Do you fancy your mobile on the wrist?

Soon you'll be able to talk to the hand

The LG-GD910 watchphone in action.

Louisa Hearn
March 10, 2009 - 10:36AM

Smart phones might be all the rage right now but the rising star of the mobile telephony movement is a phone that you can wear on your wrist.

LG's new talking timepiece has been hogging the spotlight since its appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show this year and even stole the show at the recent Mobile World Congress, despite a hoard of new iPhone-inspired touch-phones storming the stands.

While some of the fascination generated by the watch phone can be explained away by its "James Bond" appeal, for those who might otherwise baulk at talking to their wrists, there is the practical consideration of a device that will not vanish in the back of a taxi or a late-night bar.

LG says it has used materials and stylistic elements in watches from top end manufacturers so users can be "comfortable wearing it for any occasion".

At 14 millimetres thick, it features 7.2 Mbps 3G HSDPA compatibility and is housed in a curved tempered glass face with metal casing.

"Our new 3G Touch Watch Phone is stylish, sophisticated and the height of technology, but its also undeniably fun. How else can you re-enact those scenes from your favourite sci-fi or spy movie?" says Skott Ahn, president of mobile communications.

However corporate stylist Melanie Moss, says that, as a fashion accessory, LG's watch phone needs some more work before it will be seen trotting down a runway.

"LG could take its cue from the old Motorola flip with its diamonds and built-in mirror and add some features to make it appealing to the fashionista. For women, a built-in lipgloss case and, for men, a swizzle-stick holder perfect for after-work drinks."

While, for now, it includes no make-up nor cocktail accessories, the LG-GD910 does have a full touch-screen interface, 3G capabilities and video calling, but perhaps most importantly it is voice activated. This feature is considered the holy grail of watch phone manufacture where there is such limited space for a keypad, and has been one of the main obstacles in bringing the devices to the mass market.

Samsung launched the prototype of a similar device in 2003 but struggled to refine the technology required to commercialise it. Six years later, it has reintroduced the concept in a new model called the GT-S1100, which it unveiled at the MWC, although with precious little detail and no set distribution plans.

But LG's watchphone has not yet made it past the post either. Despite its official status as "market ready" it is not yet commercially available anywhere. And while it is due for launch in Europe sometime this year, LG has no plans to introduce the watch phones to Australia.

Despite LG's claim to be the "first company to introduce a mobile phone with the wearable device technology" a number of non-branded watch phones are already being manufactured and sold around the world.

These are typically manufactured in China and can be bought for up to $1000 online, but offer limited local technical assistance and product support. Critics of these phones also say the models lack the quality and x-factor to win over the mass market.