Pebble Might Be Coming Back - as a Small Android Phone (theverge.com) 18
Remember when Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky released an impassioned plea for someone, anyone, to make a small Android phone that would compete with the iPhone Mini? He's taking matters into his own hands. From a report: Now that Apple has stopped making new small phones, Migicovsky's Small Android Phone petition has evolved into a "community-based project" -- where that community includes a team working to design and produce the phone that Migicovsky wants. The petition got 38,700 signatures, and "almost all of that came from literally one article from The Verge," one team member revealed in a design call. The Small Android Phone team -- it's not a company, yet -- has been doing a lot of planning right under our noses. In a small Discord, they've quietly revealed their efforts to source a display, choose a chip, and design the body of the phone. They've even discussed how they might pay for it all. Diehard small phone enthusiasts are invited to give feedback at every step of the process as the team attempts to bend the phone market to their will.
There are still a few small phones out there. (Score:2)
3.2" and $200 or so on aliexpress.
It would be very nice to have a premium maker in this market.
Unihertz Jelly 2 rocks (Score:1)
Unihertz jelly 2, for example.
3.2" and $200 or so on aliexpress.
Same range on AMZ, no wait, 30 days return policy. I've had mine for 15 months and have no idea how they shoehorned Android 11 on it. It does require an occasional BT restart, and a nightly charge
It's been used on VZW, TMO, and Mint with no issues. WiFi hotspot works out of the box. It gets security updates quarterly -- still after than more than a year.
The form factor means it's in a front pocket. I don't sit on it and don't have to take it out when I do sit down. This phone is as good as my OnePlus
This has been done before (Score:4, Insightful)
Palm was also resurrected as a small Android phone. [palm.com] IIRC, it didn't sell very well. That seems to be a recurring theme with small phones - there's a vocal minority on the internet that really want them, but when rubber meets road they just languish on shelves.
I gave up on waiting for a non-phablet Android phone quite awhile ago and just went team Apple. It seems like even that isn't going to last, as the 13 Mini has long been rumored to be their last "small" phone. The market has spoken, I suppose.
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The market has spoken is a bit to simple.
E.g. if you do not know an item is available, how do you find it?
Then again if the small phone has similar price tack then the next bigger one, but less stats ... why buy it?
Ill believe it when i see it (Score:3)
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There is the lightphone https://www.thelightphone.com/ [thelightphone.com]
There's definitely no shortage of "minimalist" phones. What isn't common nowadays are fully-featured flagship phones that also happen to be physically small.
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$299? For that?
No wonder these phones don't get traction.
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Nice phone.
Seriously.
However: I never do phone calls, except really pressured forced tortured to do so.
And this phone officially rejects to do eMails. Seriously? No eMails! No eMails?
No web browser .... ok, not really ok, but ok somewhat ok: but no eMails?
Who the funk comes to the idea to make a perfect^H^H^H^H^H^H^H phone and has no eMail on it? How utterly stupid and dumb is that?
what's old is new again (Score:2)
I'd love a a phone the size of my old Motorola Defy.
Please, do (Score:2)
Re: Please, do (Score:2)
Asus Zenfone 9 (Score:2)
Re: Asus Zenfone 9 (Score:1)
Price: $850 (Score:1)
I really want a small, thick, sturdy phone that sits safely in my back jeans pocket.
But not at that price.
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