The biggest problem I’m seeing with these dumb phones is the expense.
They are marketed to elderly which is always terrible because companies take advantage of the elderly.
The costs for such a device are not inline with their capability
You can always purchase a cellular modem that supports voice, and then plant it on a circuit board with you own choice of microprocessor. I like the ATSAM4Sxxx series of microprocessor or the STM32L476RG. The cellular modem responds to AT commands, just like the telephone modems of old. Surely you can handle the audio circuits after all of that.
That’s not what we’re seeing. Some of the ones we’re looking at are only about $50, and the plans start around 15 or 20 dollars a month.
I just want this to be an easy to carry, simple supplement to the fancy one.
The average samsung or LG flip phone goes for about $25 now. I think they’re gouging the elderly with some of the phones marketed to them. Of course, now I’m old enough to be on the cusp of elderly and I love my smartphone. But I’m the leading edge of GenX and we’ve gone from rotary dial wall phones to what’s out there now. Technology has changed so fast that we adapted to it quickly or got left behind. I think there isn’t as much flexibility among boomers.
CC