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  • The Dumbphone Boom Is Real

    From JAB@21:1/5 to All on Sat Apr 13 10:03:42 2024
    The Dumbphone Boom Is Real

    Will Stults spent too much time on his iPhone,....
    ...
    ...
    The couple--Stults is twenty-nine, and Krigbaum is twenty-five--saw a
    business opportunity. "If somebody could condense it and simplify it
    to the best options, maybe more people would make the switch,"
    Krigbaum said. In late 2022, they launched an e-commerce company,
    Dumbwireless, to sell phones, data plans, and accessories for people
    who want to reduce time spent on their screens. This wasn't Stults's
    first attempt at entrepreneurship; his past efforts included a
    made-in-America clothing brand in Colorado ("That went under," he
    said) and a coffee shop in the back of an ill-attended Hollywood
    comedy club ("A doomed enterprise," Krigbaum said). Dumbwireless,
    however, has been much more successful.

    https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-dumbphone-boom-is-real

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From D@21:1/5 to JAB on Sun Apr 14 21:17:54 2024
    This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text,
    while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools.

    On Sat, 13 Apr 2024, JAB wrote:

    The Dumbphone Boom Is Real

    Will Stults spent too much time on his iPhone,....
    ...
    ...
    The couple--Stults is twenty-nine, and Krigbaum is twenty-five--saw a business opportunity. "If somebody could condense it and simplify it
    to the best options, maybe more people would make the switch,"
    Krigbaum said. In late 2022, they launched an e-commerce company, Dumbwireless, to sell phones, data plans, and accessories for people
    who want to reduce time spent on their screens. This wasn't Stults's
    first attempt at entrepreneurship; his past efforts included a made-in-America clothing brand in Colorado ("That went under," he
    said) and a coffee shop in the back of an ill-attended Hollywood
    comedy club ("A doomed enterprise," Krigbaum said). Dumbwireless,
    however, has been much more successful.

    https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-dumbphone-boom-is-real


    Good stuff! Haven't had a smartphone for 5 years and love it! The only 2
    things I miss are Über taxis (I pay 2-3x for regular taxis with worse
    service) and wireless hotspot (but that can be solved in other ways).

    Apart from those two things, I don't miss anything and I feel my life is
    much better compared with smartphone zombies.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to nospam@example.net on Sun Apr 14 14:59:56 2024
    On Sun, 14 Apr 2024 21:17:54 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    Good stuff! Haven't had a smartphone for 5 years

    For my needs:

    A home/trip smartphone
    A flip for daily usage
    A Google Voice account

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From D@21:1/5 to JAB on Mon Apr 15 12:31:45 2024
    On Sun, 14 Apr 2024, JAB wrote:

    On Sun, 14 Apr 2024 21:17:54 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    Good stuff! Haven't had a smartphone for 5 years

    For my needs:

    A home/trip smartphone
    A flip for daily usage
    A Google Voice account

    How does google voice work?

    I had a look at virtual phones a couple of years ago, but the rates are
    per minute, vs flat rate on cell phones, so based on my profile (lots of international calls) a virtual phone provider would be enormously
    expensive. Google voice I think does not exist in europe.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to nospam@example.net on Mon Apr 15 12:38:21 2024
    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:31:45 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    How does google voice work?

    It's free for consumers...not for businesses.
    https://voice.google.com

    A cell number must be transferred to GV. I transferred my original
    cell number...GV may have charged $10.00 for this transaction. I can
    transfer out this number, if I wanted to. I'm not locked into GV

    "A Voice number works on smartphones and the web so you can place and
    receive calls from anywhere"

    Make international calls with Google Voice https://support.google.com/voice/answer/7491761?hl=en

    I have no idea if GV can be used by those outside of US....a cell
    number must be transferred to GV, so GV might be for US based
    customers.

    GV is VOIP, so WiFi calling via GV can be used on a Smartphone, or web
    based calling on a desktop/iPad/tablet.

    I have no complaints with GV...all is needed is Internet access.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From D@21:1/5 to JAB on Mon Apr 15 21:42:49 2024
    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024, JAB wrote:

    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:31:45 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    How does google voice work?

    It's free for consumers...not for businesses.
    https://voice.google.com

    A cell number must be transferred to GV. I transferred my original
    cell number...GV may have charged $10.00 for this transaction. I can transfer out this number, if I wanted to. I'm not locked into GV

    "A Voice number works on smartphones and the web so you can place and
    receive calls from anywhere"

    Make international calls with Google Voice https://support.google.com/voice/answer/7491761?hl=en

    I have no idea if GV can be used by those outside of US....a cell
    number must be transferred to GV, so GV might be for US based
    customers.

    GV is VOIP, so WiFi calling via GV can be used on a Smartphone, or web
    based calling on a desktop/iPad/tablet.

    I have no complaints with GV...all is needed is Internet access.

    Sounds great! I'm 99% sure this is not available in europe. =(

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to nospam@example.net on Mon Apr 15 20:17:20 2024
    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024 21:42:49 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    I'm 99% sure this is not available in europe.

    In US, a person can kept their cell number if active with a wireless
    carrier (or GV). This number can be transferred to another wireless
    carrier, so a person is not locked in to a single wireless carrier.

    I have no idea if EU regulates wireless carriers, or if each country
    regulates a wireless carrier. In US, the wireless carriers are
    regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which means
    a single regulating body for everywhere in US.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From D@21:1/5 to JAB on Tue Apr 16 11:06:01 2024
    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024, JAB wrote:

    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024 21:42:49 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    I'm 99% sure this is not available in europe.

    In US, a person can kept their cell number if active with a wireless
    carrier (or GV). This number can be transferred to another wireless
    carrier, so a person is not locked in to a single wireless carrier.

    I have no idea if EU regulates wireless carriers, or if each country regulates a wireless carrier. In US, the wireless carriers are
    regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which means
    a single regulating body for everywhere in US.


    I think, but I'm not sure, that in europe you have an FCC for each
    country. Then the telcos sign contracts in between them. The EU can shoot regulation to the member countries who pass it on to the telcos enforcing
    some kind of collaboration with them.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to nospam@example.net on Tue Apr 16 10:21:27 2024
    On Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:06:01 +0200, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

    that in europe

    Europe
    In the European Union, all telephone providers are required to provide
    number portability under the Universal Services Directive
    (2002/22/EU).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_number_portability

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)