Enter Safe Mode

3 Dumbphones That Actually Play Spotify

Posted on February 13, 2026February 9, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

I hear it every time I talk about “entering safe mode.”

“Drew, I want to smash my iPhone. I want to buy a flip phone. I want to reclaim my brain. But…I can’t lose my Spotify playlists.”

It is the single biggest barrier to entry for the Slow Tech movement. We have spent a decade curating our Discover Weekly, building gym playlists, and saving podcasts. The idea of going back to MP3s feels like moving from a Tesla to a horse and buggy.

The problem is that most “true” dumbphones (like the Light Phone II or Punkt MP02) view streaming music as a distraction to be removed. They want you to own your music files. Noble? Yes. Practical for a dad who needs the “Disney Hits” playlist to calm a toddler in a traffic jam? No.

If you need Spotify but hate the scroll, you need a “Transition Phone.” These are devices that run Android (so they can run the app) but have hardware so restrictive that you won’t want to watch TikTok on them.

Here are the three best options available right now that bridge the gap and keep your digital well-being in check.

The $5 “Dementia Radio” That Became the Ultimate Focus Tool

Posted on February 10, 2026February 9, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

I found this bright red box in the Electronics section on the Goodwill website. It looked like a Fisher-Price toy, but something told me to Google it.

I bought it for $4.99.

It ends up being a medical-grade device designed for people with severe memory loss, retailing for nearly **$200**. Good fortune had me stumble upon a pretty awesome minimalist audio device.

Amazon Kindle 1st Gen Review: Is 2007 Hardware Worth It in 2026?

Posted on February 3, 2026February 3, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

I still use my 2024 Kindle Paperwhite for travel. It’s waterproof and has a warm light. But when I’m at home, sitting in my reading chair, I find myself reaching for something else: The 1st Generation Amazon Kindle.

I found this unit on Poshmark for $38, registered to a previous owner named “Paula.” It is in shockingly pristine condition—white plastic often yellows over 20 years, but this one looks like it just came out of the box.

Inside was a digital time capsule. A “personalized” letter from Jeff Bezos to Paula. A library jammed with Sue Grafton novels. And a frozen error message from 2010 where a credit card failed. Time warp time makes me happy!

The Ultimate Freewrite Alternative? Hello, Zerowriter Ink!

Posted on February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

I have a complicated relationship with the Freewrite.

On paper, it is the perfect device: a dedicated typewriter with an e-ink screen that syncs to the cloud. In reality, it is a $600 luxury item with a proprietary cloud service (“Postbox”). I love the idea of it, but I can never justify the price tag for what is essentially a glorified calculator that runs Microsoft Word 1.0.

I am a proponent of the used Alphasmart Neo 2, which is my distraction-free writing tool of choice to work on my novel.

But now, there is a new challenger. It’s called the Zerowriter Ink, and it is the first device that actually threatens the Freewrite’s monopoly on hipster minimalism.

I have not touched this device yet—it is currently shipping from its Crowd Supply campaign—but on paper, it fixes almost every gripe I have with modern writing decks.

2026 Is Officially the Year of the Dumbphone

Posted on January 28, 2026January 28, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

This week’s Enter Safe Mode briefing looks at the “State of the Dumbphone” address, a physical brick that locks your apps, and the privacy-first device actually worth buying.

A Must-Have for Writers: The $7 Franklin MWD-1490 Electronic Dictionary

Posted on January 27, 2026February 3, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

I was deep in the weeds of Chapter 4 of my novel last Tuesday. The scene is set on a farm, and I realized I had used the word “barn” about fifty times in three pages.

I needed variety. I needed “pastoral.” I needed “agrarian.” I specifically wanted synonyms for “bucolic.”

Normally, this is the moment where I die. I hit CTRL + N to open a browser window. I type “bucolic synonym.” But while I’m there, I see a notification badge on Gmail. Or I spot a “Trending” headline about the Knicks.

Suddenly, it’s twenty minutes later and I have watched three videos of Billy Corgan talking about pro wrestling, and I have completely forgotten that I was writing about a farm.

It’s the Internet Tax. Every time you go online for something simple, you pay a toll in attention.

How a “Dead” 8GB Zune Became My Favorite Desk Accessory

Posted on January 20, 2026January 18, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

How to turn a broken Zune into a distraction-free desk tool for deep work: tips on buying, setup, and more.

OK, so I bought an 8GB Zune on Poshmark for $22 because I wanted to try the Microsoft MP3 player I shunned back in the day. You know the one—wired headphones, retro device, looking mysteriously disconnected from the 5G grid.

I imagined pulling it out of my pocket before I long lunchtime walk, scrolling through the menu with that legendary “Squircle” touch pad, and enjoying 20 hours of battery life.

But when it arrived, reality hit me.

The battery was completely shot.

It holds a charge for exactly four seconds before the screen fades to black. It’s not a portable media player anymore; it’s a brick.

For a minute, I was ready to RePosh. I’ve never been a Microsoft fanboy—I wasn’t an iPod kid either. Maybe I was a Sansa dude? through and through. But holding the device, I realized something: I actually loved the feel of it. The matte plastic back, the weirdly futuristic typography, the “Hello from Seattle” etched on the back. It has personality.

So, I pivoted.

How to Turn Your iPhone Grayscale (And Why It Cures the “Twitch”)

Posted on January 13, 2026January 10, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

You know the feeling. It’s the “Twitch.”

You’re standing in line at the grocery store, or maybe you’re just waiting for the coffee machine to heat up. You have twelve seconds of downtime. Before you even decide to do it, your hand is in your pocket. Your thumb unlocks the screen, and suddenly you’re five minutes deep into a feed of people you barely know, looking at photos of sandwiches you’ll never eat.

It’s not your fault. Your phone is a carnival. It’s painted in “Notice Me” Red and “Trust Me” Blue. Every icon is designed to look like a piece of candy that your lizard brain wants to eat.

There is a whole industry of gadgets trying to solve this. You’ve probably seen the ads for those “minimalist” phones—the e-ink bricks, the credit-card-sized communicators, the devices that cost $400 just to promise you they won’t do anything.

I love those devices. I review them. But here is the secret the tech industry doesn’t want to say out loud:

You can get 90% of that “dumbphone” peace on the iPhone you already own, for zero dollars.

You just have to wash the color out of it.

CES 2026: The 5 Quietest Gadgets in Las Vegas

Posted on January 11, 2026January 11, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

There were 4,000 new gadgets launched at CES this week, promising to change your life. 3,995 of them just want to steal your attention to show you ads. Here are the other 5.

I waded through the sewer of dopamine-tech so you don’t have to.

CES is where tech goes to scream at you. But buried in the noise, there were a handful of products that get it. Here’s what I found.

Tascam DR-03 Review: Best Cheap Portable Recorder vs. Smartphone

Posted on January 8, 2026January 22, 2026 by Drew G. Rosen

When I bought my Tascam DR-03 used at Goodwill for $22, I knew it was a great value: a portable solid state recorder that still holds its own almost 17 years after its release.

Unexpected bonus: The previous owner had left a 2GB SD card inside. When I hit play, I wasn’t just hearing audio; I was transported.

First, it was a lady practicing piano. Then, a clip of a preacher talking about God in what sounded like a cavernous hall. And even a psychology class in some lecture hall at the University of Unknown.

My voyeuristic side kicked in, and I listened. But what struck me most wasn’t what was recorded, but how it sounded.

It was spatial.

Unlike a flat phone recording that tries to isolate voice and kill the background, the Tascam’s stereo condenser mics capture the room. I could hear the silence between the piano notes. I could hear the echo of the preacher’s voice bouncing off the walls. It gave the audio dimension…like being there.