alt Hacker NewsHaving WhatsApp but no email is the weirdest part about this thing (and there are many weird choices here). This is the most "built specifically for one person" product I've ever seen. I've never used WhatsApp. Never known anyone who suggested we talk via WhatsApp. I know it's popular, but, it's not more popular than email. And, it's certainly more distracting than email, if you're trying to build a device free of things that distract and demand immediate attention.
In many countries, Whatsapp is texting. You wouldn't expect a dumb phone to do email but you would expect it to do minimal texting.