Blog: Mudita Kompakt & Embracing Mindfulness in the Digital Age

I can assure you it would. You do not need to be an addict to experience it. Just the absence of colour is disconcerting to some. And, the possibility of getting a larger display with a higher refresh rate at a lower price means this device is only for a selected few.

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LOL you ignored most of what I replied with so Iā€™ll just let that stand for itself. Broswer on Kompakt is an ABSOLUTE must. I posted it on Reddit to ask if there has been any information on this and lots of people commenting to me they were wondering the same. General sentiment from all was without a browser its a no go. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A DUMB PHONE MUDITA OFFERS THAT ITS CALLED THE PURE. Its calls and texts only. I understand that Mudita may not put a browser on the Kompakt, if not I will be looking for a different device then. I am an avid traveler. People need a way to check flight information. I find this debate almost bordering incompetence. Even flip phones have a damn browser. You will not cure your ā€œpeople glued to their smartphone rageā€ by putting a simple browser on the Kompakt which is already a pretty smart device.

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This discussion made me wonder what others think about it. I have created a new topic to find out.

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I would also like to just say for myself to Mudita, I would very much like a device thatā€™s private but useful. I currently use a iPhone 13 mini and would really like to get out of the Apple ecosystem and support a better company. Iā€™m younger, I donā€™t have smartphone addiction, I donā€™t use social media (aside from Reddit here and there which Mudita also posts on). I make a point to be mindful and meditate every day. I love these aspects of Mudita. Having some basic tools like a browser would allow this. Even flip phones have a broswer. I could check my flight information. I could check travel directions easily with GPS. I am not the only one who shares this sentiment. Pretty sure Kompakt runs a forked version of Android. THE KOMPAKT IS A SMARTPHONE even if minimal. Make your own mindful app store, give people a choice. Otherwise this niche device is only going up against flip phones and the Lightphone 2/3 which were already niche to begin with. I do believe its a tough sell up against the Lightphone 3 which has a gorgeous design and supports every major network in USA. Not to mention the new Minimal Phone coming which has a Eink screen and keyboard running full android 14.

For the rest of us that have self control, we would like a device thatā€™s actually useful. If Mudita could guarantee that all flight apps are available (delta, AA, Skywest, United) and also travel apps like Lift and any major GPS, then for myself fine no browser is needed.

I would much rather my next device not be a iPhone 16 over a simple browser that would solve such a simple issue.

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You can add LoFone to the list.

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I think Mudita should have their own store for apps based on their philosophy with the possibillity for others to download other app stores. This would let the minimalists stick to the native store while others like me have an option to make our devices more useful.

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Totally agree. Yeah blackberry did this with BB10 OS. It was a pretty simple solution to add apps people really wanted. Iā€™d be happy with a mindful Mudita app store. Iā€™d pay for the apps. Iā€™d even pay a subscription gladly. I would love to support Mudita. But give us a device we can actually travel with without needing an iPad in our bag or a secondary phone.

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Yes. The need for multiple devices is not minimalist either.

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I am an addict and I can assure you it makes no difference

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This is the ultimate minimalist device if someone made this phone , with no browser, just directions, weather, calls and texts, and the camera and its the perfect size

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It sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too.

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As I believe that you know, Sunbeam Wireless makes several such cellphones with that collection of features.

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Problem is I just donā€™t like flip phones lolā€¦I have tried and tried the sunbeam numerous times if it was just in the candy bar phone I would use it over the light phone most likely

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As we discuss what should or should not be on the Kompakt, I came across this review of the BOOX Palma.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTub7_we0w

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Even if there is a browser Iā€™m not even sure how useful it will be in a tiny screen. I have a Sony Walkman with a tiny screen running Android that has a browser and most websites are not optimised for such tiny screen, all websites expect you to at least be on a big smartphone with big screen. Then if you add an Eink screen it further complicates the situation because most websites expect you to have colours. Some buttons become invisble, some text with colour background become ineligible.

I donā€™t think the Mudita Kompakt is really a device to use a browser, depending on the chipset they use it could also be painfully slow to browse. Scrolling on an eink display is also a bad experience. Battery life is going to suffer.

If you want a browser there is plenty of smartphones with a browser where you canā€™t just uninstall social media apps from your phone. I mean, if you can control your browsing habits and not google everything that comes to mind going into a habbit role, I am sure you are also able to have self control to not install any social media apps and keep your phone just for present activities. If you donā€™t have self control with social media apps not is going to prevent you from opening social media on your browser.

For flight information or other things on the go I am hoping the Kompakt has a simple Notes app. Then I can just write flight information on the notes app and have a look at the airport. Just 20 years ago we live without being able to look up information on the fly any time the mind wants, thatā€™s the problem. We are also going to live now if you cannot see up to date information instantly via a browser - it just need more intention before hand on what you want to do. And intention is a good thing to keep you focused on what really matters.

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Also more thoughts:
Having a browser on the phone opens potential for security issues. Maintaining a fork of Android up to date with security patches AND a web browser with security updates is a hard task that consume a lot of resources to be done properly.

No browser means no change for security holes through webpages that could steal your data. Also means no ads, no privacy worries, no tracking.

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Any patches for vulnerabilities in Android will need to be ported anyway. A modified version of Android shouldnā€™t be any more vulnerable due to a browser downloaded from the Google Play Store. Mudita does not have to develop their own browser. If alternative apps stores are possible on Android, there is no reason it should be any different on the Kompakt.

There are browsers helping with some of these. Vivaldi, for instance, allows you to block ads and trackers.

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I have an iPhone SE with a 4.7-inch screen and have no problems with any websites I visit. At 4.3 inches, the Kompaktā€™s screen is not much smaller.

I have managed to use my iPhone SE in greyscale mode for a few months without any significant issues.

Most phones give you the liberty to decide the apps you want to keep on your phone. If there is no self-control, it does not matter.

We could also use a notepad and a pen. These are not out of fashion yet.

About 40 years ago, we did not have mobile phones. Life still carried on as usual.

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I have an iPhone SE with a 4.7-inch screen and have no problems with any websites I visit. At 4.3 inches, the Kompaktā€™s screen is not much smaller.

I use an iPhone mini thatā€™s 5.4" and some sites and apps already mess it up. Plus the text gets really small, I need to increase the size which further messes up the UI.

I have managed to use my iPhone SE in greyscale mode for a few months without any significant issues.

Greyscale on the iphone is different than most eink screens that only have 16 grey colours to convert 65k colours. Iā€™ve browsed and use apps on eink tablets before and the experience is not great.

Most phones give you the liberty to decide the apps you want to keep on your phone. If there is no self-control, it does not matter.

Most phones also get most people glued and distracted by their screens with their app stores.

On the other hand even if it ends up with a browser I think the experience is going to generate so much friction thatā€™s not going to be that usable anyways.

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