Author Topic: Light phone on Kickstarter  (Read 37067 times)

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Online edavid

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #75 on: December 01, 2016, 04:02:37 pm »
there is a market for a basic cell phone that is more like a old land line. for the disabled and the elderly, that has a big battery. basic phone call os , good antenna , big buttons with beep , bright high contrast oLED screen , good audio volume.
rugged polycarbonate exterior case. and cheap to own.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2015/06/17/3-must-have-cell-phones-for-seniors/
 

Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #76 on: December 01, 2016, 06:07:24 pm »
Yes, there are cell phones designed for seniors, or kids, etc. There is a market for it. Like this one:



But LightPhone is neither. It is small, thin (how easy to bend/break?), tiny display, tiny buttons, and supposed to be a "phone away from phone" meaning it is a separate line that nobody is supposed to know, but that the "companion app" they should have made for your regular phone could be used to configure who gets through to it and when.

But so far this $100 LightPhone project is a failure, more than 6 months late, incomplete or no software app, incomplete SIM to other than a certain subset of US users, using a 2G network that is going obsolete in many parts of the world. I call it a complete failure, especially considering these card-phones were around 2 years ago for $20. Shame on these creators. What "value" have they added to this project, except marketed a slightly different design of an existing technology to a bunch of uninformed people who took the bait?
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Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #77 on: December 21, 2016, 03:49:10 am »
So they release an UPDATE.... Wow, one disappointment after another. Sounds like more delaying. How long can this go on? Notice they say they are waiting until the new year... Does that mean they will fix the issue in the next 2 weeks? 2 months?... or wait until the summer of 2017 or fall of 2017 to get their software right? Very vague....

http://www.thelightphone.com/update

The above link says this:

Quote
December 16th, 2016

 

Thank you all for your patience and we apologize for the slip in updates, we've been back and forth to China & Taiwan from NYC multiple times.

The good news is that the first batch of 1600 white Light Phones was successfully shipped out of Yantai, passed through customs and has been sorted at our fulfillment center just outside Chicago. They are ready to go!

The less than great news is that we still aren't 100% comfortable releasing the phones with the current status of the software, and seeing as it is now very much the holiday season, we are going to wait until the new year to release the phones. We will have a more detailed update regarding the new app and our projected timeline.

Although we are holding these initial phones for a few weeks in Chicago, our friends in Yantai have not stopped producing phones and more shipments are continuing to leave the factory. This delay has not yet effected the international or black phone schedule yet.

We all are dying to get the phones to everyone. Our little Light family would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season, we will be heads down and busy working on our dream job the Light Phone.

Much love,
Light Phone Family

So do they mean software/firmware on the Light phone, or do they mean the "companion app" for iOS/Android? Still major issues are how to handle the "hand off" or call-forwarding of selected numbers only when you want to go "Light phone mode", and what they are going to do about the whole SIM issue... which seems to be nothing for anyone outside the USA, and how much value is it really we still don't know. Not to mention a number of areas no longer support 2G.

You cannot blame me for starting to doubt the honesty of the Light team on this one. They redesigned an AEKU M5 style phone but promised some features that perhaps is not possible with existing way phones work. If they have the phones, they should release them to people and then work on the companion app software in the meanwhile. At least people can use the phone and handle call-forwarding themselves (although they will have all calls being forwarded), unless there is a "white list" which you are able to program in the Light phone, which only lets through certain Caller ID's. Or even easier, tell only your few most important contacts the Light phone number and let them know if they can't reach you on your regular cell, to try your Light phone. If the phones have buggy software to begin with, why did they leave the factory in China? And are they going to be flashing every single phone in their possession in NYC now with some update? What happens if more glitches are found when people have already received phones? Won't they just release some kind of firmware update anyways to let people update the device at home?
« Last Edit: December 21, 2016, 04:07:33 am by edy »
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Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #78 on: January 10, 2017, 05:05:39 am »
A few updates....  First of all, there is a new web site which redirects to the update page of Light Phone here:

whereismylightphone.com

Secondly, they are stating the following on the update page:

Quote
December 30th, 2016

 

We'd like to wish everyone an amazing start to the new year!

The first batches of white Light Phones have successfully shipped out of Yantai, passed through customs and have been sorted at our fulfillment center just outside Chicago.

Our software team is still working around the clock this holiday season to keep everything moving. We have added a desktop computer app to the initial experience so that we can seamlessly continue to update all the firmware pieces of the Light Phone itself. We want to get the phones out there quickly and work with our initial users to continue to iterate and this is the best way for us to do so in a timely fashion. We will elaborate on the new software experience we’ve been working on as well as the roadmap of what is to come in a detailed update in the new year.

Although we are holding these initial phones for a few weeks in Chicago, our friends in Yantai have not stopped producing phones and more shipments are continuing to leave the factory.

Some fun new readings we’ve published:
Kicking off Mass Production
The Light Phone Packaging


As always, you can reach out to us at info@thelightphone.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Much love,
Light Phone Family
 


Based on what I understand from their statement, they will be providing a firmware FLASH utility to allow users to update the firmware on their own as updates are released. I presume they still have a bunch of work to do for a custom firmware to allow the kind of user experience they were hoping to achieve with their phones (either the call-forwarding seamless transition or other features). So basically, users can get their phones already, and can use them for the basic calling functions. This way the development team releases some of the pressure on them and the frustration of their backers, and then has time to refine things.

As far as getting a basic phone, I assume that's a sealed deal. But what I imagine the user experience to be (based on their promo videos) is that a phone app on an iPhone or Android device would have a one-button activation of forwarding that would allow only white-listed numbers through to the LightPhone. The issue though is that to set up call-forwarding on the device, I am not sure if apps are able to control this. Not only are there different protocols and numbers between many carriers to turn on and off this feature, but even if it was possible, every call would be forwarded because the app would not be able to select who gets forwarded or not (since the call never will get to the phone once forwarding has been activated).

Another feature that may work is call-forward on no answer. So after certain number of rings, if call goes unanswered the call gets forwarded. The phone would theoretically ring, get a chance to view the caller ID... and if the call is not WHITE-LISTED then it would answer the call (again, not sure if an app could get permissions to do this). Perhaps it would answer and give a generic message. However, if caller ID is on the WHITE-LIST it would simply not answer the phone and after certain number of rings it would eventually call-forward to the LightPhone.

Perhaps the firmware they are trying to modify allows a programmable caller ID white-list so that the LightPhone does the actual control of what rings and what doesn't. So every call gets forwarded to the LightPhone but only the white-listed ones you get notified about (like custom ring-tone or contacts white-list). On the other hand, the software they are providing, besides allowing firmware updates, may allow you to more easily program white-lists and push it to the phone over the USB connection and manage the contacts.

It's too early to tell what is going on, but it would be interesting to find out.
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Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #79 on: January 13, 2017, 05:01:31 am »
Some interesting pages from The Light Phone creators:

$100 for a phone that does nothing:

https://medium.com/the-light-phone/100-for-a-phone-that-does-nothing-ae74ed88b8d3#.2hmrvpuno

Light Phone packaging:

https://medium.com/the-light-phone/the-light-phone-packaging-9714f022f895#.uv6baefl8

Mass Production kickoff:

https://medium.com/the-light-phone/mass-production-kickoff-589455636f61#.kfrcdf262


Reading through their blog posts, I can understand the difficulties they've had trying to put their phone into production at the numbers they are running. I can appreciate their hard work, and the artistry they are trying to bring with the innovative packaging which is an added value that was unexpected surprise. While I don't really understand the utility of this product above and beyond an existing 2G phone that can be purchased for $10, I do see why some people would pay $100 to feel part of this "experience" and support the philosophy that the Light Phone's creators espouse.

It would be interesting to survey how many backers actually even end up really using the thing. Will the book/package just sit on the coffee table or living room bookshelf? Will it be preserved as a technological collector item or some kind of art piece? I'm not their target market and certainly it is not my "cup of tea"... Nevertheless I can see how some people would see the value in this whole process/experience/product and contributing to this project.



In the photo above, looks like they are charging up the Light Phones just before sticking them into their unique book packaging. Lots of boxes ready to be shipped out on the left.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2017, 05:05:05 am by edy »
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Offline Kean

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #80 on: January 13, 2017, 11:59:54 am »
I thought it was weird that a guy wearing a Foxconn shirt was shown in the second post apparently using a hot air gun on the spine/binding of one of the book "packages".  But then I saw they were using Foxconn for their assembly.   I'm astonised that they could get Foxconn involved when their build quantity (for the KS backers at least) is only about 5,000 units!  :-//

I think that whole book as packaging concept is crazy for a cheap electronic device.  No wonder their 2G phone costs $100 instead of $10 (or maybe $25 with custom software)  |O
 

Offline Kean

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #81 on: February 02, 2017, 02:17:43 am »
 

Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #82 on: February 02, 2017, 03:27:24 am »
Great to see them in the wild. Looks like a bunch of people are reporting back their experiences in the comment section also on the Kickstarter page.

1. REGARDING FORWARDING:

So for now, the way they are doing it is "conditional call forwarding" meaning that if the original smartphone is not answering, or busy, or either (i.e. the 3 conditions).... it will forward the call to another number. On Sprint the codes are *73, or *74 or *28 (respectively).... then you enter the 10-digit number you want to forward to (The Light Phone number) and that's it. If you turn your smartphone to Airplane mode, it is out of carrier network and therefore the call will be transferred to the LightPhone number.

This is basically what I was saying earlier in this thread. The LightPhone originally intended (according to my understanding of their design) to create an app for your smartphone that did this, and for specific people. Somehow the app would need to detect the caller ID and "pick up" the call and play a message to blacklisted people (like "I'm away right now") and therefore not activate the call forward. People who are on the white-list caller ID would not have the app on the phone answer, thereby activating the conditional call-forward feature after the time-out of rings. Whether a phone app has that kind of control over the calling API in either iOS or Android is a different story... I am not sure if any app is able to sit in the background detecting all incoming calls and their caller ID, be able to automatically answer or not answer the call and play an audio message to the listener if answered.

2. BATTERY LIFE:

One user reports.... "The battery life is a little less than expected; 2-4 days on standby, 45-90 minutes during a call. But otherwise, I'm very happy with it. I will be using my iphone at work (I'm a paramedic) for GPS, medical apps, etc. But on my off days, I'll only be using my Light Phone."

3. DESKTOP APP:

There is a desktop app that apparently accompanies the phone. I'm not sure what it does... perhaps it is including a user manual and some way to transfer contact lists to the phone, or has instructions for setting up call-forwarding on various networks. One person commented that they made an NFC smart-tag for their Android phone so when they tap it, they associated it with a script that dials the *73 forwarding number and sends a text to a group of users that they are "going light phone", and when they tap the NFC smart-tag again it turns off call-forwarding using *730.

4. SIM CARD FOR LIGHT PHONE

My understanding is you need a separate SIM for the LightPhone, which means that you will have to sign up for another number and perhaps a pay-as-you-go plan to use the phone, otherwise incur a monthly charge to keep the phone number around. That's in addition to having your primary smartphone. I'm sure it is cheap enough to have a "dumb phone" account with no data plan, no text messaging, etc... but still it is a monthly cost or at least you have to load up a SIM account with some money that just sits there and pay-as-you-go. 

You could just pull the SIM out of your smartphone and transfer to the LightPhone when you want to travel around, but that would just be too inconvenient for most people. Seems like for now, with the call-forwarding feature you get ALL CALLS FORWARDED and not just ones on a blacklist/whitelist. So you will be distracted by lots of calls from everybody. You will still have to discipline yourself not to pick up the phone. Seems like it is just side-stepping the whole issue... sure you have no data, no apps, you can't browse the web.... fine, but you are still getting calls from everybody and you may be curious why they called you and have a "FEAR OF MISSING OUT".

It would be better just to give your short-list of people (wife, kids, parents, etc.) your 2nd number so when you leave your primary smartphone off or locked up at home, they can try dialing your second number and reach you on the LightPhone. That way you don't get bothered by all the calls that are coming in, and you also don't need to worry about forwarding anything. Just use the LightPhone (or any other dumb phone) and give the number only to VIP's in your life if they need to reach you, and can't reach you at your primary number.... they know to call the VIP number you give them if necessary (like having a beeper).

IN CONCLUSION:

Congratulations for coming through with the project. The art/design appears to be well-received. The book is a nice touch. The technology however, given the limitations so far on a number of facets of what was originally advertised, has fallen short. I am not sure if people received their 500 minute SIM card. There is still no smartphone app (but they are working on it?), the battery-life appears to be less than promised, it is still using 2G which is being phased out or has already been switched off.

This was an exercise for the creators in understanding the design, manufacturing, supply chain and marketing of electronics and doing business in China. They participated in HAX (https://hax.co/) and I'm sure gained a ton of experience. Let's hope their next creation has a bit more utility, value, delivers or exceeds specs, and has a longer functional life-span. Otherwise, I'd keep the LightPhone as a piece of artwork and a conversation piece.
« Last Edit: February 02, 2017, 03:39:58 am by edy »
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Offline Kean

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #83 on: February 02, 2017, 03:41:34 am »
Seems like for now, with the call-forwarding feature you get ALL CALLS FORWARDED and not just ones on a blacklist/whitelist.

Yes, I gather the Desktop app lets you manage the whitelist on the lightphone and any calls from numbers not on that list will just not ring.  In theory it could then divert those to a voicemail box, but not sure you can do a double diversion.  :-//

So they just made some custom firmware, and packaged it up all pretty.  If it works well, then great - but as you say, it would be easier just to have a second number that you give out.

And I seem to recall these are 2G phones, so they'll be landfill soon enough  :-DD
 

Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #84 on: February 03, 2017, 12:30:25 am »
Yes, I gather the Desktop app lets you manage the whitelist on the lightphone and any calls from numbers not on that list will just not ring.  In theory it could then divert those to a voicemail box, but not sure you can do a double diversion.  :-//

Good point! You're right, that could work pretty well. You forward the calls and then your LightPhone screens the incoming caller ID's, and you would manage a "White list" either in the phone itself or using a windows program that interfaces over to it using USB. I'm not sure then what they plan on doing with an iOS or Android app, unless that was the original thought but then turned out to be impossible to implement.

Now if they managed to make LightPhone version 2.0.... perhaps make it 3G/4G, increase the thickness a tad and put in a good battery that really lasts a long time. I could probably make my own "white/black list" by setting a default ringtone that is essentially a "blank" MP3 file that would play for all people, except for those added to my contact list that I want to hear which would have a customized to a normal sounding ringtone (some music). Oh wait... I think they already have those, they look like this:



 :-DD

I mock and jest, but in all seriousness, I appreciate the design of the LightPhone. I just don't see the utility in buying one if it doesn't offer any better integration/seamless integration. If you still have to use codes to forward, if you still have to manage a whitelist/blacklist, what has been accomplished? I can do that with any cheap flip-phone, and it works on modern networks like the one shown above.

For me, aside from the "looks" of the LightPhone (and by the way, the AEKU M5 looks pretty cool too), the only value-added proposition was the convenience factor of switching from the smartphone to the Lightphone and back. I think the idea was to have an app ON YOUR SMARTPHONE, that would let you activate/deactivate forwarding at the touch of single button, and it would have a section where your contact list is displayed and let you check/uncheck who you want to let through. It remembers those whitelist settings, which you can manage and change any time on your smartphone. When you want to "go Light" you open the app, press a single button, and VOILA.... your smartphone no longer picks up calls, the LightPhone does. Then you do the same again on your smartphone and it goes back to normal.

The way it is currently implemented, I do not see any advantage in using a LightPhone and it seems you can do the same thing with any combination of smartphone and flip-phone just as easily, given the fact that you need to do everything manually anyways.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2017, 12:41:13 am by edy »
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Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #85 on: February 26, 2017, 09:46:11 pm »
Latest media coverage dated February 15, 2017:

https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2017/02/15/light-phone-new-lab-joe-hollier-kai-tang/



Some interesting parts of the article:

Quote
But the duo ran into a snag when it came to actually manufacturing the phones. Used to working with companies like Motorola and Samsung, manufacturers had trouble wrapping their minds around a very limited release like this. In fact, Hollier explained, manufacturers would be losing money making the Light Phone for all the time it would take to set up new systems and assembly lines for the phone, rather than using that time to keep making more big-name phones.

That changed one day in Taiwan, in a meeting with Foxconn, the maker of iPhones and other Apple devices.

“We pitched the idea and their VP of business development said, ‘I want this now. Email is ruining my life,'” recalled Tang.

Not only did the manufacturing giant agree to make the phones, it became Light Phone’s first investor, chipping in $1.7 million. Tang and Hollier would go on to raise $3.6 million in total, almost all of it from West Coast and Asian investors.

So this thing has cost quite a bit more than the $400k they obtained from their KickStarter backers. They needed some help from Foxconn and then obtained a bunch more money from other West Coast and Asian investors. Now they have a production line and need to continue mass-production to the point where they will start churning a profit or at least break even to cover the investors. I wonder how many they need to sell to do that.

Quote
The team has shipped more than 1,000 Light Phones to date and preordered 7,000 more. It expects that, come spring, it will sell to the general public. If all goes well, the Light Phone won’t be the culmination of their work, but the beginning of a new way of imagining technology.

“We don’t want to just make a one-off phone,” Tang said. “We want to make product and art that’s human.”

So have shipped 1000 phones. The original Kickstart page lists 100 early birders pledging $100, then 1,875 people as pledging $100, another 317 backers for $125, and 492 backers pledging $200 to get 2 phones each, another 37 backers for 4 phones package at $400. Adding this up we get:

100 x $100 = $10,000 (100 phones)
1875 x $100 = $187,500 (1875 phones)
317 x $125 = $39,625 (317 phones)
492 x $200 = $98,400 (984 phones)
37 x $400 = $14,800 (148 phones)
===========================
~$350,000 (plus some of the other non-phone backers adds up to ~$400,000)
Number of phones:  3424

So the articles states they delivered 1000 phones and ordered another 7000, for a total of 8000. They've got ~3500 committed to their backers, and another 4500 that they will try to sell. I wonder what channels of distribution they will use, if it will be continued direct sales through their website, and for how much (they can't lower the price now.... I would be surprised if they charge less, and they may charge more).

Now total the entire 8000 phones x $100 = $800,000 in revenue (assuming they keep the price at $100). They are in $3.6 million according to the article... how the heck will they ever make a profit at this rate? If the "startup" cost has been $3.6 million just to get phones out the door, how are they going to pay off this initial investment? Let's assume they turn a $70 profit on every $100 phone, they will need to sell at least 50,000 phones just to pay off the original investment. If they only make $50 profit, they will need to sell 72,000. Some of their costs may drop with higher volume, but still, given that this is a device that is already obsolete given it has only 2G coverage and fails to deliver on it's promises (forwarding/software integration) and is essentially not delivering anything more than any other cheap 2G slim-phone, who is their market going to be?

Will be interesting to know how it plays out.

« Last Edit: February 26, 2017, 10:36:16 pm by edy »
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Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #86 on: February 26, 2017, 10:44:35 pm »
Ok, their Pre-Order page is quite enlightening:

http://www.thelightphone.com/store/preorderlight

First of all, the cost is now $150.  :palm:

HOW IT WORKS (copied directly from above page):


The Light Phone only makes and receives phone calls. It uses your existing phone number and it is your second phone, a supplement to your smarpthone for those times where you do not need the internet in your pocket. The Light Phone can store 9 speed dials accessed by a long press of the corresponding number on the keypad.

The Light Phone is set up through a desktop app on your computer. Through this app we will text your smartphone a "Go Light" contact with two phone numbers that when dialed will turn ON/OFF call forwarding accordingly. Call forwarding done this way is a universally standard way of using carrier codes to trigger call forwarding.

A quick overview of how you will set up your Light Phone.

1. Turn on your Light Phone & plug it into your computer.
2. Download the desktop app: lightphoneapp.com .
3. Add your speed dial contacts.
4. Verify your smartphone number.
5. Save your "GoLight" contact to your smartphone.
6. Turn on call forwarding by calling that contact.
7. Unplug your phone and enjoy being light :)
8. Return to your smartphone and turn off call forwarding.

[My comments: The "app" is actually software on your computer, not on your smartphone. You plug in your LightPhone...it lets you edit the speed dial numbers in the phone. Also, when you enter your smartphone number in the app, the software will communicate through their server on the internet to send a text-message to your smartphone which includes a "GoLight" VCF contact card, that has automatically combined the forwarding # codes for your carrier with your LightPhone number. Then this Contact has 2 numbers in it...one that turns on call-forwarding and designates the LightPhone number to forward to, and another number that is basically the cancellation of call-forwarding.]

The App & SIM Card:

The Light Phone is an unlocked 2G GSM phone that comes with its own SIM and is ready to use out of the box. An active SIM is required because the phone does not rely on tethering (i.e Bluetooth) for connection, and it will work regardless of its proximity to your smartphone. The cost of using our service is approximately $5/month and it only works within United States currently. International users, please see our notes below. The Light Phone can also work without our Light SIM & App as an unlocked phone with a 2G Nano SIM of your choice.

[My comments: Outside of the USA, the phone is just an unlocked 2G phone which will accept any SIM and you pay according to whatever plan or pay-as-you-go or minutes you have. Inside the USA, the "cost of using our service is approximately $5/month".... is that a SIM they negotiated with a carrier to provide 500 minutes a month? or over the span of a year? What exactly is the plan they have given, on what carrier, and what do you get? They promised 500 minutes so is that free and then once you've used those minutes you pay $5/month? Details please...]

..... Oh one more thing ....

If they are in this hole by $3.6 million just to make 3500 phones so far, that offer nothing innovative and cost 3-5x what is already available on the market, that's about $1000 per phone made thus far. You gotta be kidding me.  :palm:   You can buy 2G thin phones for $20-30 (or less) on eBay/Alibaba with free shipping. You can even buy 3G Nokia feature-phones for $50. I just don't get it... what did investors think when they looked at this as a viable business?

PLUS.... NO MENTION AT ALL on how they enriched any of those factory workers lives. Didn't they say they were going to give phones to the factory workers, or somehow write about how the phones are made in their book or give a candid glimpse on the living and working conditions of people in China? In my early discussion with them, they sounded like they were not just making a $100 rip-off of a $20 phone, but that it was more of a "statement" and socially-responsible project to inform the rich populations who are buying these things on how things are done over there. Does their book have any mention of it, or just nice photos? Do they have a documentary or videos? Interviews with their Chinese factory workers? I've seen nothing except small tidbits from that other guy (Andrew "Bunnie" Huang) on the recycling/cellphone documentary YouTube video I linked before. The Light Phone hasn't done anything that I've seen... and now that they are "in bed" and in deep debt doo-doo with Foxxconn, I am certain the story will be very different. The last thing they will want to do is hurt the image of one of their main investors, so how can we be sure about anything they tell us about the factories there?

They have mentioned a few things in their MANIFESTO and PROCESS:

https://medium.com/the-light-phone/100-for-a-phone-that-does-nothing-ae74ed88b8d3#.5pb33uwdp

"There is no way a phone should ever cost $10 as people have suggested to us, that just cannot be right. "

(Yet it is possible, we see it on eBay and Alibaba. Why not explain to us how this is so? Why it is not right, and why your phone has changed that)

"We think we can add value to this conversation by showing the true nature of the manufacturing process at our scale. The ecosystem is much more complicated than we can realize as consumers, and there are many factors that are not obvious to us as outsiders. Why are people lining up to try to get jobs at factories that we consider a terrible working condition?"

(Good question, why not tell us the answer. From your experience what have you found? Can you divulge anything now or will this upset Foxconn)

"We’re going to provide an understanding of what and who is involved in bringing new models to market every year at such an incredibly competitive price points. It is unsustainable for many reasons, but especially for the environment. We believe by making this information available we might have a deeper appreciation for the technology we already have, and begin to think twice as we continue to consume more so quickly."

(Yes, except that you just created a phone that is going to be landfill or is already landfill by making it 2G instead of at least 3G or even 4G)

"We also want to pose the question, shouldn’t we, the companies and consumers that are benefiting from the hard work of these employees, be responsible for improving their lives too? We can chose to not think about them often, but they are real people with stories too."

(And so what have you done to showcase the lives of your factory workers... A few photos of these guys on a blog post, here and there. But what about their actual stories, how they grew up, their educational background, family, wages, their living conditions, how many hours they work a day, etc.... What about giving them more money? Is Foxconn paying them or is LightPhone agreeing to pay them more money? Is that $10 phone that you are now selling for $150 because the wage of the factory worker making it has gone up, or is it to pay your rich investors?)

Come on LightPhone guys... You've done an incredible thing making this limited release phone and using a major corporation to do it, but this was never really about the phone. I would argue that the only reason people would shell out 10x more money for this product was because they thought they were making a social impact or at least getting some education of what goes on over there, yet you have kept things in the shadows and your entire foundation is now in question as your company is heavily indebted to Foxxconn given that you accepted a huge amount of investment from them. How is anyone going to trust what you tell us?

« Last Edit: February 27, 2017, 02:46:40 am by edy »
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Offline edyTopic starter

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Re: Light phone on Kickstarter
« Reply #87 on: March 02, 2017, 02:28:37 am »
Light Phone KILLER!  New Nokia 3310:

$52
Dual SIM
1 month on standby
"Dumbphone" (no apps)
Sadly, still 2G....  :palm:

... but I'd rather carry around one of these than a LightPhone. Seems much more durable as well, less likely to bend in a pocket, longer battery life, much better features and screen, all around kills the LightPhone yet still delivers the same "unplugged" from the world feel and you just do your own forwarding setup anyways.



MORE INFO:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4261634/Nokia-brings-old-classic-3310-model-17-YEARS.html
« Last Edit: March 02, 2017, 02:33:30 am by edy »
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