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LG Shows off 'Dick Tracy' Wristwatch Phone
LG Electronics has shown off the first watch-style mobile phone that also comes with 3G Video Telephony service. This wearable phone is a follow-up to the prototype that LG introduced at CES 2008 and includes a number of upgrades, including a full touchscreen interface, 3G capabilities and video calling.
Significantly, this watch phone will actually be available for purchase.
"Our new 3G Touch Watch Phone is stylish, sophisticated and the height of technology, but it's also undeniably fun. How else can you reenact those scenes from your favorite sci-fi or spy movie?" said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "The Watch Phone also demonstrates LG's technological leadership, proving that we can bring all the components in today's most advanced mobile phones down to a very small scale."
At first glance, LG's new Watch Phone appears to simply be a high-end timepiece. The company used materials and stylistic elements found in watches from top manufacturers to ensure that people will be comfortable wearing it for any occasion. The Watch Phone has a curved tempered glass face, high quality metal casing and is a mere 13.9mm thick.
The Watch Phone is the first touch watch phone in the world to feature 7.2 Mbps 3G HSDPA compatibility, enabling high-speed data transmission and video phone calls using the built-in camera.
LG did not sacrifice functionality in favor of size and the Watch Phone is fully capable of sending text messages, making phone calls, and, of course, keeping accurate time. This is all achieved using the phone's touchscreen interface on its 3.63cm (1.43-inch) screen and LG's intuitive Flash Interface.
Voice recognition features, which can be used with or without a Bluetooth headset, make it easier to place calls and look up contacts. Text to Speech (TTS) reads text messages and other information out loud for even greater convenience. The phone also includes stereo Bluetooth and a built-in speaker for playing back music files. A large phonebook and scheduler help with organization.
"This Watch Phone is the result of a great deal of research and development, something that is very important to us at LG. We will continue to invest in creating innovative new products and technologies like this and setting trends in the mobile phone industry," Dr. Ahn said.
Posted to the site on 8th January 2009