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Motorola Develops Bare-Bones Phone
tunabomber writes "Whenever a review of the latest cellphone/camera/MP3 player/GPS receiver/fish finder/tazer convergence gadget is posted on Slashdot, the first posters are usually quick to chime in by saying they just want something with decent battery life, reception, ergonomics, etc. Those posters' prayers may now be answered, because Motorola's new 'dumb' phone has been designed with these traits in mind. Notable features include an E Ink display and dual antennae to improve reception. The phone is slated to become available before the end of the year."
It's about time. It seems like every basic phone on the market right now is a cheap piece of junk with poor reception and no durability. It's good to see someone taking this niche of the market seriously. It looks like they've put some serious thought into this phone, making it not only useful but stylish.
DeviantArt Page
NSFWWhy so little features? I'd want something more advanced.
...wish it had a camera ;-)
ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
How about I just stick with my old Nokia 6310i
It's a neat idea to have a feature-free phone. But seriously, there are millions of those going on ebay cheap because silly people are upgrading to a phone that does polyphonic catatonic ringtones, online horoscopes, and realtime 3d su-doku. That's got to be cheaper than buying any new Motorola phone.
Jolyon
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
If you read the very last paragraph in the article, it states that the phone isn't going to be available in the US unless someone will carry it (and it doesn't have a way for Verizon et al to nickel and dime you to death with photos, ringtones etc, so good luck getting them to do it) or it's sold in drugstores alongside no-name brands, and I wouldn't be surprised if Motorola makes up some BS excuse about how it's beneath Moto to sell that way.
So for now, those who want just a simple phone (like my mom) are out of luck. Even text messaging and other bells and whistles go unused on her phone.
On the upside, she got the phone for free with her plan and just doesn't use the features she doesn't want, but she's continually asking me if she gets charged for text messages (not unless it's someone other than T-Mobile who sends them and nobody sends her anything, so I don't see why she worries).
i am a soviet space shuttle
No wireless. No USB. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Other than maybe needing to get a new battery for an old cellphone, you'll be surprised how well some of the older phones work. My 6310i is the phone I had two "upgrades" ago. When I went back to it I had forgotten that I only ever used to charge it once every two weeks on average and, at least with mine, the battery still works well after 3 years.
Jolyon
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
The number rows (1,2,3) should be in perfect line-up rows on any phone so you don't have to look to hit the numbers. They are mostly lined up here, but there's no reason they could not have gone the rest of the way.
Where were you when the voynix came?
Now it just needs bluetooth so I can add one of These
Make America grate again!
Fashion has always been a cyclical market. Trends become fads only to have reactionary movements back to basics. It's about time for 'popular style' of phones to become phones again.
We'll never see this product in the states because the article said that they are marketing rechargers powered by bicycling. What American still does physical activity like that?
FTFA: It is well suited in several ways to a phone designed for poor countries, says Motorola's chief technology officer, Padmasree Warrior.
Padmasree Warrior. Sounds like their board meetings take place in a steel cage with investors chanting "Two man enter! One man leave!"
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
The display is very easy to see even in full sunlight but uses much less energy than an LCD, Wilcox says.
What if it's dark out? Is there a backlight for use at night, or is it just not seeable then?
How durable is eink? Article says no glass or plastic cover is needed, will this thing resist wear and tear that might try and ruin it?
I've owned two gadget-laden phones in my life, and I'm still pining for my original StarTac. I never use any of the fancy features on my colorful phones, aside from (every once in a blue moon) text messaging. That, plus the size, plus the E-ink display, plus the green implications of being able to charge my phone during my bicycle commute to work, makes me eager to see this on the market. Although I'll probably have to order it from overseas. :(
The pictures of this phone actually do it justice - it looks amazing in proportion to the hand. See for yourself. As someone who wants my phone to "just be a phone," I'll be buying one, without a doubt.
Let me let you in on a secret.
if it's GSM and triband then you will be able to easily buy one via a secret website...
www.ebay.com
dont tell anyone, it's a really obscure place that very few know of.
I have purchased many cellphones that are not available here from ebay. MY daughter has sported a cellphone that is uber-trendy that oohs and aaahs from classmates on a regular basis from that secret website.
IF it is available over there, you bet it will be available UNLOCKED on ebay minutes after.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I worked at EInk around the same time this phone was being developed. The main reason why I was told it has so little features was that it's being marketed as a substitue for land lines in certain parts of the world. I actually got to see the phone a while back and it's pretty impressive at how small and cheap this type of technology has become.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Custom built phone? Why not? Computer sellers allows custom built PCs specified by users and this is being done for desktops, servers and laptops. Why not phone as well?
The article mentioned a future feature of having an LED flashlight. Now there is a feature I would actually want. Ingenious! How many times have we all tried to use the phones backlit display as a flashlight, why not go all the way and it's so damn simple to implement. Whenever you need a flahslight, you never seem to have one. Cell phone companies (I'm looking at you Motorola, LG, Nokia, etc.) please put this in your phones, be they relatively featureless or featurful. The utility of this far exceeds an mp3 player or video player.
"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson
Antennae is only appropriate when applied to zoology. The correct term for the plural of radio antenna is "antennas." Source: New Oxford American Dictionary
If I could rearrange the keyboard, I'd put U and I together.
But can it run linux?
My name would be Pi_r_[]ed, but this stupid thing wouldn't allow it. Well, at least now you know.
You know that $100 phone you bought when you sign up for a new contract? It's really a $300 phone... I don't have a source, but I recall reading somewhere that it takes over a year for the cell company to recoup the cost of the loss-leader phone they gave you.
"Average Revenue Per User" is the cellular industry term that is key here. The wireless industry does everything it can to eek out every single bit of revenue from each user. Text messages, pictures, ringtones, etc. So, I don't think you'll ever see this phone in the states... there is not even a CHANCE of increasing revenue.
MAYBE you could see this phone in the pre-paid market, which typically has simpler phones anyway (and higher airtime revenue).
I didn't see any mention of whether or not it has a GPS receiver. Any cell phone sold in the US is required to have a GPS receiver built in so they can track you, right? That could be one reason why this phone won't be sold in the US.
It looks pretty cool to me, in any case.
-Rich
Niiice idea, niiiice... The only problem I see is that little tiny bit that this is done by motorola. So far the only mobile phones company that has consistently failed to deliver at least ONE GOOD HANDSET. Slow menus, bugs and crashes, idiotic features and unusable functionality. Strangely most popular in the good ol' USA.
Guys, please be so kind, go and get a GOOD phone. Samsung? Sony Ericsson? Nokia? Just whatever. Kill Motorola, please.
Some schools are banning cell-phones for students, because of text-message cheating, and the like. But phones like this should not be a problem.
Wow, a phone that is simply a *phone* and not an MP3 player/PDA/dildo/surrogate lover/toothbrush/kitchen sink/Swiss army knife. Whoda thunk it?
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman