Browsing the crowdfunding scene, we’re always amazed by the space-age ideas being brought to life out there and making us go, whoa. Now, it’s the the Light Phone, an ultra compact phone that totally looks like it’s from a sci-fi movie.
Billed as “your phone away from phone,” the Light Phone is meant to be the way you stay in touch when you’re really trying to disconnect. Sounds like an oxymoron, I know. But stay with me, because I can really see why the Light Phone could be great for parents.
Related: 5 things I learned when I put away my phone around my kids for a week
Remember the first time you went out on a date after having your first baby? Or your first overnight away from the kids? How about a hike, or a day trip, or a girls’ weekend? As parents, we know how hard it is to unplug even when we really want to, because we also want to be there if our kids or caregivers need us. So the Light Phone was designed to be a standalone, pre-paid GSM phone that does nothing but make and receive calls. In other words, it’s more like Phone Lite: No texting, no Instagram, no Candy Crush. Its sole purpose is to be there just in case you need to get in touch, or someone needs to get in touch with you, and its incredibly lightweight and thin, so it’s perfect when you’re on the go.
You can also forward calls from specific contacts from your primary phone to your Light Phone, or you can give people your direct Light Phone number.
Even though I’m long past those early days of nervously leaving my newborn babies with a sitter, I can still envision times when the Light Phone would come in handy. I’d much rather take the tiny credit card-sized Light Phone on a long run or ride or hike, than my comparatively chunky iPhone. And the Light Phone would definitely take up less room in a dressy clutch, leaving more space for my keys and makeup.
And more time for focusing on whatever it is I’m dressed up for in the first place.
Check out the Light Phone Kickstarter page for all the details. Estimated delivery is May 2016, so you’ll have to survive for another year without this rad gadget, but it looks like it could be worth the wait.
The “Light” phone is likely a repackaging of cheap Alibaba GSM SIM phones. It is not worth $100, not even $50 or $20. There are plenty of $10 options here.
This phone is nothing new, it is another Kickstarter scam.
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Scam? Hm, so then everything Apple makes is a scam based on that logic; there’s always something cheaper that does a similar job that you can buy wholesale from China. The Light Phone developers specifically says that they’re not creating new technology, they’re redesigning existing technology in a new way. We like it, we love the bare bones design, we love the light-up functionality, and 2,600 backers seem to agree so far…but vanilla and chocolate, right? We agree that there are always other options for you if you just want a cheap SIM phone. -Eds.