Tech For Life

Tryphone is a brand new service that tries to show you what a new mobile phone handles like before you buy it. I say tries, because no amount of playing with a picture on the screen will give you the full feel of actually using the phone, tactile response and that ever indescribable ‘feel’ have so much to do with whether a phone feels right for you. That said, I think Tryphone.com is brilliant!

After just a few seconds I was grinning from ear to ear, what an amazing concept, why oh why has no one done this before!? In no time at all I was happily clicking through menus on my virtual LG Muziq (iPhone, Samsung Juke, and BlackBerry Pearl all also available - more to come, it’s only a beta at the moment) and getting an idea if I like the way it organises things. As it happens I do.

The application subtly shows you which buttons you can access from your current point in the menu system, and I do have to say that not all options are available from all locations, but its mostly there. As well as this fun tour, there are also a number of what Tryphone calls ‘demos’ but are actually more like ‘walkthroughs’ with instructions for you to follow on the cirtual phone. Still, an excellent idea, and it gets you using the phone and increasing that familiarity. Also, if you actually own the phone, and forget how to do something, this feature acts as a kind of handbook.

Also available are all the stats, specs anf feature lists that you would expect from the phone manufacturer, or a review site, along with user/reader reviews of the phones.

I give Tryphone.com a big huge thumbs up, limited phones on there at the moment, but as I said it’s only a beta, more to come I hope!