GLOBAL – On witnessing the unveiling of the N79 earlier today, I was immediately intrigued by perhaps its most subtly elegant talent – when you dress it in a different coloured cover it automatically changes the on-screen theme to match. Now, this mightn’t seem like moment of mobile epiphany, however this seamless marriage and morphing of tactile tailored exteriors and their corresponding digital information has ignited a spark and poses a question – could the physical customization and personalization of a handset be automatically echoed by the content, software and services that populate it?
The concept isn’t high-tech hocus-pocus. Simply, in the case of the N79 comes with a handful of interchangeable Xpress-on covers that feature an embedded chip to enable the replacement of a cover to automatically trigger the on-screen theme to morph accordingly. So, with this in mind it’s interesting to consider the possibility of your physical taste being able to influence or at least suggest the sorts of things you might like to find on your phone. On a most basic level a subdued exterior might suggest a set-up tailored towards business and apps, whereas a vibrant physical shell would perhaps dictate an entertainment-focussed set-up.
Granted it wasn’t just the clever interchangeable cover tech that inspired this thought, it was also the fact that the N79 comes pre-loaded with 10 try-and-buy N-Gage games. This is interesting from a couple of perspectives. Firstly, the physical appearance of the phone suggests that if you were to go the N79 route (fun, stylish and extroverted) you’re entertainment taste could likely be game flavoured. Secondly, you’re able to try out a serious spread of software before exploring further – essentially the legwork of finding the things you might be interested in is removed, enabling you to spend more time fine-tuning the experience you want from your phone rather than having to explore the mobile software realm cold.
This concept was touched on via the profile switching feature found on the E71 and E66, but the N79 adds this exciting new twist to the perception of personalization and opens your mind to the possibilities.
What do you think? Can physical taste influence other factors, such as what you’d like your phone to be able to do? Let us know what you reckon below.