The tech world is moving at a lightning pace and it’s hard to keep up with the proliferation of new gadgets that pop up on an almost daily basis. At the same time, the likes of old games consoles, vinyl records and other retro offerings can still have their place – at least in our hearts if not in our homes and offices. So when a new gizmo comes along that seemingly straddles the line between old-school antiquity and 21st century modcon, it’s bound to peak a certain degree of curiosity.
Enter the Tweephone. When I first came across news of the Tweephone, reported earlier this month, I had to double check the date wasn’t 1 April – so unlikely the story sounded. But the Tweephone, the world’s first analog Twitter client, is indeed a legitimate offering. It was created in partnership between Unteleported tech agency and Ukraine-based UP Digital Bureau to celebrate the latter organisation’s one-year anniversary. The retro device works when you select the letter desired for your 140-character message using the analogue dial. So to tweet ‘hello’ – you’d dial the number four twice, number three twice, number five three times, repeat the last step, and finally dial number six three times. Pretty nifty… no?
Ok, so the whole dialing thing takes away the essence of speed associated with the microblogging site, and don’t ask me how you add hashtags and @ symbols, or restart a tweet when your first attempt is a load of rubbish (hang up and start all over again?), but the Tweephone has definitely got the novelty factor. And who knows, maybe it will open the floodgates to more tech-based fushions between the vintage and the vanguard.
