Feature Phone with WhatsApp, FM Radio, and a Camera?

leafhead

leafhead

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I want to dumb down my phone as my current phone needs to be replaced. It was really expensive, and had pages of apps, most of which I've never used.
It must have Whatsapp, and a camera would be nice (to log into Whatsapp web) , as would an FM radio. I don't care about social media, games, or anything else that I can do on a laptop running Linux. If I need google maps, I can check on my PC and take note of the directions. Or buy a book from Map Studio (assuming they still exist.)
I don't care if it uses Android or not. I've heard of KaiOS, which sounds reasonable. And it should be less that R500. Much less :)
Does such a thing exist?
Thanks.
 
Your problem here is your looking for a dumb smart phone, they don’t exist, you may be able to get a smart piece of **** for that price, but not sure.
 
CranialBlaze said:
Your problem here is your looking for a dumb smart phone, they don’t exist, you may be able to get a smart piece of **** for that price, but not sure.
Click to expand...
More like a Smart Dumbphone, but yeah. Someone should build one... I'm sure there's a market. I'm not the only Luddite out there!
 
Don't do it. The specs are too low to run everything properly and the apps eventually stop working due to no support for phone or dumb down android version. Dumb phone = slow phone. DO NOT BUY a smart dumb and slow phone at that price range.

Just get a Samsung A-something phone with at least 3GB ram and enough storage and simply don't install everything you don't need.
 
leafhead said:
More like a Smart Dumbphone, but yeah. Someone should build one... I'm sure there's a market. I'm not the only Luddite out there!
Click to expand...

That price point does exist. Vodacom made one and it was like R350, but at that price point your getting something that under the best of circumstances would frustrate the most patient human being alive. It built with components that are cheaper than cheap.
 
leafhead said:
More like a Smart Dumbphone, but yeah. Someone should build one... I'm sure there's a market. I'm not the only Luddite out there!
Click to expand...

That price point does exist. Vodacom made one and it was like R350, but at that price point your getting something that under the best of circumstances would frustrate the most patient human being alive. It built with components that are cheaper than cheap.
 
CranialBlaze said:
That price point does exist. Vodacom made one and it was like R350, but at that price point your getting something that under the best of circumstances would frustrate the most patient human being alive. It built with components that are cheaper than cheap.
Click to expand...
Ah, yes, the Kicka range from Vodacom. Been in the markets for years, I think like the first Kicka phones came out in 2014, seems they are still around...
 
RedViking said:
Don't do it. The specs are too low to run everything properly and the apps eventually stop working due to no support for phone or dumb down android version. Dumb phone = slow phone. DO NOT BUY a smart dumb and slow phone at that price range.

Just get a Samsung A-something phone with at least 3GB ram and enough storage and simply don't install everything you don't need.
Click to expand...
That sounds lile good advice, thank you!
 
probably something running Kai OS if thats still around
 
just a heads up, kaios phones are no longer an option. whatsapp has officially dropped support for the os. those of you out there who are still using whatsapp on kai os DO NOT LOG OUT. once logged out, you'll be out for good. if you do stay logged in, you'll ultimately be disconnected from the service in feb 2025.

my nokia 8810 4g bananaphone suffered this fate today while i was sim swapping to get whatsapp desktop working (needed a smart phone for that chore). now i'm on the lookout for an android featurephone that can whatsapp, i guess? will let you know if i find anything suitable.
 
jelly_doughnut said:
now i'm on the lookout for an android featurephone that can whatsapp, i guess? will let you know if i find anything suitable.
Click to expand...
quick followup on my search for a replacement dumb/feature phone that does whatsapp. there are a handful of featurephones that run android. one that's appealing to me is the CAT S22 (e.g. https://www.connecteddevices.co.za/products/cat-s22-flip-16gb-black-special-import ). not ready to pull the trigger yet, though. some amazon reviewers have pointed out a collection of shortcomings of the phone, like not being able to use an SDcard.

here are couple of links you may find handy if you are on the same quest:
https://jomo.so/blog/best-dumb-phone-with-whatsapp (this is geared toward people who want to get away from smartphone distractions .. in fact the website is run by a pair of people who make an android app to dumb-ify your smartphone. still good review of available options)
https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/18xm09m/state_of_the_dumbphone_2024_read_this_first
(similar flavor to the above. this subreddit is pretty valuable as they have people watching for and announcing new phones in the space regularly. light phone 3 seems to be the zeitgeist at present. but the price tag is $$$$$ )

cheers good luck
 
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