 
Dick Tracy, eat your heart out!
Bond, you will end up shaken and stirred! Watchphones are finally here,
in real life. Both LG and Samsung are close to launching watchphones and
it is only a matter of time before the big boys (Nokia, Motorola, Sony
etc) launch their versions.
The LG GD910 is a big watch, but that is necessary to accommodate the
big touch screen on which you type out numbers and texts. Unlike a
traditional electronic watch, you can choose from a number of watch
'faces'. I know your next question - do you have to 'talk' to your
wrist, secret-service style? Yes, but only in a very crowded or noisy
environment. The mic is so powerful that it can clearly pick up your
voice even when your hand is in its normal position. The included
Bluetooth headset will convey to your ears the voice at the other end of
the line. Amazingly, there is a speaker, if you want everyone to hear
what he or she says.
 As a bonus, the face (dial, in watch-speak) is scratchproof and the
entire casing is water-resistant. The GD910 is said to be a joy to
control, thanks to an excellent gesture-sensitive touchscreen.
And one more thing. If you do not want to read incoming texts, the GD
910 will do that for you, albeit in a robotic voice. It even has a video
camera for 3G video calls. LG has thought of everything.
Is it a watch, or is it a phone? Initial reports suggest that it
works well in both departments. The only downside is said to be the
somewhat low battery life and the fact that you have to plug it in every
night to charge. These problems will eventually be solved, of course.
The GD910 is also a music player - there's 2GB of storage for a
couple of hundred MP3s. You can stream music wirelessly to the Bluetooth
stereo headset or a hi-fi. The GD910 can also act as a modem. Pair it
with your PC or Mac and you will be able to use it to browse the web at
up to 7.2mbps (HSDPA connection).
Mobiles have taken rather a long time to become 'watches'. But they
are off to a good start with the GD910. It is not perfect, especially
with regard to battery life but things can only improve. 'Watch' this
space for more updates. |
