No More Android ‑ Part 1

Why I've Had Enough Of Android ∆

Before I even start, let me clarify one thing: LineageOS is Android, too. Every custom ROM that is based on AOSP is Android, too.

For a long time I was trying to make my Android smartphone safer, better, less bloated, more useful...
and always struggled with the lack of: trustworthiness, continuous updates, open source, structured information, end-user (not developer) documentation, sane communication channels.
And the babylonian number of different devices that are not inter-compatible. Crappy Hardware. Chinese firmware. And too much Google, and what is worse: intelligent people accepting that Google is doing its thing with your data, telling themselves that "it's still open source" and "they're also contributing to the community"... well duh, making billions and billions exploiting half the world's population, then "giving back" a few permille of that for good publicity...

I digress.

There's one more argument against Android that is more personal: I've been a Linux user for many years and I know my way around it. Also under the surface. Well, more or less. I cannot say that about Android at all, and believe me I've tried (see: lack of end-user documentation - actual in-depth documentation, not "tutorials" for imbecils). Adding that to all the other aspects in the previous paragraph, it simply drives me nuts.
It's like they don't want people to be power users - either install apps, or write them. Nothing in between.

What to replace an Android Smartphone With? ∆

Nevertheless I do have mobile computing & networking needs. I love having a smartphone: a tiny supercomputer connected to the internet that I can use as a clock, as a calendar, to listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, radio, to read books, read my emails, watch videos, navigate with maps, browse wikipedia... oh yes, and also make phone calls and send text messages.

That last bit feels a little tacked on, and that made me think: why not do it like that? Instead of searching for a "True Linux and Opensource Smartphone" - why not get a dumb phone and something else - maybe a small laptop, or a tablet (running GNU/Linux of course)?

Don't get me wrong, I love what is currently happening around Linux phones. But it's so difficult, development is slow and expensive - take the phone bit away from that, and suddenly things look much clearer, easier, more possible, cheaper!

So this is what I'm trying to do now. I bought a dumb phone. I still use my Android phone, but as of now it's an internet-only device. I want to replace it with something else, but I'm in no hurry.

Coming soon: Part 2: My New Nokia - what I can and can't do with it