Wouldn’t it be cool if you could play with the latest handsets and get an idea of the User Interface, without having to bother going into a store and swatting the salespeople away? The folks behind Tryphone.com think so, too. They’ve setup online demos that let you test-drive popular handsets, right in your browser.
Obviously this won’t help you in the build quality or in-hand feel arena, but there’s some phones that you’d know to stay away from if you spent 4 minutes with their interface (The Samsung UpStage for Sprint immediately comes to mind). This is also really convenient for grandma (or any other less-than experience normob in your life) as they can sit online and play with the phone all they want while it’s being shipped to them.
Currently the site only offers the Apple iPhone, LG Muziq, Samsung Juke, and Blackberry Pearl, but other handsets are promised soon. Of course you can also post a review, as well as buy the phone directly through the website. Sounds like a rock solid idea, to me.
Tryphone is okay, but check out GSMLive.ro phone simulators here: http://www.gsmlive.ro/telefoane/Apple/iPhone/simulator You can see far more of the actual phone (there are also Nokias, SonyEricssons, LGs etc), you can scroll it like the real iPhone, you can search its content!