​SMART, INTENTIONALLY ‘DUMB’ PHONE

Walk on a Texas Gulf coast beach, without distractions. Taken by PKSenagore January 21, 2018. All rights reserved.

CREDIT CARD-SIZED PHONE COULD WORK WELL FOR DISCONNECTING WHILE EXERCISING, without going completely bare.  The title of Avery Hartmans article for BusinessInsider.com, sums up the excitement generated by a new device. “This beautifully designed 'dumb phone' can only make calls and send texts — and it might be the key to curing our addiction to apps”. 

Hartmans’ piece was an installment in Business Insider’s series. “Your Brain on Apps” which “investigates how addictive apps can influence behavior.” She explains that the start-up company Light, based in Brooklyn, was launched after its two founders decided NOT to design apps for a Google incubator and instead create a phone “intended to be used as little as possible.” They created an initial product, the Light Phone, and now have a second –generation improved version on the way, Light Phone 2. 

The first version could only be used to make calls and tell time; it was only intended to be a companion to a smart phone that could be left at home for short periods of time. 

The Light Phone 2 upgrade will be capable of making calls, receiving and sending texts, getting directions, calling a ride, and keeping contacts.  Possibly it could be more fully functional, however won’t be available for shipping until April 2019. There are quite a few details that seem yet to be finalized on the new version. Pre-orders are being taken on Indiegogo.com.; the price has been variously discounted over time (first $250 and now $300 on the $400 full price).

If interested, read Hartmans’ article and check out the company’s information and that from Indiegogo.com. Earned Runs doesn’t want to keep readers on their devices for longer than necessary! At the very least, let the home page slideshow of silent, beautifully shot videos play on your device screen.  The land-and city-scape scenes are sure to inspire thoughts about how life might be without constant distractions from smartphones.

Looking up from device screens could be just what we need to restore personal-life balance some of the time. 

RUN & MOVE HAPPY!

https://www.thelightphone.com/home#lightphone

http://www.businessinsider.com/light-phone-2-cure-for-app-addiction-2018

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-your-smartphone-is-doing-to-your-brain-and-it-isnt-good-2018-3

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/light-phone-2-design#/

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