I think a kinda reasonable solution would be a paired SIM/eSIM cheap club phone with no camera, Early 2000’s style cellphones with just calls and texting are an option. Nokia 105 Classic is less than $50 and has no camera.

I think most/all cellphone providers let you use the same service/phone number/SIM on two phones at once? Mine does, at least.

Now, I’m not sure you’re into this kind of shit but I ended up thinking, if it becomes a thing, it could also be a reasonable development in the market? Where people just bring a little thumbdrive/pager sized thing to be able to call if necessary, but don’t want to bring the full distraction machine?

I’m thinking tiny, colorful, easy to pair $30-50 things with a long and narrow text display completely unusable for games and social media? Could use the same microphone/speaker setup as wearable earpieces, but meant to be handheld. Curious if something like this is already is a thing. (Could be powered by a removable AAA format rechargable battery might be good just in case, or just an extra slot for a coin battery? Sometimes easier to buy a battery than to charge, unless the clerk is nice.)

I was a little concerned with the mismatch in function/purpose though, many situations where you’d want to not be distracted are also situations where you kinda want to bring a GPS. Though if you drive you could just leave the phone in the car, go in, and have your turkey feast with family. Not really something you couldn’t do already, though.

At first it really seemed to me this kind of device would just be fit for the club and some other social events and little visits. (With the addition that unfortunately schools and work might end up demanding devices like these instead of phones.) But on second thought it would kind of be the ideal device to bring when hanging around in town, occasionally exploring the city a little, like I used to do a decade ago. Kind of reinforcing again a need to get to know your area when you’re there, instead of relying on the GPS that only really should be necessary when actively traveling far away.

If it was to be usable for public transport apps where I live it would need to have a screen for QR codes. So that’s not viable, would end up getting games and social media.

But with NFC and card options (and coin) it wouldn’t be an issue, NFC would probably be a good feature, but that seems like a hard thing to get started and get public transport on board with, though. Maybe some cities would embrace it.

Ultimately I really kinda like the general idea. Repopularizing cellphones that lack most modern cellphone functionality would be good, I think. A cheap secondary device and encouraging leaving the primary device at home seems like the most obvious way to do it successfully.