Your smart phone is subtly destroying your soul and you know it - Part 5
Here's my setup
Phone - Sunbeam F1 Orchid
It's running a custom Android OS. Reddit rumblings suggest the Orchid is not manufactured by Sunbeam, but from a Chinese manufacturer. Haven't confirmed, but it makes sense.
Build is solid. Clearly not a premium, but totally fine for the class it's in.
Carrier - Google Fi
I ordered a sim card and plugged it in. It just worked. However, I do not get group texts properly.
The primary reason for staying with Google Fi is because I text and make calls from my desktop computer.
What do I do about....
Email/Texting comms (e.g. Slack, Discord)
I only use the desktop app. If people need me that bad they can call.
Navigation?
Were you around for MapQuest? I MapQuest my way around town. I leave 10 minutes early and either write down the directions or memorize them if they're simple. Yes, memorize.
Sunbeam has it's own map software but it's a bit slow. It works perfectly fine and I have used it a few times in a pinch.
Ride share?
I've rode share once and it was a one way trip. I used a tablet to call. If I needed to do roundtrip, I'd bring my Pixel and connect via wifi.
Camera?
I miss this most. I was sad going through photos and realizing I hadn't taken a picture of the kids in over a month.
Final thoughts
Sacrifices will have to be made in order to switch. You will lose out on some things that were positives. Despite the sacrifice the ROI on the switch has been immensely valuable for my life. So much so that I've decided to take this experiment until the end of 2022.
The greatest quality of life change since ditching my smart phone is the freedom I've gained from not feeling like I need to be in the presence of my phone.