LG lifts skirt, reveals watchphone
But don't tell anyone...
CES The wristphone is back, this time courtesy of LG. But while the manufacturer showed off its idea of what such a gadget should look like, there's no guarantee it'll ever come to market.
LG's watchphone: off the wrist
Locked away behind glass and protected by a pair of minders, six watchphones were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. Journos could take pictures; regular punters could not.
Marking time?
Consumers won't get a look-in either. “This is just a concept. We have no plans to market it,” one of the LG staffers watching out for the watches insisted.
Alas details were sketchy. What we can say is that the prototypes are based around an OLED display, and are designed to work in partnership with a Bluetooth headset. So there's no Dick Tracy wrist-to-ear usage here. The timepiece is controlled via a trio of buttons and voice commands.
With a range of strap types and colours, and shiny chrome highlights, LG's watchphones are certainly stylish. Come on, LG, get these goodies out of the case and into the High Street.
COMMENTS
Why not get one of these?
This certainly beats the Casio calculator watch I had in the '80s!
Bluetooth, camera, TF card support, media playback and unlocked for $180 delivered...
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10654
Waiting....
for communicator pins a la Star Trek. Who cares if you have to wear an Uhura-esque Bluetooth ear piece, it's a freaking communicator badge - with voice control even. How much longer before the darned thing is able to immediately read your mind so you can be connected to the intended party just as you start speaking?
Gene Roddenberry would be smiling widely.
Platform for new ULP?
Perhaps this is LG preparing for ULP BT when it becomes available (next CES?).
The main use case for Ultra-Low Power (ULP, formerly WiBree) Bluetooth is a watch connected to a Bluetooth equipped device.
Re: I'll never understand...
Because it gives journos somehting to write about and puts LGs name on the page.
So you mum sees this and next time she's buying a microwave, thinks LG - I've heard of them, that must be OK.
Car companies do it when the only other thing they have new for that year is an extra cup holder on the old model.
I don't understand what all the fuss is about...
I already use my phone to tell the time. Have done for years.
