1mo ago

What are some portable devices that smart phones haven't replaced?

I've been very stressed lately and have been doing some window shopping to calm down. I'm interested in gadgets, but a lot of things can just be replaced with apps. I realize a phone won't replace very large appliances like refrigerators or washing machines so I'm trying to scope my question to portable devices. So what are some portable devices or gadgets that their specialization hasn't been replaced by smart phone apps? Extra points if they're super useful and reliable.

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209 comments

Flashlights. Again, in an emergency, you can use your phone. But it's not as good as a real flashlight, and I always carry and use a flashlight.
- Can confirm. In many situations, it is far more convenient to go get a flashlight worth $2 to $5 that can easily fit exactly where you need it to be rather than holding your main communication device in an awkward angle where it doesn't quite do the job and also a wrong move could destroy your $200 to $1k device.
  
  Spend $20-$30 and you can have a rock and roll light.
  This is my latest, of, uh, many lights. I'm a bit of an addict.
  
  I've heard the "flashlight rabbit hole" goes deep.
  
  I’ve bought myself exactly one “nice” flashlight and it was a big shock seeing how good the tech has gotten since phones took that over in my life. Some Acebeam model with a ridiculous bulb and a convenient rechargeable AAA battery with a USB C port. It’s tiny and super neat.
  While I haven’t bought multiple, I did buy more of the same model for family members to carry around. For what it’s worth I don’t really keep it on me, but if you carry a purse or whatever, a powerful finger-sized flashlight could definitely come in handy without being bulky.
  I’ve actually written a bit about my gripes with the EDC subculture online, which is how I learned about the flashlight in the first place. TLDR is that there is a weird disconnect that can’t be ignored between a rational interest in preparedness and the phenomenon of online communities of users goading each other into buying more and more widgets, sometimes with financial incentives to make others buy things.
  It’s not just flashlights, it’s a whole bunch of things. EDC is a rabbit hole of rabbit holes and while I do appreciate having a lot of options and reviews for said options I genuinely think it’s a consumerist disappointment if you zoom back out.
  
  Would you mind letting me know the model of that Acebeam? Really like the sound of it. Though the OClip mentioned elsewhere is nice too.
  
  I just looked up my orders, it’s the H16. Looking more closely at the receipts it seems like there’s different models with different max brightness but whatever ,they’re all blindingly bright, for me at least, a non flashlight person.
  They’re also nominally waterproof, they’ve got a strong magnet at the base so you can stick it places while you work, and comes with a headband attachment and a belt clip.
  The bulb is angled which was weird to me at first. I also had to learn the controls over time since there’s one button but several brightness settings.
  I hate how promotion-heavy the internet has gotten because it feels like even writing out any endorsement feels like shilling. But it’s a cool little thing. I’m sure there’s more models out there that might appeal to you by other manufacturers but I’m happy with this one.
  
  Any recommendation as far as something that's convenient to carry but still worthwhile? Most seem too bulky to justify their occasional use when the phone will do in a pinch.
  I know the rabbit hole is pretty deep and it seems like it would take someone with experience to recognize that niche between inconvenience of having another thing to carry/charge vs how often a phone is good enough or a larger/dedicated working is worth keeping where it's needed.
  
  I use my bike light if I need something fairly bright. Does make me wish I went for the most powerful light available though. Think mine is only like 700 lumems, but the price was climbing up at that point and it is still pretty good.
  A second one could be useful if I ever wanted a long night trip though because unfortunately it uses a build on lithium battery so would have to leave it charging in a bag from another battery pack when it's flat rather than just sticking a fresh battery in and charging the empty one when I get home.
- Already joined us?
  https://old.lemmy.world/c/flashlight
  
  Of course!
- Also somebody had a bright idea to disable the flashlight in Android after battery drops to low percentages. I was very angry one day, when I walked through forest, and I needed to do it in complete darkness.
  
  bright idea
  I see what you did there
- Depends though, you need to buy a pretty good one. My phone has a better than average phone torch, CatB40. It's better than most cheap torches so you would need a decent torch to do better than the phone.

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