POSTED BY

Rob Beschizza

AT 6:26 AM
Wednesday August 19, 2009

Phones and Wireless

phones

Lanner L488, the ultimate dumbphone

img.ashx.jpegI'm fond of this chunky, no-nonsense, no-features handset from m8cool. One thing it offers over comparable basic handsets available in the U.S.: a display able to show a whole damned phone number on one line. Take that, Motofone F3! It's otherwise junk, yes.

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5 Comments

phisrow

#1 – 7:44 AM August 19, 2009

Looks like it should be a hit with the old and technophobic crowd.

Simple interface; big buttons.

georg

#2 – 8:53 AM August 19, 2009

looks a bit like one of the emporia phones: http://www2.emporia.at/en/home/

Neil

#3 – 3:17 PM August 19, 2009

Not just for the oldsters. Users with visual impairments may also benefit. Technological choices need to be available to everybody and that doesn't make accessible items junk...

Ian

#4 – 7:37 PM August 19, 2009

I have been considering an F3 for awhile, but this is way cooler...even without the e-ink.

schmod

#5 – 10:25 PM August 19, 2009

At least the Motofone F3 looks nice, and has the super-low-power e-ink display.

I used one for a whole year as my main phone while I was living in Europe. The voice/signal quality were better than any phone I've owned while living in the US, and it's hands-down the most solidly-constructed phone I've come across in any market. Did I mention that it costs about $20 unlocked?

Downsides? Texting with it wasn't terribly practical, and the ultra-low-res display was indeed annoying at times. Also, it's a lot less obvious when your battery dies. Eventually you notice that the clock is wrong, and the buttons aren't working :-)

If Motorola could improve the display, and bring the phone to the mainstream US market, they'd have an instant hit on their hands.

It's also worth briefly mentioning that my provider's primary business was selling groceries (Tesco). Somehow, they managed to ran a wireless company that was vastly superior to anything I've ever used in the US at a fraction of the cost.

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