The July 9, 2009 article collected fifteen surprising roles for an iPhone. Its examples ranged from a flashlight and coin toss to a pretend champagne bottle and a surface for knocking on wood. The list was a playful collection of ideas, not a specification for one app.
A screen could stand in for an object
Some examples used light or a simple decision, while others relied on imitation. A sound and animation could suggest a celebration without a real bottle; an on-screen coin could provide a result without a physical toss. The phone’s usefulness and its theatrical appeal appeared side by side.
That distinction matters when reading a novelty list. Displaying an object is not the same as performing its physical function. The source did not identify individual app names, implementation details or evidence that every proposed role worked as advertised.
Rather than attach unrelated modern download links, this recovery preserves the original topic: how enthusiastically developers and users reimagined a pocket screen in 2009. No performance or availability claims are made for unnamed apps. The article is a snapshot of an inventive period, not a current shopping guide or a set of instructions for the more fanciful examples.