Single Purpose Devices

I've been on the lookout for gamified pedometers. Something like a Tamagotchi that grows up as you get steps in. Saw some old examples of this in Japan, but nothing in the US market yet. Any recommendations that aren't an app and don't need the internet?

Does anyone have a good device to replace the maps app on my phone? I know there are gps devices, but a lot of them seem hiking focused. are they good for daily navigation by car, bike, and walking?

I think this was made for me. I LOVE single purpose devices. My house is full of them. Im the person who cant throw away 5 old ipods because they serve a purpose. Or still use cds. Or have 12 game systems instead of 1 emulator because thats not the same.

Or any of the other eink tablets?

This thing is amazing! I barely used my phone at all in the morning and all through the afternoon as I went about my business. I got sucked in for the evening onwards, but baby steps.

... I'll need to download more music, and get a bigger SD card. I've already played and replayed every single one of them I had loaded onto my Echo Mini these past 2 days.

I am super intrigued with this community and I want to help get it going. I'm tired of algorithms controlling what I see and listen to. I'm tired of distractions and ads.

I'm going to help by listing a few of my single purpose devices.

1. Innioasis Y1 MP3/DAC player

This is a cool little knock off Classic iPod. You can meddle inside to add storage if you want to. There's also a way to add RockBox OS. This helps me focus on the music I do have, and no endlessly searching for something new. It helps eliminate the paralysis of endless choice.

2. Nikon D3500

I've been into photography for years. It can be cumbersome, but when the experience and art IS taking photos and not just snapping shots for social media, this thing is a blast. Also, I can play with RAW images instead of the software on a phone camera dolling up the shots.

3. Camp Snap Camera

This little guy is a good time. I'll take about around messy shots at gatherings and there is no screen to take away from the moment. Also, the delayed gratification of looking over the shots the next day is fun.

4. 1990's GE Alarm Clock Radio

This bad boy has been around 30 years and it's still kicking ass. Good little radio and it forces me to get out of bed instead of picking up my phone and staring at it in bed in the morning.

5. Baofeng UV5R Radios

I don't know why I have these, but they are fun to play with my daughters. I keep them on FRS frequencies, but technically they aren't really legal. Shh!

6. Nintendo Switch - Speaks for itself.

My next move is the Anbernic RG35XX to play old roms.

I'm afraid, my post may not respect rule #2 as in reality it's a multi-purpose tool but one that can only single task too. Allow me to explain ;)

I take all my notes (and drafts absolutely everything) using a pen(cil) and paper, either in a pocket notebook or in a custom-made A5/A6 notebook (nothing fancy but if you're curious its latest iteration is visible here, the post in French but the photos should suffice).

I love this setup a lot more than I ever liked writing on a computer/device. I've been using a computer since de early 80s and I'm a decent typist, most of what I write will end up in a digital form of some sort so it's not like I'm a Luddite. It's just that I prefer the unrivaled tranquility of the pen/paper combo, it's incomparable portability, and both it's slowness and unrivaled speed.

• No distractions, no notifications. No ads. No Fomo.
• No tracking or spying either.
• No batteries, no upgrades, no updates, and no crashes.
• It's sturdy as it can withstand me sitting on it (my pocket notebook is often stored in my jeans back pocket). Heck, even if I teared my notebook to pieces I could probably still use it ;)
• It works well under the sun, when the weather is as hot as a politician's promises of much better tomorrows, or when it's as cold as a banker's heart (when it's that cold, a pencil is probably the better choice compared to fountain pen or a ballpoint pen). And it can be used when it's raining too.

But how can it be slow and fast at the same time? If you can touch type, writing longhand is slower. I'm not a pro typist but I type much faster than I trace words on paper, even in cursive. But this slowness is also a great opportunity to not rush things. And then, that slowness is apparent only because, along the years, I've devised my very own shorthand that makes it so I can write longhand at least as quick as I can type. Plus I can freely mix words and quick sketches using the same pen/notebook.

It's a highly focused tool that beyond its apparently very limited capacity—it can do a single thing at a time only, and it has no CPU and no RAM to speak of... beside the very little that sit between my ears, I mean—that can still do a lot of very different things:

• writing: todo, errands, ideas, fictions, poetry, a love letter, or just an address. And so on.
  *drawing/sketching. Depending the paper, one can also do watercolors or gouaches.
• Do some math.
• play games.
• Quickly draw a map/plan to go some place.
• keep info you need,
• It can also be used to share info... by removing a sheet of paper (say, the love letter you just wrote) and give it to someone (no that was not how it all started for little kid-me back then when I was sending love notes on pages, whose pages I teared of my composition notebook, to my sweetheart while we were both very intensively not listening to the teacher :p
• And it can also do origami quite well, if you're into origami.

I bought a used point and shoot recently so that I could be more mindful to not only take pictures more often but also to take better quality pictures.

I noticed that since everyone has a smartphone, people have been less likely to take photos and videos and people get annoyed when they are photographed/recorded. I think part of that is because those photos and videos get uploaded to social media where everyone can see/judge.

I wanted to try to take more photos of family events though since it was always fun to look through old photos of family members. I grew up in the 90s and 00s when it was really common to have photos taken at every event. Though I I haven't uploaded any of my photos yet, I've definitely taken more pictures than I ever had prior to having a camera. (I plan to buy a NAS hard drive during black Friday so I can store my photos privately.)

It sucks that good point and shoots are basically discontinued. I paid almost double the msrp for my camera and it was used and made in 2018. If you're able to find some good point and shoots for a good price, I would highly recommend you trying it out.

I got a nice set of wired headphones and a portable music player (Snowsky Echo Mini). It’s been great. I don’t feel the need to have the phone beside my bed as much and I can go out with my phone on me, but switched off.

I’m thinking about what other use I could separate from the phone, but I think for me that music was the main one. Podcasts would be harder because of how frequently they update.

I’ve also found having a Rubik’s cube on me as well as a yo-yo has kept me off my phone even longer.

What do you think would be a substantial use case you could separate from your phone?