I've ditched Android after finding Android 12 a convoluted mess of badly designed settings, seemingly designed to make it difficult to set up the device to my needs rather than Google's.
Merely switching off Google services rendered the device largely useless, and prevented notifications coming through from apps.
In fact, it reminded me of the difficulty getting an old-style Windows phone to work on a wifi network back in 2007, before the Apple iPhone destroyed the telecommunications market.
Going old-school
FeaturePhones (AKA dumbphones) do still exist and many people are switching over to them:
My needs
I need a basic phone that will also function as a personal hotspot, so I can tether other devices and use the internet. I spend a lot of time away from wifi when writing, and whether or not I like it, I'm paying for a data quota with the phone SIM, so I might as well use it.
The problem with living in Oz
It's been surprisingly difficult to find any phone in Australia that offers a hotspot. Overseas models of phone would do it (e.g., Nokia 2780, but according to my research, won't function on AU networks, ESPECIALLY since 3g is being turned off this year.
The only other alternative is the Light Phone, priced like a mid-range Android phone, which only works on the Optus network:
A phone running KaiOS would meet my requirements, but again, difficult to find in AU.
Enter the Aspera R40
Aspera is an Australian company I'd never heard of until 2 days ago, and uses KaiOS on their R40 rugged phone:
The good:
- $129 unlocked which compared to the average smartphone is a bargain
- The phone works and is pretty rugged looking, and will survive underwater. I've dropped more than one device in the loo or other watery graves so I call this a benefit
- The hotspot works which means the disadvantages can be overcome relatively easily by tethering my tablet to the phone
- It can send/receive calls
- Facebook was pre-installed but could be uninstalled
Things I can live with:
- old-style numeric keypad for SMS messaging, but muscle memory has made this less of an issue
- low-end web browser
- not many apps I'd find useful in the KaiOS app store
With the exception of the first point, the others can be overcome by tethering my tablet.
The rubbish
- Google Assistant, Maps and Youtube cannot be removed
- KaiWeather displays a photo advert which has to be manually cancelled before you can view local weather conditions
- Alternative weather and map apps don't seem to register the location
I'm not logging into Google services, so theoretically they won't monitor my every move. And if I'm prepared to get all technical, I may be able to remove them and any other app I don't want (and there are quite a few to be honest)
Conclusion
Day one has been ok. Let's see what it's like in a week