From Newsgroup: comp.arch
On 10/24/2024 7:49 PM, MitchAlsup1 wrote:
On Fri, 25 Oct 2024 0:31:17 +0000, John Levine wrote:
According to George Neuner <gneuner2@comcast.net>:
I used an LG flip phone from 2008..2020. Prior to that I had a Nokia
"stick" from 1995. Before that I had a Motorola flip phone from early
80's that was on my parents' plan.
Only reasons I have ever upgraded was because carriers changed service
requirements: 2G->3G, 3G->4G. I have never had to replace a phone
because it was damaged.
I generally get a new phone because the battery gets tired, and it's
been a while since anyone made phones you would want to use that have
removable batteries.
If people used their phones like phones that hang off the wall, a few
texts now and again, batteries will last 5-odd days per charge.
If, on the other hand, they use their phones as a mobile access to
all sorts of life distracting services, then one still needs bigger batteries.
I had a past phone that worked well enough (did calls and texts, could
also function as a camera, ...), had the limit though that I couldn't
install any apps on it (due to Android version being too old), ...
The older phone was a little bulkier (~ 0.625" thick), with a comparably smaller screen (had some actual buttons on the front, and a bezel, not
just a flat slab of screen), and had a removable battery (with a rigid plastic-laminated metal case).
Have since gone through two newer phones. First newer phone partly tore
itself apart from an expanding battery. Did get a replacement battery
for it, but it was sort of mangled as I sort of ended up needing to
carve the back of the case in half to free up the battery (which was
made out of aluminum). The replacement kit came with some tools, but
they were kind of useless with the physical state the phone was in (case
was designed in a way that it could only be removed as-intended with a non-inflated battery).
Got a newer phone, which has since also ended up needing the battery
replaced. It was a little easier for this one as the case is plastic and
was held together mostly with glue. Downside is that the glue doesn't
really stick very well afterwards, so ended up needing to use tape to
hold the back on. Also when the battery inflates, it merely pops open
the back of the case (which, one would need to remove anyways to remove
the battery). Bigger annoyance though is that one needs to remove tiny
screws to free up the battery connector.
Not really a fan of these newer/popular LiPo batteries, as they have
this as a common failure mode, which seems to happen much more often
than the older-style metal-cased cylindrical cells.
Personally, I wouldn't care that much if phones were 3/4 inch thick and
used 14500 (AA sized) cells. Like, hell, it worked fine for the GameBoy,
which was around 1.25" thick...
Granted, would need to design a low-profile battery compartment to get
0.75" with 0.55" cells (leaving 0.2" for the LCD and case). Likely
option could be springy metal contacts mounted above/below the cells,
directly behind the LCD, with the back-plate of the case providing the
force to keep the batteries in place.
Might be easier though with 10440 cells (AAA sized).
Apparently though, I think companies don't like using loose 14500 or
10440 cells though, out of possible fear of user confusion being unable
to tell the difference between LiON cells and Alkaline or NIMH cells.
But, I guess there are a non-zero number of cases where people have
screwed stuff up by sticking a 14500 cell into something thinking it was
an AA.
Should be less issue with a phone though, if someone stupidly replaced
them with AA or AAA cells, it merely wouldn't work. Would still be more convenient though for dead batteries, easier to get than model specific
LiPo batteries. But, I guess, the companies probably don't want the end
users to have this level of power.
I guess a what if:
What if we made smartphones with similar physical dimensions to the
original GameBoy?... Like, still technically possible to fit into a
pocket...
And give up on the modern obsession with trying to make everything like
0.188" or similar and then compromising its structural integrity...
My current phone is like 0.375", works fine. If 0.5" or 0.75", would
probably still be fine (like, if it fits easily in a pants pocket, who
really needs to care?...).
Or, hell, what if we had laptops using discrete 18650 cells?...
Say no to this modern LiPo based crap, or even the older style
proprietary removable laptop batteries (like in the 2000s). Just have a battery compartment with 3 or 4 18650 cells, more like what was common
in portable electronics in the 1980s and 1990s...
Then again, at this point, almost surprising people aren't trying to
sell laptops with the keyboard replaced with a touchscreen used
primarily to display an image of a keyboard (user: "the typing
experience sucks", company: "but, modern..."). Or, sort of like "What if
the Nintendo DS was a laptop and ran Windows or similar?...".
Alternative possibility:
We make stuff with modern tech that has similar design aesthetics to
stuff from the 1990s. Maybe with slightly less cheap/flimsy plastic though.
Or, say, a smartphone that kinda resembles a newer model Texas
Instruments graphing calculator (embrace the buttons...).
...
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