Coolest gadget so far at CES
The LG GD9010 wrist phone
Neutrano's WristFone
Coolest gadget moment of the show so far was when the LG Electronics chief technology officer paused mid-sentence, raised a hand and spoke to his wrist.
Paik Woo-hyun was taking a call on a slim black "smart phone" watch the GD9010. The crowd of hacks went "ooooooo".
"This is really something you'd expect to see James Bond wearing in a 007 movie," Paik said as he took the call live on stage. "It's the world's smallest watch phone."
The phone, available later this year, links to high-speed 3G networks and can be used for email and other online activities. It also serves as an MP3 player for digital music. And it tells the time.
But it has some competition. But a small Canadian company, Neutrano, is also launching its WristFone which packs a lot of action into its chunky black body.
It has a touchscreen, a standard phone keypad, a speaker, a MicroSD memory card slot supporting up to 4 GB cards, and both a WAP browser and a media player on board. You can send and receive text and multimedia messages. It even has a 2-megapixel camera with video recording, a video player, and an FM radio. Phew.
Neutrano is aiming to launch in Europe and the US and price is likely to be around $250.
The only question that remains is...how do I get my hands on one?
...whats next I wonder!
Posted by: V M Ladwa | Jan 8, 2009 10:59:24 AM
Bought a version from China about a year ago. Good idea but the battery ran down after 45 mins. Also needs a stable OS (mine crashed about once a day), and alternative input rather than using a tiny screen and a toothpick!
Posted by: James | Jan 8, 2009 10:59:34 AM
more needless junk for numpties without a life to add to their credit card debts.
Posted by: Bob | Jan 8, 2009 10:59:46 AM
Now THAT could persuade me to buy a mobile phone.......at last!
Posted by: Peter Lloyd | Jan 8, 2009 10:59:57 AM
Way to go!
Posted by: Jonathan Stiles | Jan 8, 2009 11:00:05 AM
Mmmmm. I think i NEED one of them. I mean it.
Posted by: cowfreak | Jan 8, 2009 11:00:15 AM
Oh I got to get me one of these. Ever since Thunderbirds when I was eight I've wanted a wrist phone. The closest I got was a wrist radio when I was 12. Good job someones done this.
Posted by: James | Jan 8, 2009 11:00:23 AM
Oh I got to get me one of these. Ever since Thunderbirds when I was eight I've wanted a wrist phone. The closest I got was a wrist radio when I was 12. Good job someones done this.
Posted by: James | Jan 8, 2009 11:00:31 AM
Great! So you'll have to switch it off when you're flying. Most airlines don't allow "flight mode".
Posted by: Doc Mick | Jan 8, 2009 11:00:58 AM
Give me a break, watch phones have been available for more than 3 years in Asia. I'm getting tired of the rest of the world playing catch up.
Posted by: Farrukh | Jan 8, 2009 11:01:28 AM
Neutrano does not make their wrist phone, it's an existing Chinese watch phone that they've rebranded with their logo. The Chinese version has been available online for months already for less than $150. Just do a search for "EG110 watch phone" on Ebay or Alibaba.com. (I have one that I bought online.) Their "woman's version" can be found by searching for "EG100 watch phone".
The article is wrong about some of the features. It's 0.3 megapixels, not 2.0 megapixels as claimed. Although technically it has WAP Internet, in practice it's difficult or impossible to set up on non-Chinese networks.
The Chinese version says it's 2 megapixels as well, which isn't true...all of the Chinese watch phones with cameras so far (there are many models) are 0.3 megapixels, despite what they say on the box.
Posted by: Greg | Feb 12, 2009 1:07:11 AM