Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/05/big_ben/
Big Ben squeezes into your iPhone
Sesquicentennial second hand
Posted in Mobile, 5th June 2009 20:52 GMT
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Big Ben celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and you can now equip your iPhone or iPod touch with a free clock app in commemoration of the big fella's sesquicentennial.
Unfortunately, Big Ben [1] (iTunes link) the iPhone app is decidedly less impressive than Big Ben [2], the Great Bell in the Great Clock in the equally great Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster.
That second hand is an iPhone-only upgrade to the actual Great Clock
The app - like the tower - tells time. And that's about it. You can, however, tap the info icon in the lower right-hand corner to display a dialog that invites you to toggle a tick-tock sound, an hourly chime, and the display of a seconds hand - which the app helpfully tells you is not present on the real Great Clock.
The marketing blurb for the app sums up Big Ben's value quite succinctly: "Pointless? Maybe. Decorative? Certainly. Does it fart on the hour? Most definitely not, sorry." ®