Rotary Dialer – Review

Our rating:

By: Joshua Minor

Version #: 1

Date Released: 2008-07-06

Developer:

Price: 0.99

User Rating:

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YES, I actually spent $.99 and bought this app.  And, YES, I know it’s about as silly an app as one could develop (actually there are many more, sillier than this one- we’ll cover those another time).

So why did I do it? . . .

A. Because it’s so ironic- very clever, yet simple and endlessly entertaining (for some odd reason)

B. Because of its nostalgic value

C. Because it makes me smile every time I use it

Who thinks to take the most advanced cellphone/handheld computer and put an old-fashioned rotary dialer on it- one that actually looks, sounds AND functions like the real thing?  Joshua Minor, developer of Rotary Dialer- that’s who.  Genius I say!  And, Ah… to be in the 60’s again- the days of "Mad Men" with IBM Selectric typewriters, 3 martini lunches, zippos and switchboard ladies (the IT department of their time).  It’s like a trip down memory lane for me- especially since, as I have noted before, I grew up with a father who worked for Ma Bell conducting key telephony research.  One day my dad came home with a device I (or anyone else for that matter) had never before seen- the touch tone phone (avocado in color, of course).  The numbers looked familiar, but the "#" and "*" button did not.  When I asked my dad what they were for he said, "Some day those will be used to input different kinds of information. It won’t happen for a LONG time, but some day telephones will do more than just make calls."  Funny.  That memory alone was worth the buck (almost).  On a more recent note . . . my wife’s grandmother was telling her about an incident that happened just the other day (in her condo in Ft. Lauderdale).  Apparently, a workman went into her bedroom to clean the carpets and asked, "What is that?", referring to "old fashioned" rotary phone on her nightstand.  He wasn’t kidding.  My how far we’ve come . . .

Bottom Line-  Rotary Dialer does what it says, does it well and provides a glimpse of yester-year (for those of us old enough to remember 🙂 
 

Quick Take

Value: Worth it to me 🙂
Would I Buy Again: Absolutely
Learning Curve: Zero
Who is it for: Anyone who is old enough to remember
What I like: Funny, Nostalgic
What I Don’t: Nothing

Final Statement: Love it.