Light Phone will begin shipping November 30th

Last May, the Light Phone fell into a hole common for Kickstarter-backed products when it missed its target date for initial shipments. Delay after delay pushed the phone’s release further back, but earlier this month, startup Light has promised the first batch of Light Phones will begin shipping from the factory in China on November 30th. Early backers are expected to have their devices in December.

The smartphone world feels like a constant race with companies trying to one-up each other with the latest tech. Every phone release showcases a new processor, faster operation, and bleeding-edge components. It’s interesting to see a mobile phone company take a completely different direction and strip a phone down to its basics, and that’s exactly what the Light Phone has done.

The simple device is essentially a small slate that can make and receive phone calls and not much else. The phone features a nano-SIM card that operates on 2G networks, a touch module, a micro-USB port for charging, a microphone, and an earpiece speaker.

The Light Phone is made by Light and meant to non-intrusive, non-distracting phone. Offered in a white or black model, the device can’t connect to the internet (either through WiFi or cellular networks), doesn’t have a camera, and can’t send or receive text messages. Users can set up call forwarding so they may receive calls from another phone, like a smartphone. Due to the lack of features, the phone’s battery should last a long time and is quoted at up to three weeks of use.

While the Light Phone was successfully Kickstarted and was set to be shipped out in May of this year, the company ran into several delays. On their website, Light has said that the phone is “still in beta. We've run into a few limitations in our initial user experience goals due to some iOS restrictions.” While they are still ironing out some kinks, they plan to ship the phones anyway so as to “not delay any longer." The company "will continue to provide frequent software updates to early adopters.”

The first shipment will only be the white option, but the black option is expected to ship from the factory in the beginning of January.

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