Alternatives to FP3? (Why I won't buy a FP3 and am hoping for a smaller FP4)

Just want to support the topic opener:
"To me personally, a phone that can not be carried in the pants pockets is not a mobile phone. If I have to carry an extra container around to transport the phone, it becomes impractical. Other people may have different approaches… "
Full Ack.
Summer: Just T-Shirt and shorts. Money, keys, Phone.
Size of FP2 is hard for this.
FP3 seems a no go.
(summer “fashion” is light, you know…)
And for “clever tips” like buy other, new jeans, shorts, …:
I thought the best thing is still to use AND WEAR the old stuff long as possible.
So buy all going-out clothes new for the phone:
Thing about again. For me tips like this sounds silly.

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My tip was a belt clip (Feuerwear), which allows the smartphone to be worn on the trousers. Surely, you wear shorts in the summer? So the solution works in the summer as well. I should know, I used my FP2 for a couple of years that way. In fact, it has been my preferred method of carrying my smartphone.

As for “Money, keys, Phone” some people carry all of that stuff together… in their smartphone.

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Of course. One way.
But is the wish for a mobile phone being not so big so hard to understand or to accept ?
Like another way.

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I don’t think, that this wish is hard to understand.
There have been discussions even before the FP3 came out, if it should be smaller again than the FP3; i.e. more like the FP1.

My bet would be, that it’s the reason given or a smaller phone, that is triggering all those responses.
You can not argue, that the phone is kind of gigantic for small hands, rendering a one-handed operation impossible.
But you can easily argue, that carrying the phone in your trouser-pockets is not exactly healthy not only the trousers, but for the phone as well.
And, as there are a lot of other options to carry the phone, this helpful community steps in, trying to help and convince by offering all the opportunities they can think of. :wink:

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Is everyone here assuming the others are male or female? I’m male and the FP3 still fits in all of my pockets, albeit just barely. However, while I do wear slim-fit, I don’t wear skin-tight pants and pockets that I can fit my hands in are a purchase criterion.

According to you, how “should” one carry a smartphone?

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First of all, what has gender got to do with this? Jeans are worn by all kinds of people.
How to carry the phone?
My view on this is to carry it in a way, that does not tend to damage the phone. Though I sometimes put it in my trouserpockets as well - especially when I am in a hurry -, I am always aware, that this is stress on the hardware. And before bending or sitting down I usually take it out in this cases. Otherwise I carry it in my jacket or my briefcase or bag. A pocket on the belt would be another viable option, though I do not fancy that myself.

But in the end, I don’t care, how everyone else is carrying the phone.

I just meant to raise awareness to the fact, that some problems you might run into - especially with a modular, easy to open phone - can be caused by carrying the phone in your trouser pockets, where it is bending and twisting with your every movement while picking up debris at the same time.

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Not sure, my guess is that its based on the assumption that women jeans have, on average, less deep and/or more tight pockets.

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Guys, I can and do not want to respond to everyone individually, but as a general reply to those of you who suggested modifying my clothing to be able to carry my phone: Please don’t. This is not a solution for anyone who asks a question in the way I did. We’re not stupid. If we thought that was a viable option, we would not have brought the topic up. As someone who has resisted to buy a smartphone for a long time while everyone around him was getting one, as someone who hates it when people in town walk about glued to their phone screen instead of interacting with other humans, going out of my way to accommodate my phone is absolutely out of the question.
This is a matter of lifestyle. My life centers around other things than my phone. The FP1 was perfect in size, the FP2 is too large already and the FP3 unfortunately is uncomfortably large.

I think the thread by now has all the relevant answers, with links to other free and or open software phones, which I will (have to) look into, but the dimensions of all of them will be close to the FP2 at least, unfortunately. Maybe I’ll just stop using a smartphone altogether :wink:

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You know, you don’t actually need a smartphone regardless of whatever people telling you or doing with it. If you find it annoying and keeps getting in your way, just don’t use it or get a classic non-smart phone for calls and SMS.

In any case the only recommendation I can give you is finding a used older phone (great for the environment and cheaper for you) and install Lineage OS. What I recommend you to do is folow this link, press Ctrl+F and search for words like ‘mini’ and ‘compact’, then make a search online to see how big is the phone. Google’s Nexus 4 and 5 are good models, perhaps still a bit too big for you but they’re light and thin (and well supported by the community).

The reason I recommend LineageOS is because by now, the manufacturer will most likely not support that device anymore. This means no security updates and some apps won’t work. Be ready for a little bit of tinkering to get it installed however… is not as difficult as it may seem, I promise, just follow the instruction you’ll find for your model.

This reminds me of the time when I had my first Android phone. Phone screens were small at that time so it fit well into the pockets of my trousers. But it soon turned out that the screen was too tiny to read longer texts on it like the daily news which I usually read during my commute. I ended up buying a tablet in addition to the phone just as you suggested. So now I had two devices - one that fit into my pockets and another one that didn’t. I found it annoying. And it is also not environment-friendly to have two devices instead of one. It was soon clear to me that my next phone should have a much bigger screen.

When I bought the FP2 almost 4 years ago it fulfilled all my needs except the “tiny” screen. But at least it was bigger than my first smartphone, so I thought maybe I will get used to it. I was able to somehow live with it. But would I buy a phone with such a small screen again? I don’t think so.

On the other hand I can understand when others prefer smaller phones.

Different people, different needs. And of course it would be great if Fairphone could offer phones with different screen sizes to satisfy everyone. But this may be too much for a small company like Fairphone. And the screen size of the FP3 may fit the needs of the majority of people (for me it would still be rather small though).

I wish you success in finding a smaller smartphone that fits your needs. Or maybe just live without one :slight_smile:

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Honestly, ever since touchscreen smartphones became a hit I had to modify my clothing. Why? Because previously, I had for example a zipper in my pocket. Nowadays, I would not buy such trouser, as it could damage the screen/case. I used to ensure my walkman would fit in my pockets, too. If you never bought a smartphone before, then that actually further underlines the hypothesis that you did not adapt to touchscreen smartphone usage.

Btw, the discussion is open to everyone. What might not work for you, might very well work for another reader. Someone who is in the exact same position as you are, is free to take the advice mentioned for granted. That you decide to ignore it, is your choice, but you don’t get to decide that we may not express our suggestions.

Speaking for myself, being glued to my smartphone (with headphones) is a way to cope with avoiding over-sensitization from autism. I absolutely am not interested in random chit-chat with random travelers. If it weren’t a smartphone, I’d be playing a puzzle, or I’d be lockpicking, or listening to my walkman, or reading a comic or book or magazine, or I’d be writing, or drawing, or something else – anything to keep myself occupied.

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2 posts were merged into an existing topic: FP3s — PLEASE make a smaller version!

We might have to wait long… But I’m happy to see more and more people Advocating a FP2 mini

Let’s unit :slight_smile:

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