The
Un-Smartphone, open source rotary dial cell phone, (kits are available for the 3G version):
- Real, removable antenna with an SMA connector. Receptions is excellent, and if I really want to I could always attach a directional antenna.
- When I want a phone I don't have to navigate through menus to get to the phone "application". That's bullshit.
- If I want to call my husband, I can do so by pressing a single dedicated physical key which is dedicated to him. No menus. The point isn't to use the rotary dial every single time I want
to make a call, which would get tiresome for daily use. The people I call most often are stored, and if I have to dial a new number or do something like set the volume, then I can use
the fun and satisfying-to-use rotary dial. - Nearly instantaneous, high resolution display of signal strength and battery level. No signal metering lag, and my LED bargraph gives 10 increments of resolution instead of just 4.
- The ePaper display is bistatic, meaning it doesn't take any energy to display a fixed message.
- When I want to change something about the phone's behavior, I just do it.
- The power switch is an actual slide switch. No holding down a stupid button to make it turn off and not being sure it really is turning off or what.
The perfect gift for that crotchety old relative who either can't get to grips with technology or who complains that their smartphone does things that they didn't want without having touched it, (I mean you, dad
).
Designer's
project page.
