Single purpose things/devices

kurisu

I've been thinking about single purpose devices lately. Smartphones do pretty much everything nowadays, no need to carry a digital camera, an mp3 player, or a pocket notebook with you. But there's definitely some certain charm about this sort of things.

Do you have any single use devices you carry with you sometimes or everyday? Is there something you'd like to switch to instead of relying on other things like your phone or computer? This thread has been made to discuss about these objects or devices that not many people carry nowadays, yet are more comfortable or better to use in your opinion

Lumeinshin

kurisu
I've got a nice notebook and pen in my work bag I like to use but I have been forgetting about it recently.
I have been tweaking my phone and setting profiles for things to organise better, i'm just generally a bit of a haphazard person sadly

Obake
seems like you do everything i'd want to do, im just not good at sticking to a lot of these things

I do make use of a modded iPod though for music. I've recently been ripping some CDs to add more stuff. I also made a little TUI script for creating/editing m3u playlists, although I found out VLC actually does a fine job with it.. so it kinda means I was wasting my time.. whoops

I was rocking a cassette player on walks quite a lot but that walking habit has lessened recently so i've not been using them as much. If i wasnt on my PCs so often i'd like to think i'd use them more in the house

kurisu

I, for example, have started carrying a pocket notebook for uni assignments and my own to-dos. I've seen some people writing their uni tasks on their phone or on their big notebooks, but either professors dislike the phone usage in class or we forget where to check on the big notebook whenever we're trying to find the assignments when we're back home (or even more realistically, we all know damn well that i'm not taking that notebook out of my backpack until I read the reason to).

I'd also like to start carrying a small digital camera on me sometimes, my phone takes awful pictures and I honestly don't want to upgrade. A friend of mine pulled out an analog camera yesterday at a concert, and some others pulled out some digital cameras, and I was thinking "damn, so I'm not the only one that prefers this format, good to know". I'm not a guy that takes many pictures, but I think that I'd rather take them with a pocket camera than a phone that also does 1000 things.

vuilhund

I own many sketchbooks/notebooks/scrapbooks just for fun (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) doing/or making stuff online is fun but it feels better to see It and do it in real life.
Sketchbooks are obviously for drawing and then I use notebooks for lists in general just writing/journaling. I make scrapbooks for my friends other than make an online collage or/ use social media for stuff like that.
Doing stuff psychically feels better in my opinion. A sense/texture thing. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )

magicrabbit

Ideally I'd say that's the way to go. In general it seems these "everything devices" are in conflict with themselves as you're often satisfied with some things and unsatisfied with others, I've been considering buying a modern music player for this very reason, especially as most phones aren't likely to have holes for my earphones anymore, and it really does seem like an idiosyncratic situation when you think about it; even taking phone companies' words for it that it's for water resistance, why exactly would I need a water proof music player? I only use it at home or interiors, the chances that I'd actually be happy having that feature are slim. It makes sense in a cellphone (ignore that it doesn't, for the sake of argument) but it's the "music player" that's being affected negatively.

Similarly, for notebooks, typing on a phone keyboard isn't exactly pleasant and I've started to try and getting used to a 9-key keyboard as a result, not to mention that the screens are too small and not as flexible compared to paper, and naturally much less functional than even computers using Word Processors.

You compromise on quite a few things by picking the jack of all trades, which honestly is to be expected, yet it seems we forget about that.

Pedestrian

The only specialist devices i have is a PS3 and a Pocketbook e reader i also have a samsung tablet with a pen that i use exclusively for drawing and nothing else lol i really cant find a use for it beyond just drawing. The E book is really the best god darn thing i ever bought if anyone is looking to buy one i recommend to get a large one to read dense pdfs with an eye friendly backlight for reading at night. The only problem with them is that their screens are quite delicate and most models do not come with any form of protection so buying a cover is a must.

gingermilk

Smartphones have evolved so much that you can basically do everything on it, as long as you don't mind compromising some user experiences. The only slightly unusual thing I carry with me daily is just a portable keyboard, but that is simply because my laptop keyboard is broken and I don't want to go through the fuss of replacing it.

I need to use my kindle more, but I usually prefer a physical copy and e-reader apps are sufficient for me when I don't have a copy.

Ross_R

As I try to get rid of my smartphone completely - a task which is doomed to fail, it seems, as I'm still forced to take it with me every now and then - I actually have bunch of devices that I use rather often. The most prominent would be, I guess, my Sony Walkman NWZ-B183F player.

This is thing is actually quite, quite comfortable. Has some space, plus an FM radio, so it works quite nicely for all my needs. Extra compact, as you can see. So it is pretty much my main music player for the last three years or so.

vuilhund

Ross_R Ill definitely check this out, it's pretty cheap so I'll look forward to buying it

magicrabbit

Ross_R Can't believe they still make Walkman (men?)

kurisu

Ross_R That player looks neat! Sony used to make really cool portable tech, I loved them dearly back when I was a kid (and I kept window shopping at the local sony store all the time).

As a side note, I've also reached the point of wanting to get rid of my smartphone entirely, I've been doing some research on a smartphone-free life (using a portable music player, a dumbphone, a pocket notebook...)

Been looking for a decent looking, not too big, dumbphone that could either run whatsapp or signal reliably

Unfortunately, for some absurd reason, I have to use my phone's scan to pdf feature to send some uni tasks to a specific teacher who will only take handwritten pdf files, no computer writing, no physical paper, gotta scan and turn in during class, so I guess I should just keep doing research during this semester and execute the plan in summer :(

Ross_R

magicrabbit Yeah, kind of crazy. The name went through cassettes, CDs, DVDs, MDs... I know Sony tried to make a portable vinyl player, but that area didn't fly, so no vinyl Walkmans, but that was close. And still, from the tape to digital it's all called Walkman.
Names indeed rarely live that long and without any kind of hiatus to top it off.

kurisu Yeah, in this country back in the 90's Sony portable players were, like, something else. I think I had a cassette one at some point. Much later I actually bought a vintage Sony disc player, but that's pretty much just a collector's piece, so that's off the topic.
Still, their old tech indeed does have some particular place in my memory.
Anyway, I simply bought my old dream - 1st gen Nokia N-Gage - to use as a dumb phone. It works as nicely as a 20 years old phone can work. I still stick to Android because on ocassion I need to stay in Telegram/Whatsup (fucking normies already pretty much forgot phones can actually be used to make a call, it seems), plus I need a navigator in my car, and the local app is the best one available. At least I haven't found anything better so far.

Obake

I love things that are dedicated to a single purpose. Of course these things are essentially useless and from a technical or practical standpoint it would be better to use my phone, I place a high value in the experience of doing something, or even on very minor details such as the feeling of pushing a mechanic button vs pushing a "button" element in a digital UI on a touch screen.

The device that probably gets the most use currently is my iPod. I bought an iPod Mini (gen2) and I replaced the old hard drive with a high density compact flash card. The device originally had 4GB of storage, now it has 100+. I filled it up with a bunch of stuff I like and whenever I go to the dentist or ride my bike somewhere I like to bring it along and put it on shuffle. It's a great little device, I love it. I love how straightforward it is to use, and I love that I can just plug my headphones straight into it. My phone is supposed to be a better experience but it's always annoying to try and find something to listen to on Apple Music or Spotify, and I can't plug my headphones into my phone I would need Bluetooth and that's annoying because they you have another device that needs to be charged etc etc.

I also have a couple of portable cassette players. I actually like these more than the ipod simply for how analogue of an experience it is. I love inserting or flipping the tape, I love the big chunky mechanical buttons and the CHONK sound they make when you press them. I love the sound of the motor running, and I love watching the tape reels spin as the music plays. Of course my iPod is a far more convenient item and is technically better for that reason, but in terms of experience and the satisfaction that comes with using the devices, I love the cassette players so much more. There is a lot that could be said about this topic.

I started journaling a few years back, so I carry my journal with me sometimes but I usually just keep it somewhere around my desk. In the beginning I used a Hobonichi Techo so I bought a Mother (Earthbound) case for it, but I switched to a more free form of writing so I changed to a journal that's just empty graph paper without all of the extra features that the Hobonichi ones had (calendar pages, etc), but I'm still using the Mother (Earthbound) cover.

I started getting into drawing recently and have been learning the fundamentals. As a result, I recently started carrying a small sketchbook.

Words cannot express how much I love video games and so of course I have tons of dedicating gaming hardware. For portables though, I like to bring a Game Boy around sometimes. A few years back I picked up an Analogue Pocket and that has been wonderful.

This one might sound silly but I also carry a vintage pocket calculator sometimes. I hate using the calculator app on my phone, I want physical buttons and I usually need to reference data that's on the phone screen and it's annoying to switch back and forth so I wanted a physical calculator. But I don't like those cheapo modern ones that run on solar power because they're kind of shitty and I hate the squishy rubber buttons so I bought a chunky little Casio calculator from the 80s that runs on AA batteries. I love that thing.

As for cameras, I have a few. I have a digital (mirrorless) camera that I like a lot, but most of my love goes to my film cameras. My absolute favorite is my Canon AutoBoy 2, it's a point-and-shoot camera from the early 80s and I love how the photos turn out when taken with this camera. But more recently I have been shooting on a Canon Demi ee17. This one is also meant to be a sort of point-and-shoot camera, but it can be used fully manually. Being from an earlier era than the AutoBoy, this one doesn't require any batteries except for the light censor (which doesn't work, but that's fine because I got a small external one that sits on the cold shoe meant for housing a flash).

kurisu

Obake what a post, loved reading through this!

I've also been specifically looking for an ipod mini 2nd gen to mod, but the sellers in my area either sell it for a super expensive price, or just don't respond, so I guess I gotta keep looking for one! The charming reflective display is something I really appreciate, so I really want one.

I still do buy (or burn) CDs though, I'm a huge fan of that format and I love the feeling of putting the disc in the player, so I do feel like physical is still more fun, but I still prefer carrying around something like an iPod instead of tape. I get you though! And I'll probably never let go of my love for portable music formats (including my beloved MiniDisc).

The cameras too, while I did mention a digital camera at the beginning, I've been thinking of point and shoot film cameras as well. I still need to do more research on them, but damn, they're so nice. Just point, shoot, don't look at the result, and keep enjoying whatever you were doing. Love 'em. I wonder if my mom's old Olympus film camera is still around.

Games? A pocket console with buttons, please. A la DSlite, PSP, GBA... I don't want something huge like a switch or a touchscreen brick like a phone. Not like I carry anything like that around every day, but it's nice from time to time.

And honestly? Even though the calc part might sound a bit silly, I totally get ya, physical buttons over a touchscreen any day!

I speak for the cubes

For me it's wristwatches.
Once you get used to them it's just too convenient especially when you're trying to focus one something. It's one quick motion and you get the time you had lost track of while doing other stuff, and no distraction to get you out of your "in the zone" mindset. You JUST get the time (and other related functions if you want or need them like a chronograph or a calendar).
When every other device is trying to get your attention on IT, it's really nice to have something non-intrusive that just one job. Especially when you tend to have issues focusing and really, really want to stay "in the zone" once you manage to get there.
And contrary to popular belief, they really don't have to be super expensive too. Aside from the obvious Casio costing less than takeout food, you even have some cool mechanical ones now that are well attainable and will last a lot and look quite great as a bonus.
I 'unno, I just like 'em c:

Also, books.
But they are technically multi-purpose and multi-use devices :
1 - contain text that you can read
2 - make you look and feel smart when you have a shelf full of them
3 - booksmell 😊

As an extra, since a few were talking about removing smartphones from their daily lives : paper maps are cool, especially if you're into hiking or cycling.
I like spreading maps, looking at places with funny names and then go there just so I can spot the sign with the funny-ha-ha name on it

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