessibility settings (on iOS) to make it much less appealing to stare at.