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by yagni3 3409 days ago
I'd buy that. I'd go further and say a dumb phone that doesn't allow complex apps would be fine with me too. It has built in apps for a set of open protocols like the web, email, matrix/irc, vcard, ical etc. Updates these apps, but that's all you get. Pushing security on top of the Android ecosystem seems like a lost cause and building something with app ecosystem parity is a pipe dream it seems.
3 comments
closeparen 3409 days ago
Funny, for me, web, email, chat, calendar, etc. are all superfluous distracting noise. The one thing that keeps me on a smartphone is Google Maps.

I have a Garmin for the car, but their public transit directions are difficult to replace.

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jdkfree 3409 days ago
If you can get transit to release data in a standard protocol, then I think that'd be fine. I would just be afraid of closed devices needing access to closed protocols and APIs. There be dragons.

Maybe something like nixOS where the phone's state is the result of a pure derivation. No installing or configuring anything except through a privileged ssh after decryption. Then boot and go again.

Only automatically updating is possible from the device proper, rollback on failure.

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astrange 3409 days ago
> If you can get transit to release data in a standard protocol, then I think that'd be fine.

They do; it's called GTFS. It tends to need a lot of cleaning and manual in-person verification, which is expensive.

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CrackpotGonzo 3408 days ago
You might be interested in this? No fluff, but does have maps and sync services. http://siempo.co
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boondaburrah 3409 days ago
I've been tossing around a design for a "dumbphone" that only has "extensions" rather than apps. You can define feeds of information for it, such as bus schedules, email, and tweets, but that's it. If I can get my soldering up to snuff I may just try to build it.
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nickpsecurity 3408 days ago
Maybe start with one of these...

https://hackaday.io/project/19035-zerophone-a-raspberry-pi-s...

https://openalia.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/diy-totally-open-s...

...then start deleting code out of it, hardening it, and using memory-safe apps. A nice step on the way to a truly, dumb phone that might take a lot of custom work.

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agnivade 3408 days ago
I have been using F-Droid instead of Play Store. There is some control atleast. Only if Uber made an open-source app :(
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