Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A minimalist phone

These days there are so many smart phones with advanced features. The prices have also come down quite a bit. At one time I used to look at which ones I would love to have, carefully comparing all the specifications and features. I have stopped doing that now. There is such a glut of good smart phones with decent prices to match that I am actually put off by them all. Now I just wish somebody would come out with a bare-bone minimalist phone.

Here's what I propose. First of all, I just want the phone to handle only calls and text messages; no camera, no social networking, and not even an MP3 player. I just want a large screen with e-ink that is highly readable in bright sunlight while consuming very little power. Without an LCD screen and without 3G or Wifi, and powered by a low-end processor, such a phone would theoretically last for weeks on a single charge for somebody like me who likes to keep calls short. It would probably be very cheap to make. It would probably be small enough to turn into a wearable phone that I can wear like a watch (borrowing the idea from the Apple Nano, which unfortunately draws so much power that it needs to be charged everyday). That would be my dream phone - for now.

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