I have been using a neo-dumbphone for a week, here are my thoughts
Overview I got the Minimal Phone by Minimal Company (it is a stupid name). Overall I quite like it. The hardware seems pretty solid, and for the most part the software is good. It is a first gen...
Overview
I got the Minimal Phone by Minimal Company (it is a stupid name). Overall I quite like it. The hardware seems pretty solid, and for the most part the software is good. It is a first gen device, and it does show in some spots, but they also are running relatively stock android for both good and bad.Background
Two years ago, I stopped carrying my phone with me all the time, and moved over to carrying a small notebook to keep track of things. Instead of going into my phone calendar, I write stuff into this notebook. I also repaired my PSP around the same time, to handle entertainment. In the past two years, I have moved more tasks off of my phone and onto dedicated devices to do those tasks. This left my phone as primarily used for communication. I have more thoughts on using dedicated devices, but I am waiting until I finish switching over to the final dedicated device before I do a write up on that. When I needed to replace my phone, going with a neo-dumbphone felt like a good fit for me.Why I chose the Minimal Phone by Minimal Company
So there were a few features that I liked about the minimal phone compared to others:- while more expensive than a cheap android that I do software limitations on, it felt like I was getting a device that worked for me, rather than doing a bunch of configuration to get one to work for me
- Minimal phone was significantly cheaper than the Lite Phone, and had Google Playstore access to add some apps not included that I may need
- RCS support (it is just running Google Messages)
- eInk felt like a good fit for me
- The physical keyboard intrigued me
Experience ordering the phone
I will say, that with it being a new company, there were several delays in receiving the phone. They had a manufacturing issue that pushed back my phone a month, and there was no communication about it until I reached out. It would have been nice if they notified me about this ahead of time, but being a new company, I will extend some grace. Shipping was handled by some no-name company, so tracking was sparse and it seemed to be delayed a few times and was quite slow (took 2 days from Hong Kong to Vancouver Canada, but then two weeks from Vancouver to the Canadian prairies).Software Impressions
Overall, I have been pleased with the software. It is running stock android, with a custom app launcher, and another custom app to configure screen settings. They did not over commit on the software, and instead focused on just providing a few well polished apps. I think there is some room for future bug fixes and potentially some more first party apps, but overall I am glad they went in this direction. Since it is pretty stock Android, I feel that future OS updates should be easy (they did commit to 5 years support, but that also relies on the company lasting 5 years). The default Android settings out of the box did not render well on eInk display (scrolling is rough compared to pagination) but one I tweaked some screen settings it got better. Overall, some rough edges, and a noticeable negative difference when leaving first party apps (which is mandatory as first party is so small), but nothing deal breaking.Hardware
The hardware has been quite good. The eInk screen puts less strain on performance, as nothing needs to be extremely snappy since the screen can't keep up. The physical keyboard has been good, although I do feel that the shift key and the alt key should be reversed. The battery was advertised as a four day battery, but in my use case, it has been a comfortable two day battery (ending the second day with about 25%). I feel that in the coming weeks I may get closer to a three day battery, as the novelty wears off and I use it less. The camera is pretty weak, but I have not liked taking pictures on my phone anyways, so I am not concerned about it. The display has been really nice. I have never really used eInk screens for an extended time before, but it just feels quiet if that makes sense. With it being eInk, it sometimes does not fully refresh the screen, but there is a screen refresh button if needed. Overall, I have been quite impressed with the hardware. There are a few layout decisions they made that I feel I would have chosen differently, but nothing deal breaking.Summary
It is a first gen device and sometimes shows the rough edges, but no major issues and I have quite enjoyed it. We will see how I feel about it in a month or two, but I think this type of device is probably what I will continue using for several years.
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