Yahoo News The dumb phones to try to help cure your smartphone addiction
2018 is officially the year of the digital detox.
Google, Facebook and Apple are all introducing features to stop you from being glued to your smartphone, whilst sales of “dumb phones” now make up five per cent of global phone sales, according to Sky News.
But what is a dumb phone and how do you find the right one for you?
What you need to know about dumb phones
A dumb phone, or a feature phone, is one which isn’t connected to the internet.
Just like the good old Nokia 3310 you had in the 1990s, these devices can make calls and send messages, but you can’t use them for social media or online shopping.
Speaking of Nokia, the company has seen a resurgence of interest in its '90s devices with new and improved versions of the beloved 3310 and the Nokia “banana phone” 8110. However, these devices are not dumb phones, they still have a 4G connection and come pre-installed with apps like Facebook and Google Maps.
If you’re really ready to stop being so connected, here are four really dumb phones to try out.
The stylish one: The Light Phone
For when you want to make a statement about shunning technology, you need The Light Phone.
The size of a credit card, it looks more like a calculator than a phone. It only stores nine numbers and you can only make calls with it. Available in matte white or matte back, the phone weighs a tiny 38.5 grams and a full charge will give you three days standby time.
Whilst The Light Phone is a dumb phone in features, it's more of a second phone in reality. This is because you need to use it in conjunction with your smartphone, by turning on call-forwarding on your main phone to be able to use this device.
This works if you're trying to wean yourself off your smartphone but aren't fully ready to give it up just yet.
The flip one: Doro PhoneEasy
Doro’s PhoneEasy brings back one of the most fun things we miss with smartphones: a flip screen. Name a more satisfying way to hang up a call then snapping down the screen.
The phone allows you to make calls, send texts and send photos to friends and family. Charging wise, one full charge will give you 22 days of standby, which is reason enough to buy it alone.
It also has Bluetooth capability and comes in white or black.
The Nokia one: Nokia 130
Whilst you can’t get a dumb Nokia 3310 or 8110 anymore, Nokia is still working hard on its feature phones range.
The Nokia 130 is available in black, grey or a swanky red. It has a 1.8-inch display (the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has a 6.4-inch screen by comparison) and it comes with 4MB of internal storage with space for a MicroSD card.
If it’s battery life you’re looking for the 130 wins hands down with a whopping 30 days battery life on standby.
The cheap one: Alcatel 10.54
When it comes to feature phones, you don’t need to splash out when you can buy the Alcatel 10.54 for a mere £7.50.
The compact phone comes with a camera and a music player. Whilst you may not be able to download Stitcher and your favourite podcasts, with the phone's inbuilt FM radio you can listen to the real radio instead.
Alcatel says the phone is simple and reliable, which when you’re hoping to ditch your smartphone, is all you can really ask for.
