Forget smartphones - the Light Phone is dumb and proud

Light Phone
The Light Phone doesn't do a lot, but that's its selling point

Smartphones are called that for a reason – they are powerful enough to help us not just make phone calls but check our emails, browse the internet and much more – but the new Light Phone ditches all of this in favour of keeping it simple. Really simple.

Forget skimming through Facebook or flirting on Snapchat; the Light Phone allows you to make and receive phone calls – and that's it. Not even text messaging is supported.

Why would you want to buy a phone that's so bereft of features? The creators behind the Light Phone, Joe Jollier and Kaiwei Tang, believe that by stripping back the features owners of the Light Phone won't be obsessed with checking it every couple of minutes, and will instead enjoy life.

Small and simple

Because of its simplicity the Light Phone is incredibly small and light, with the 3D printed shell being about the size of a credit card. A high resolution display is out of the question as well; instead the display is dot matrix LED which lights up, so you can view it in the dark.

You can connect the Light Phone up to your existing smartphone via an app that forwards calls to it. However if the thought of lugging around a normal smartphone just to use the Light Phone seems a bit, well, pointless, the Light Phone also comes with a SIM card, so you can use it as an unlocked handset.

Will stripping back the features allow us to break free from the Stockholm syndrome-esque thrall we find ourselves in with our smartphones, and allow us to step blinking into the light? We doubt it, but it could prove to be a handy emergency phone – or one we take camping or to festivals – to let us make calls when our main phone dies.

If you're interested in the Light Phone you can pledge $100 (around £64, AU$125) on its KickStarter funding page to get a handset, though as the fund raising process is still ongoing, it might be a while before you get your hands on one.

Via Softpedia

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.