Sometimes you say something and it gets a bit out of hand, the reaction isn't what you expect. That happens in the All About Symbian (virtual) staff-room as well. So what happens when a new updated (and known controversial) app comes in such as MyPhone to be considered? Ewan lets loose on the pointlessness of making your phone look like one from a completely different platform, that's what...

It shouldn’t be a surprise to readers that the team at All About Symbian share many links to stories, software and hardware before deciding what to write about. Sometimes it’s obvious, with new hardware arriving or a major announcement from a company. Sometimes it’s less so, a new game, interesting comments or blog posts; and sometimes it’s just an instant reaction.

Such as Steve pointing out the latest version of MyPhone to me: “why don’t you have a look at that, Ewan?”

So I did. And I have to ask why? And not specifically at MyPhone, but at the whole industry of Humphrey Lyttletoning your handset.

If you wanted to have an iPhone, then just go and buy a sodding iPhone!

The same with wanting a Google device theme on your handset, or the wallpaper from Windows XP as your homescreen, lifting the Start button to be the soft key icon on your 5800. There seems to be a huge industry promoting “one phone to the tune of another” in almost all the application stores out there.

Interestingly, I don’t see a “Make your iPhone like an N97” app in the Apple walled garden. I’d prefer to think of this as conspiracy by Steve Jobs rather than a lack of jealousy, but I’m sure you’ll argue about this in the comments.

Now there are some good reasons that you might want to consider having a replacement look and feel UI on your phone – perhaps you’re not comfortable with your smartphone because you’ve got to use Phone A at your company and you prefer Phone B; there’s peer pressure on you to have a different type of phone and this is the cheapest way to fake it and not get bullied; maybe it’s part of an elaborate prank you're trying to pull.

Is Little Britian the best description of our fascination with other themes?

Mostly I think it’s part of the nature of power users to just fiddle around because they can, but what amazes me is not the number of utilities for sale to change the UI to something new, but the screensavers, themes, icon replacers and everything else that changes the ephemeral look of the phone to something else.

What is it that happens when someone picks up a new phone that you want to make it like another phone? Are you scared that you bought the wrong device and have no confidence in the research you did?

Monty Python’s Life of Brian proclaimed that “you’re all different!” and this is the beauty of the modern smartphone world. Your device can be personalised to a much greater extent than those first mobile devices ever could; you can make them your own…

Mind you, that same film also had the whole crowd answering back, in perfect unison: “yes we are all different.” I just think it’s such a shame that by being different we sometimes decide to join another group altogether.

-- Ewan Spence, Feb 2010.