this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2026
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Hacking isn't about reinventing the wheel. This isn't a finished product destined for a market. Even if it was, think about the small business utilities involved in local knowledge ("low-tech"): many small producers (farmers, shops, etc.) still use "obsolete" mechanisms and improvised mechanical technology. If that could reflect personal or community knowledge into real technology, even if "low technology", that's already a social gain for those people.
Besides that, it's worth it for a personal project where the end goal is obtaining knowledge about how things work in the world. Not everything is about stocks, and stocks doesn't fill all of the "market" also.
... And you need to remove the screen to insert a sim card. Now tell me again this is not ridiculous.
Take the first one off the shelf smartfone, wipe out the entire software, replace it with bloat free, spyware free, update free equivalent and voila!
Absolutely no need to reinvent the wheel, this is a road to nowhere.
I think they're having more fun making it than looking for a perfect solution. The fastest way to accomplish this is just buying some flipphone from Kyocera or something.
Also it's a prototype. It wouldn't survive in the real world in it's current state.
Possibly, thus my point - reinventing the wheel.
I wouldn't consider it reinventing the wheel. Giant algae tanks to replace trees is reinventing the wheel. They're just making a phone out of parts that would have originally been in a cheap phone at one point (before they got turned into development boards).
If I wanted to be super uncharitable, what the maker did was akin to this.
https://youtu.be/d59J78yhwtg
I do. What they are trying to create already exists. What is really needed is non intrusive software rather than hardware.
Which already exists and has existed for ages.
Lineage os (Android), e/os (Android), postmarket os (straight up Linux) would all be excellent answers for cutdown/debloatable mobile phone OSes. (also Ubuntu touch and whatever the pinephone shipped with)
Its probably a lot harder making an unintrusive os than it is making this.
This is cutdown hardware leading to simplified and cutdown software as it's a necessity here.
I strongly disagree. Spyware, bloatware, forced updates etc are a function of profit driven choice, not the necessity.
I'm not sure if I'm missing something or not.
I was referring to the Arduino phone. In general you're not wrong.
The scope of the conversation is just the phone itself.
Hardware was designed first, and then they applied software.
Edit: when I meant necessity for the cut down software. I meant it as in "the Arduino is barely fast enough to run the software, any extraneous thing needs to go"
You don't need to redesign a hardware. It is software which needs redesigning, within the existing hardware.
Which already has been redesigned by people who know what they're doing. This is just someone making a minimalist phone.
Lmao, it prob doesn't even have a working software kit, you would have to arduino some shit yourself.
I don't think you understood what this is & who is it for.
I do not think you understand what a hobby prototype means, educate yourself then come talk amongst adults
My son put a lego car toghther yesterday. Look, a hobby prototype! 🙄
Congratulations, looks like your son has a chance to grow up to be a sensible and creative adult, unlike his wet fart of a father
I wonder how many fucking morons will try to defend this idiocy. Congratulations, you are on the level of 5y/o and so is the creator of this useless junk.
I remember having to remove the battery of one of my phones to change the SIM card. It was particularly annoying because that phone/SIM had issues registering so I would have to reinsert the SIM card a few times and reboot each time.