I'm glad I saw this post because I've been trying to find the tobiphone thing for ages. I remember seeing it in HN, but then I lost the page I couldn't remember what it was called, and it was oddly difficult to google (at least at the time).
One thing I've been thinking is that maybe a way to permanently lock my phone in greyscale mode would be sufficient to cure my phone addiction.
In case someone out there is looking, here's an untested recipe to lock your android in greyscale mode. It removes the menu option for changing out of greyscale (untested).
Set grayscale:
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1
Also clear any shortcut that could toggle it:
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_shortcut_target_service ""
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_button_targets ""
The first phone in that list isn't a dumbphone - Clicks Communicator is a full-on smartphone, just with a keyboard. Same goes for the Unihertz Titan 2 and some others on the list.
But why would someone pay $675 to $1,235 plus $18/mo membership for a locked down iPhone without browser and apps - surely there is a way to lock them down yourself if you really want to.
edit: reading a bit further I find the LLM-prose on the website really jarring. Maybe I'm unfair here but it just reads like written by a machine.
Yeah, it's nuts, these are significantly more expensive than a low-end smartphone. I hope by the time my kid's a preteen there will be enough of a market for dumb phones that there will be cheaper options. I would think almost any parent would want one for their kid at some point.
This entire subthread is weird. There are a ton of cheap phones on this page, and the ones that are trying to "recreate 25-30 year old technology" seem to be very appropriately priced.
And I'm stopping because why not just use the linked page. There seem to be dozens more sub-$100 options. Is the snark because there are a range of phones here, from mighty stupid to no app store/social media to just smart with a throwback physical keyboard? Are they not angry enough at smartphones to be allowed to tell people about dumbphones?
One thing I've been thinking is that maybe a way to permanently lock my phone in greyscale mode would be sufficient to cure my phone addiction.
Gonna see if Claude has any solutions for me.
Set grayscale:
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0 adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1
Also clear any shortcut that could toggle it:
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_shortcut_target_service "" adb shell settings put secure accessibility_button_targets ""
Disable the menu that could undo it:
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.settings/.Settings\$AccessibilitySettingsActivity adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.settings/.Settings\$ColorAndMotionActivity
Will report back if I try it.
But why would someone pay $675 to $1,235 plus $18/mo membership for a locked down iPhone without browser and apps - surely there is a way to lock them down yourself if you really want to.
edit: reading a bit further I find the LLM-prose on the website really jarring. Maybe I'm unfair here but it just reads like written by a machine.
For that money and less you can get an older smartphone and strip it down yourself if you are inclined.
Or use accessibility settings (on iOS) to make it much less appealing to stare at.
$20 https://slowerliving.club/phones/dumbphone-2/
$30 https://slowerliving.club/phones/nokia-200-4g/
$31 https://slowerliving.club/phones/nokia-210-4g/
$48 https://slowerliving.club/phones/nokia-215-4g-2nd-edition/
$81+ https://slowerliving.club/phones/nokia-235-4g-2nd-edition/
$59+ https://slowerliving.club/phones/agm-m10/
$79+ https://slowerliving.club/phones/agm-m11/
$80+ https://slowerliving.club/phones/tcl-flip-4-5g/
$70 https://slowerliving.club/phones/unnecto-snap/
And I'm stopping because why not just use the linked page. There seem to be dozens more sub-$100 options. Is the snark because there are a range of phones here, from mighty stupid to no app store/social media to just smart with a throwback physical keyboard? Are they not angry enough at smartphones to be allowed to tell people about dumbphones?
The page literally lists the Apple Watch.