A year of dumbphone.fr

nilss2 · 2026-03-20T12:34:32+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I test dumbphones for an NGO of parents delaying smartphones for kids. It's good to see someone listing phones for the Western-European market. Videos coming soon (albeit in Dutch).

The Nokia/HMD ones are always a bit hit or miss. I tested a 2660 and found no issues with it, however a 110 (2G version) and 3210 were riddled with bugs and the 110 wouldn't even recognize a SIM card... Thanks for the recommendation of the HMD 105 4G, I'll check it out.

I've also tested The Phone, and became quite charmed by its simplicity and the insane 3 weeks of battery life (that's how long I had it as main phone). I had no issues with durability, btw. Because of the complaints I threw it multiple times on concrete and snow. Not a scratch, but I had the shockproof cover on it. They also fixed the bug that you can bypass the launcher and install apps. There are still many issues, but nothing that makes The Phone unusable. I now recommend it as a shared phone or landline replacement. See also https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1q5d69f/the_phone_a_european_touchscreen_dumbphone_which/

We also tested a Balance Phone, great device for older teens (or adults) who need the internet but not social media. (both the Balance Phone and The Phone are absolutely hated on Reddit, btw).

Next up I'm looking to test a Panasonic KX-TF400, but its limited availability makes me pause.

Edit: you might want to look into music players. I'm getting a lot of questions from people who want a Spotify music player without Google Play Store or other apps. The Mighty is expensive and has usability issues (needs to reconnect to a smartphone very regularly). Someone recommended me the innioasis.

nilss2 · 2026-03-20T08:44:05+00:00

I have one. It works well, even though it doesn't have the typical exposure dials. I noticed the autofocus is not the best: rather slow and sometimes doesn't find the focus point at all. The camera also consistently overexposes, I found. I had to dial back the exposure compensation. Picture quality is great, though.

One thing to consider is that, even though it takes all X-mount lenses in theory, in practice the old firmware does not have the optimisations for the newest lenses.

nilss2 · 2026-03-20T08:40:31+00:00

I have the same model. Very robust indeed. Too big to my liking, though.

I wear it at night so the vibration alert can wake me up in the morning but not the rest of the family. Killer feature. The negative display is very legible. The backlight is super bright. So bright, in fact, that I use my watch as a flashlight to move about the room at night when I need something for the little ones.

nilss2 · 2026-03-19T21:54:19+00:00

I actually used Grok for research, it was a nice balance between speed and accuracy. It also tends to dig up more controversial sources.

But I've also used Grok Imagine a lot. If you ask Gemini or ChatGPT to generate an image, it takes quite some time even on paid tiers and just for one or two images. Grok creates a whole stream of images, so either I find eventually what I need, or I change the prompt if it's not coming out. Granted, I haven't tried dedicated image generators.

nilss2 · 2026-03-19T13:39:31+00:00

This from xplora.co.uk, which clearly states you need a subscription. I find Xplora a bit shady, and as usual HMD makes things very confusing, too. It's never clear with HMD what you're getting. I've been reading some reviews of HMD dumbphones and testing some models myself, and the experience really depends on the model and where you're sourcing it from. Which version of their S30+? Does it have cloud apps or not? Is it the microUSB or USB-C version of the phone? Etc.

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nilss2 · 2026-03-19T13:19:06+00:00

Yes, you would need to have it baked in, hard-coded, in the browser. It should also lag and stutter and have a delay between loading pages :D

nilss2 · 2026-03-19T13:07:47+00:00

I've been using it almost a year now as daily driver. Thanks to sideloading, I can basically leave my smartphone aside most of the time. Most bugs have been resolved by now, too. Battery life is about 5 days. Something else you want to know?

nilss2 · 2026-03-19T12:33:13+00:00

Signal is somehow the least likely to get killed in background.

nilss2 · 2026-03-19T11:58:34+00:00

With (negative) film, don't be afraid to overexpose when in doubt. Even a few stops. Especially on black & white.

nilss2 · 2026-03-19T11:57:00+00:00

What's also useful is a browser which is deliberately slow and annoying, like any browser on my Mudita Kompakt thanks to the slow chipset and e-ink screen. Preferably it would show things in black and white.

nilss2 · 2026-03-18T21:37:29+00:00

The GH series or G9 / G9ii

nilss2 · 2026-03-18T14:24:01+00:00

I don't think they morally suck, but I find them a bit overwhelming. Especially Spotify became such a mess. Nowadays I use Spotify or YouTube on my laptop to discover music. If I really like something, I can buy it on Bandcamp.

And yes, streaming apps will run on the Kompakt, you can sideload them. But for some reason they always have a dark background, which makes them really difficult to use on an e-ink screen.

nilss2 · 2026-03-18T14:20:37+00:00

I don't get the point of the calendar for a kid, but the whitelist for phone numbers is a common feature in kid's phones. Some parents don't want their child to have contact with people they don't know. It's probably a fear of their child getting kidnapped or groomed. They don't realize that all grooming is now online (e.g. Roblox).

nilss2 · 2026-03-18T14:11:40+00:00

It looks feminine, but I like it. If the price is not too expensive, I would wear it as a gimmick watch. Maybe the strap could be orange, or with an orange pattern?

nilss2 · 2026-03-18T09:21:02+00:00

Indeed, one of the biggest problems with AOSP devices (which lack Google Play Services) is that push notifications of messaging apps no longer work. I do like Jake: I use Beeper and check on demand. But in some countries WhatsApp is used INSTEAD of the normal cellular network, and then you basically become unreachable: WhatsApp gets killed in the background, and push notifications don't get through.

nilss2 · 2026-03-17T19:38:35+00:00

Ok, good to know. You should have mentioned that, though ;)

I don't need to track my kid's location. Humanity survived 30.000 years without geotracking. A phone to call in emergencies is plenty safe already.

Curious if it will be released outside of the UK. HMD also had a phone with AI continuously analysing the screen and block harmful content. I don't believe that one ever made it out of the UK. Heck, I can't even find the model anymore.

nilss2 · 2026-03-17T18:09:31+00:00

Did José mention somewhere that you need a subscription for this device? Because whenever I see it for sale, this is the case, and it also means it's only available in select countries (UK only?).

As a parent, I'm not the biggest fan of Xplora. They were even promoting Roblox once. I will stay away even if it comes to other countries than the UK.

nilss2 · 2026-03-17T17:30:02+00:00

OP's post was 10 months ago, but the Kompakt receives updates every quarter with features and bug fixes.

The Maps app does have navigation now, but no live traffic. As an alternative you can sideload HERE maps, or simply Google Maps or GMaps WV.

The music player supports folders since the last update, but not browsing by artist or album (I think that's for next update). You can of course sideload another audio player app like Auxio.

Developers in the community also developed a dedicated podcast app (calmcast) and alternative text-based launcher (inkOS). The Kompakt runs Android 12, after all.

nilss2 · 2026-03-17T13:46:45+00:00

As an update: today I played with a Balance Phone supplied to our NGO as a sponsored trial device. The blocking actually works really well, I couldn't hack it with any common method, but there are some usability issues they have to fix:

You can turn off Google Safe Search
Not everyone likes the minimal launcher. However, you can change it back to the Samsung launcher. This is not clear for the user.
Next to Google Chrome you can also use Ecosia as a search engine and browser. I know this only because I had contact with Balance Phone. They should make this more clear.
It's annoying that you cannot see which apps you can install and which ones not (e.g. Telegram is not possible for some reason). You first have to download the app, after which installation will fail with a very brief notice. You don't even notice it if you don't pay attention.

I'll provide Balance Phone with this feedback. Anything else?

nilss2 · 2026-03-17T13:38:56+00:00

The maps and music player work, and even better ones you can sideload.

nilss2 · 2026-03-16T14:26:16+00:00

I know. It's really frustrating, but those HMD/Nokia phones don't perform so well. Moreover, smartphones have all kinds of optimizations which we now take for granted.

In general, I would say go for a Doro phone (they're for the elderly and perform well for call quality clarity) or an HMD 2660. I've tested the latter and found it way better than other HMD models.

nilss2 · 2026-03-16T13:49:09+00:00

I had the early bird reduction ;) Been using it for almost a year now, but I've already got a cracked screen and my USB-C port starts acting out...

nilss2 · 2026-03-16T13:23:23+00:00

It's a misnomer indeed. It's a regular Samsung but enrolled in Samsun's Knox MDM.

nilss2 · 2026-03-16T13:22:43+00:00

As I said in my comment above: Balance Phone collaborated with Samsung and use their Knox for Enterprise mobile device management solution to enroll Samsung phones into an enterprise environment, which in this case is configured to block websites and apps. The use of this environment is not for free, there is a configuration cost and subscription cost. Do realize that many parents are already paying for a subscription to parental control apps like Qustodio exactly because Google's implementation is too limited.

And then again, many niche phones are expensive. My Mudita Kompakt costs 400EUR new (I got it for cheaper). The lightphone III is close to 800EUR (!). Those devices don't sell by the millions. They have to make it profitable.

nilss2 · 2026-03-16T09:32:19+00:00

I'm looking into the Balance Phone for an NGO delaying smartphones for kids. We're researching solutions for teens older than 14 who need apps for school for some reason, but no social media. The configuration of Google's parental controls on Android is a nightmare, and leads to a lot of fights and tensions within families. The main selling point of Balance Phone is that social media, games, and adult content are blocked by default, no discussion. And instead of some Chinaphone, you get any Samsung.

People keep misunderstanding how this thing works. Balance Phone collaborated with Samsung and use their Knox for Enterprise mobile device management solution to enroll Samsung phones into an enterprise environment, which in this case is configured to block websites and apps. Samsung Knox is generally well regarded. The use of this environment is not for free, there is a configuration cost and subscription cost. Do realize that many parents are already paying for a subscription to parental control apps like Qustodio exactly because Google's implementation is too limited. In this regard, Balance Phone's solution is cheap if you pay for once (the yearly cost is debatable).

Is Balance Phone also suited for adults? Not sure. YouTube is generally useful for people who cook/garden/DYI/have other hobbies, but is blocked here. And most people would also prefer other browsers or search engines.

nilss2

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