Hey, it's Bob from Indianapolis! Several people from our school sent me your post this morning. The most important takeaway from that? That they are reading your substack! That's a win.
My wife was first to the Light Phone in our house, so credit where credit's due. We're both about two years in and see no reason to go back to a smartphone and every reason to stick with Light.
I had a gabb phone in highschool and freshman year of college and it was fascinating to see how smartphone based the world is and kinda powerful to say "my phone can't do that." My professors had to mark me present manually and I filled out a paper time card.
I switched to a very basic flip phone that I bought at Target for $49 one year ago, and it's been life changing. BUT I am so tempted by the Light Phone! Just can't justify that price tag. If the price comes down I will definitely consider it. While I love having a flip phone, T9 texting is starting to take a toll lol.
I think what happened with cigarettes is going to repeat itself with smartphones. People once thought cigarettes were harmless and even doctors endorsed them, until research in the 50s and 60s linked them to cancer. We might be heading down the same path with smartphones, especially for kids, as they can harm mental health, with tech companies keep pushing addictive features. Some European countries already banning smartphones in classrooms.
Ah! Everyday I'm a little more tempted to snag the light phone 3 esp for its ability to be repaired for long term use. The plasticy body of the 2 has cracked a bit for me with a few drops. Not the end of the world but long term am excited to eventually invest in that iteration.
i ordered this for my teen’s occasional use and can’t wait for it to arrive in may…the closer may gets, the more i wonder if i’ll keep it and order her another 😆 it’s really got me thinking, of course, about making the switch for myself. i think my biggest hang up is spotify while driving, how lame it that 😂 gotta dig out my old ipod and buy some new music!
I just got the light phone II (waiting for it to arrive) & preordered the III! I did a dumb phone experiment last month with a t9 keyboard and liked everything except how hard it was to text. I ended up feeling farther from a lot of friends and distant family because of that. I need a full keyboard, which is the biggest pull of light phones to me.
There’s also something intriguing about a product designed so thoughtfully and intentionally to be useful without being demanding. And it felt good to throw my money their way.
We are also Indianapolis light phone users! We had the Light Phone II for about 4 years and would use it when going on vacation or wanting to unplug from our smartphones for a bit. We sold it last year and are awaiting the Light Phone III pre-orders to be shipped!
I haven’t been able to find any concrete information that the light phone is coming to Canada, do you have any further information on when or where it will be available? My husband and I are expecting our first and when it arrives I want to be as present as possible, but there are certain features that would be too cumbersome or costly to replace if I went to a regular dumb phone.
I don't know if you have heard of the "Brick", but that has been life-changing for me. It allows you to block all the apps you don't want access to and keep what you want. To unblock your phone, you tap the brick, which has a magnetic back and is somewhere in your house. I have not unbricked in 1378 hours. When I am sitting and waiting somewhere, I can still read on the Kindle app or listen to music, but for the most part, I sit there and observe the world around me, and it's beautiful!
I had a Light Phone for most of 2024 until it broke. I replaced it with the Barbie flip phone in December. The Barbie flip does have an internet browser that’s not worth using, and the t9 texting on it is a pain in the ass. I did come with lots of gem decals and groovy stickers though. I find that it has turned me into one of those terrifying people who makes phone calls instead of texts. The feature of the Light Phone I miss the most is the hotspot capability, but as of now it’s not worth the money to me. People are delighted to see that I have a flip phone and say that they “wish they could.” I have yet to see another Light or flip phone user out in the wild. Maybe when I do, it will be the moment that I finally meet my soul mate.
I switched to the Light Phone II back in November and I am loving it. I have particularly noticed the conversation starter element that you mentioned. I pulled it out of my pocket as I was going through security at a show the other night and the guy patting me down said "is that the light phone? I've been thinking about making the leap." We chatted for a brief moment and it seemed like he just might leap after our talk.
Hey, it's Bob from Indianapolis! Several people from our school sent me your post this morning. The most important takeaway from that? That they are reading your substack! That's a win.
My wife was first to the Light Phone in our house, so credit where credit's due. We're both about two years in and see no reason to go back to a smartphone and every reason to stick with Light.
I love this! I ordered the Light Phone II at the beginning of the year and can't wait for it to arrive in May
I had a gabb phone in highschool and freshman year of college and it was fascinating to see how smartphone based the world is and kinda powerful to say "my phone can't do that." My professors had to mark me present manually and I filled out a paper time card.
“My phone can’t do that” is my new mantra! Very cool share
I’d love a phone which had a few simple apps such as WhatsApp and maps, and had a nice camera, but nothing else
I switched to a very basic flip phone that I bought at Target for $49 one year ago, and it's been life changing. BUT I am so tempted by the Light Phone! Just can't justify that price tag. If the price comes down I will definitely consider it. While I love having a flip phone, T9 texting is starting to take a toll lol.
I think what happened with cigarettes is going to repeat itself with smartphones. People once thought cigarettes were harmless and even doctors endorsed them, until research in the 50s and 60s linked them to cancer. We might be heading down the same path with smartphones, especially for kids, as they can harm mental health, with tech companies keep pushing addictive features. Some European countries already banning smartphones in classrooms.
Ah! Everyday I'm a little more tempted to snag the light phone 3 esp for its ability to be repaired for long term use. The plasticy body of the 2 has cracked a bit for me with a few drops. Not the end of the world but long term am excited to eventually invest in that iteration.
i ordered this for my teen’s occasional use and can’t wait for it to arrive in may…the closer may gets, the more i wonder if i’ll keep it and order her another 😆 it’s really got me thinking, of course, about making the switch for myself. i think my biggest hang up is spotify while driving, how lame it that 😂 gotta dig out my old ipod and buy some new music!
Yes! Getting my iPod back was healing! And you can have music on the light phone II :)
I just got the light phone II (waiting for it to arrive) & preordered the III! I did a dumb phone experiment last month with a t9 keyboard and liked everything except how hard it was to text. I ended up feeling farther from a lot of friends and distant family because of that. I need a full keyboard, which is the biggest pull of light phones to me.
There’s also something intriguing about a product designed so thoughtfully and intentionally to be useful without being demanding. And it felt good to throw my money their way.
We are also Indianapolis light phone users! We had the Light Phone II for about 4 years and would use it when going on vacation or wanting to unplug from our smartphones for a bit. We sold it last year and are awaiting the Light Phone III pre-orders to be shipped!
Take my money! Oh wait, I don’t have any money!
I think this post may have just changed my life.
I haven’t been able to find any concrete information that the light phone is coming to Canada, do you have any further information on when or where it will be available? My husband and I are expecting our first and when it arrives I want to be as present as possible, but there are certain features that would be too cumbersome or costly to replace if I went to a regular dumb phone.
I don't know if you have heard of the "Brick", but that has been life-changing for me. It allows you to block all the apps you don't want access to and keep what you want. To unblock your phone, you tap the brick, which has a magnetic back and is somewhere in your house. I have not unbricked in 1378 hours. When I am sitting and waiting somewhere, I can still read on the Kindle app or listen to music, but for the most part, I sit there and observe the world around me, and it's beautiful!
I had a Light Phone for most of 2024 until it broke. I replaced it with the Barbie flip phone in December. The Barbie flip does have an internet browser that’s not worth using, and the t9 texting on it is a pain in the ass. I did come with lots of gem decals and groovy stickers though. I find that it has turned me into one of those terrifying people who makes phone calls instead of texts. The feature of the Light Phone I miss the most is the hotspot capability, but as of now it’s not worth the money to me. People are delighted to see that I have a flip phone and say that they “wish they could.” I have yet to see another Light or flip phone user out in the wild. Maybe when I do, it will be the moment that I finally meet my soul mate.
I switched to the Light Phone II back in November and I am loving it. I have particularly noticed the conversation starter element that you mentioned. I pulled it out of my pocket as I was going through security at a show the other night and the guy patting me down said "is that the light phone? I've been thinking about making the leap." We chatted for a brief moment and it seemed like he just might leap after our talk.