It was the big story of CES 2009, but only now has LG put the finishing touches to its first watch phone and put it on sale, if you know where to look. You can only buy the LG GD910 through one Orange shop in the U.K.--in Bond Street, London--at the moment, on pay as you go tariff 500 British pounds, although there will be a limited number available online later this month (register your interest here).
We had the chance to try one out briefly earlier Wednesday, and what struck us was that it's actually a pretty basic device. We're so used to seeing phones packed with features, apps, and a hundred ways to access your Twitter feed on the toilet, this felt like a letdown.
LG is making a big deal of the fact this isn't just a phone, it's a 3G phone, and a superfast HSDPA one at that. But before you get carried away thinking that you'll be able to access the Internet, check your e-mails and so forth, be warned--the 3G is just for video calls. (Does anyone know anyone who actually makes these?) To be fair, there's no way you would want something like a browser on this thing, as the screen is just 36 millimeters (1.4 inches), but it still seemed weird to us.
There are just three buttons on the whole of the device, at the edge, which you use for bringing up contextual menus and the like. You use the touch screen for everything else.
Calling people, video or otherwise, is easy enough. If they're in your phone book already, you simply select their name. If not, typing numbers on the touch screen is much more straightforward than you might think--the soft keys on the touch screen have enough space between them so you can type speedily without errors.
Video and voice calls are all piped through the internal speaker, turning the watch into a normal speakerphone. You might feel rather foolish and cause much irritation around you, but you don't have to bring the watch up to your mouth to be heard, unless you're trying out your best Dick Tracy impression.
You'll feel even more of a fool if you use the Bluetooth headset LG provides, though--ignoring the fact that everyone using headsets should be made to sign a register for the good of society, it has a really long microphone arm, straight from the early naughties. Then again, with the headset, people around you won't be able to hear the other end of your conversation, so it's not all bad.
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(Credit:
Crave UK)
That LG Watch Phone--which has our mobile reviewer Flora in hot flushes--goes on sale in a week in the U.K. (it's not for sale yet in the U.S.). The GD910 is on Orange, and we can confirm it will only be available on a pay-as-you-go basis, for a whopping 500 pounds (about $825). That might be eye-watering, but it's half as much as we were expecting.
You'll need to haul ass to the Orange shop in London's Bond Street Station starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 27, if you want one. Orange believes so many people will want to drop 500 squids on the gadget that it's limiting sales to one per customer.
But fear not, rich gadget posers. If you can't get to London, you'll be able to buy online from the Orange Web site starting in mid-September. Though once again there's a limited number available--Orange is being sensibly cautious over the unavoidable fact that it's fundamentally an enormous watch costing half a grand.
Check out our previous coverage for more info on the watch itself, and don't miss our hands-on video after the jump.
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The Blue Earth: CNET Asia gets to touch it.
(Credit: Samsung)Every June, the bigwigs of the cell phone world journey to Singapore for the annual CommunicAsia extravaganza. Though not as big as the Mobile World Congress held every February in Barcelona, Spain, CommunicAsia stills brings us plenty of cell phone goodness from the continent where so much mobile innovation happens.
While we at Crave can't make the trek across the ocean to Singapore, our colleagues at CNET Asia are braving the convention floor to scope out the newest and hottest handsets. They've make an impressive haul so far, even getting their hands on the elusive LG watch phone and the Samsung Blue Earth solar-powered phone. We're more than a little envious considering last time we saw the Blue Earth and the watch phone we couldn't touch either.
Of course, that's just a sampling of the sights in Singapore. So for the full story, head on over to CNET Asia.
This post was updated at 3:55 p.m. PT with comment from Orange.
LG's watch phone could carry a hefty price tag.
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)LG pretty much owned the first day of CES last month when its chief technology officer popped up onstage and casually took a call via the LG watch phone on his wrist.
But those looking forward to owning the touch-screen, 3G-enabled timepiece might have second thoughts when they hear the price. A report from Mobile Today in the U.K. says that exclusive European carrier Orange will be charging 1,000 GBP, the equivalent of about $1,500, when the phone becomes available.
The only thing Orange has confirmed is that it will be the carrier. But company representatives have not yet responded to Tuesday's request for comment on the price. We'll update this story when or if they do.
In the meantime, check out this gallery of pics of the watch, courtesy of CNET Reviews.
Update: Orange says it has not yet released a price and characterized reports of the price as "misleading."
We didn't see too many new U.S. devices from LG this year at CES 2009, but we did get a good look at some of the company's handsets that are only available in Europe or Asia. Of course, the LG Watch Phone stole the show earlier in the week, and that's slated for a Europe-only release date. We also got ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Quite possibly one of the biggest buzzes at CES so far has been about the LG Watch Phone, which we reported on yesterday morning. ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
LG Watch Phone
(Credit: LG)We first saw the LG Watch Phone last year at CES 2008, but it was behind glass and no one was allowed to really see how it all worked. This year, however, LG plans to break it out of the display case. At the LG press conference a few minutes ago, they demonstrated a real working prototype of the watch phone ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
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