Lofi phone

As a coworker aptly described it, an iPhone is a distraction device.

I've been using an iPhone since ~2012 when I got my first job in Raleigh. It was an iPhone 4S, which I still consider to be peak smartphone. I also really liked the iPhone 12 mini, but eventually it became so laggy and unusable I broke down and ordered an iPhone 16 last year. At the time, it was "last year's model."

Earlier this year, I picked up an AGM M9, which is an inexpensive T9-style phone and an $8/month Tello plan. But it was missing a few key things that I do find my phone useful for: weather, GPS directions, calendar sync, and conversation-style MMS. There are SMS services for weather and directions, but they're finicky and difficult to parse. I used it here and there, but mostly it collected dust.

I really never thought I'd see the day Apple announced a folding phone, which has always felt like a gimmick to me. Seeing that sparked me to go researching something simpler again, and I ran across the Mudita Kompakt. It's a small e-ink phone running de-Googled Android. You can side load apps (assuming they don't need Google services), but only by hooking the phone up to your computer and copying over the APK file. There's no included browser, and I don't think one would work well, anyway. You can use it as a hotspot.

I did end up adding a few things:

• Katapult (launcher)
• FUTO (keyboard)
• HERE WeGo (GPS directions)
• KompaktCalendar + DAVx5 (calendar sync)

I'm now using the Kompakt as my personal phone, since it has a different number. My iPhone 16 sits at home most of the time, though I still plan to bring it when I'm pet sitting or dog training, since I do need a nicer camera and a full color screen. The plan is that one will become my "business" phone. It's been getting spammed with calls because that number is on the Dog Gambit! Google Maps listing anyway.

I use a Mechen M30 for music and an Xteink X4 Classic (with CrossInk firmware) for ebooks.