Shit, you can buy a phone for £15 and I bet it’s got snake on it
Comment on Kendrick Lamar's company just dropped a limited-edition 'dumb' phone. It's already sold out.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 months ago
It’s $299, which isn’t ridiculous for a phone, but this is kind of gimmicky with its Magic 8-Ball thing and, of course, its celebrity backing. I don’t know, I guess it’s not the worst price point, but considering you can get low-end Android phones for that with more functionality, I’m also guessing the people buying it are not really worried about the price.
Afghaniscran@feddit.uk 10 months ago
agent_flounder@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Make 100,000 of that phone and it will cost a lot closer to £15.
The bulk discounts on components and the PCB itself are pretty huge once you get up into the 10,000 qty. I’ve never had that pleasure. Only thing I’ve been involved with was a few hundred units.
Do a run in the 100k range and I imagine you’re calling chip makers directly and making some insane deals.
But at only 250 units your PCB and expensive components like display and shell will still be quite expensive.
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 10 months ago
This is a Litephone 2 with a logo etched on the back. I don’t know their overall numbers, but it’s more than 250.
agent_flounder@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Ok, didn’t realize that. Knowing this, now, it sounds super stupid lol
sab@kbin.social 10 months ago
I mean, you're quite clearly paying for the lack of features here.
Which makes the 8 ball even dumber.FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Yeah, the 8 ball bothers me, as does the ‘it’s a dumb phone, but you can add a bunch of apps,’ which is… a regular smartphone with no apps installed for the most part. The e-ink screen is unusual and interesting for a phone and I can see the appeal there, but the rest is kind of odd.
I’m guessing the majority of the phones were bought by people who are big fans of Kendrick Lamar. I sort of understand. An (impossible) equivalent to me would be if Stanley Kubrick came out with some piece of tech. I’d be sorely tempted to buy it just because I love Stanley Kubrick.
applejacks@lemmy.world 10 months ago
but you can’t add a bunch off apps.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 months ago
The minimalistic phone has no web browser and its screen is paper-like similar to that of some e-readers. In its simplest form, you can call, text, set an alarm, and use it as a hotspot, but there are add-on tools that include a music player, notes, a calculator, directions, and more.
Sure sounds like you can to me.
designatedhacker@lemm.ee 10 months ago
Why not get a phone that can take, send, and receive pictures and video. It would also have maps, GPS, encrypted messaging, streaming music, audiobooks, e-books, home automation apps, ride hailing, food ordering, decent browser, etc.
Then, stay with me here, don’t install social media apps. The lengths people go to so they can avoid social media when it is extremely avoidable is crazy to me.
Ferrous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 months ago
What you’re doing here is subtly shifting the burden of phone addiction from software companies and phone manufacturers back onto end users.
You’re glossing right over the fact that these teams have the very best software engineers, mechanical engineers, marketers, ad people, psychologists, and doctors for the purpose of making these endlessly scrolling apps as addictive and hard to avoid as possible.
I read your comment and think about the people who say “why are you depressed? Just go lift some weights. It all comes down to you”
designatedhacker@lemm.ee 10 months ago
It’s more like “Why are you smoking cigarettes, stop buying cigarettes.” It’s addictive, well marketed and cool, and totally avoidable with some self discipline.
I wouldn’t joke about people with an actual illness by telling them to toughen up, but we’re not talking about that.
c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I thought you were being satirical at first but then I realized you genuinely believe an individual has zero personal responsibility whatsoever. Lemmy is filled with children.
aubertlone@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Are you being serious?
Yes, saying “don’t install social media apps if you don’t like them” is the same as saying “lift weights to stop being depressed bro”.
Your brain is too advanced and I cannot follow the steps you took to reach this conclusion.
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 10 months ago
Of course the burden is on both
rifugee@lemmy.world 10 months ago
But what am I going to do while I’m pooping!? Read the news!?
joemo@lemmy.sdf.org 10 months ago
Read whatever is in the bathroom, like we used to do! It’s how I learned about TSS.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 10 months ago
The point is that it cannot do those things.
It’s smaller, it’s lighter, the battery will last way longer, and it doesn’t run spyware.
cjsolx@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Probably the biggest draw that the OC was missing.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 10 months ago
Orange County?
slurpeesoforion@startrek.website 10 months ago
Facebook is baked into everything. Everything passes through Google. The only way to avoid them is to stay off the web.
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 10 months ago
That’s flat out false. Other than using messenger to chat with family, I haven’t had to use Facebook for anything for the 5 or so years since I stopped actively using it.
As for “everything passes through Google”, that’s just an optional login protocol and a shitload of blockable ads.
Also, Google isn’t social media. You could argue that YouTube has social media aspects, but those aren’t mandatory for internet participation either.
onion@feddit.de 10 months ago
Well you do have to go a bit further with a degoogled rom to get rid of google
applejacks@lemmy.world 10 months ago
kind of like telling a heroin addict to just stop doing heroin.