I hate feeling like a servant on my phone. A status bar filled with things you don’t really care about but have to look at if you’re constantly getting your attention from one app or another may wonder who is in charge.
There are several ways to try to manage this. Good night mode on weekends works most of the time, but I found a better way. largely.
Enter Nokia 2780 Flip (opens in new tab). what? ! Gala phone? Yes, it’s a flip phone. But it’s not the flip phone you might think.
The 2780 doesn’t run Android, but it’s not a “dumb phone” either. It runs KaiOS and can do almost anything I want my primary communication device to do. I would love to use my phone every day, but two things are holding me back. (Spoiler: features or software are none of those).
The elephant in the room is that if you want to write honestly and accurately about Android phones and Google software for a living, you must have a phone that uses Android. I wouldn’t consider this a burden as Android is such a great piece of software, but you’ll need to use it every day to get enough knowledge to know it.
The second reason, which is a dream killer, is the fact that the 2780 is a 4G-only phone. It’s unpromising and often hates trying to navigate T-Mobile’s squirrel-like network, showing either no signal or a very weird slow signal that can’t be shared with another device. I’ll explain in a second.
First of all. The Nokia 2780 Flip is a cheap phone that’s well made but fairly basic. OMG I’m not going to list a lot of specs and such, because the Snapdragon 215, basic camera, SD card slot, 1,400 mAh battery, etc. are all worthy of a list. It’s kind of cool because it has a removable battery and an FM radio.
The positives outweigh the negatives. Two days of battery life would be nice. 2780 he gets four. For $89, you can get it brand new, no strings attached. It’s unlocked and works with North American GSM carriers, including MVNOs like Mint Mobile. Some say it works 100% on Verizon and is fully supported, but I can’t test it.
It runs KaiOS, a mobile Linux system based on the Firefox OS open source project. It is similar to android-lite in many ways. Optimized to run on devices with low memory and processing power. This makes it a great option for those looking for a smartphone that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Another great thing about KaiOS is that it’s very easy to use. The interface is simple and intuitive and can be quickly understood by non-technical people. There are also app stores like Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube to run HTML5 applications natively.
If you’re looking for a smartphone that doesn’t cost a lot and offers a great user experience, a KaiOS phone like the Nokia 2780 Flip is a great choice. And if you want to get the most out of Kai OS, you can pair it with your Chromebook or Android tablet.
This leads to another reason why switching is not possible. Tethering over an unstable connection isn’t fast enough for the modern web.
Like many people, I carry my laptop with me when I leave the house most of the time. I’m kind of in a rolling U-hole with a backpack in the back of my wheelchair, so it’s probably a little easier, but a lot of people carry lightweight laptops and tablets with them when they’re out and about.
This is really the best of both worlds. Your phone has secure and reliable software that keeps you in touch with everyone and gives you everything Chrome and Android (or Apple and Microsoft) has to offer on your big screen.
This is great if you’re in a place with Wi-Fi, like your business, but what if you want to sit in a park or by the Dupont Circle Fountain and watch people go by? If you need screen time, you can tether your phone to other devices.
this is why i want KaiOS is required to support 5G. 4G phones work in most places right now, not in places like my neck of the woods, and in the “permanent transition” from Sprint to T-Mobile, but not forever. is not. I don’t necessarily need more screen time when I’m being watched by other people, but if I want more screen time, I want it to be better. Other KaiOS phones will be unusable.
However, you may live in a place where 4G works just like it used to. Carriers won’t retire it anytime soon. If you want to try something different, the Nokia 2780 Flip doesn’t cost the Android flagship.
Still, it really does everything a smartphone should do, as long as you have something else to run the apps you need once in a while.
