I find it kind of disturbing that it's so hard now to buy a phone that's just a phone. What I'd really like is a small clamshell phone that does 3 main things;
* handle phone calls
* handle text messages
* provide a hotspot to other devices using mobile data, for when I need internet on the go
Plus the usual dumbphone features like calculator, alarm, reminders, etc. Bonus points if the calendar can sync over the net with an online one, using something like NextCloud.
Not sure what you mean by this.
> You can get dumb clamshell phones here…
Here too. That's what I'll probably get as a stopgap. Even though they only seem to be available on contract, and not from the carrier I'm with.
Check out your local pharmacy/post office... some sell very basic handsets with a cheap pre-paid SIM.
Pharmacies don't sell electronics here. As for post offices, are you a time traveller from the noughties? 😆
> just a phone
... I take your point that mobile devices moved on from that when they started handling text messages.
I guess what I was trying to express there is a sense of disappointment and frustration. That we've denormalised the availability of simple, cheap, robust devices purely for day-to-day wireless communication. Ones that don't need the same level of admin and security chops as a laptop. All for the benefit of DataFarmers.
It's got to be a clamshell. I already bought one of those, and it got destroyed within a couple of months : P
There are a lot of different options available from places like Ali Express, though. It looks like China still values a wide variety of feature phones, from cute to functional.
