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 a hands-on with the LG Renoir, the 8-megapixel wonder with camera features we only wish we could have in our standalone point-and-shoots. And finally, we take a brief look at the LG Prada II and its accompanying Prada Link Bluetooth watch, which were behind glass the entire show (which explains why it's the only phone out of the three that we couldn't see in action). Take a look at our little slide show of LG phones we can only drool over for now.
The LG Watch Phone has a ton of features in its tiny body: a music player, Bluetooth, and even a camera.
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)
Quite possibly one of the biggest buzzes at CES so far has been about the LG Watch Phone, which we reported on yesterday morning. It's no wonder; it fulfills every geek's fantasy while still satisfying the cool quotient with its sleek styling and touch-screen interface.
We had a sit-down with LG earlier today at its booth in the Central Hall, and got up close and personal with the phone. LG wouldn't let us touch it, but we did get a good look at how the transitions work between each tap of the finger. It looks quite intuitive, and the tempered glass on the surface apparently works as a capacitive touch screen, making it as easy to use as the one on the iPhone. We were surprised at how easy it seemed to dial numbers on the tiny dial pad, even though the screen only measures 1.43 inches diagonally. According to LG, texting will be done in a similar manner with a virtual T9 keypad.
We also had a brief look at the music player, and it seems pretty easy to use, too. The sound coming from the speakers on the watch is surprisingly loud, though we still would suggest using a Bluetooth headset of some kind (Taking calls on the speakerphone seems just short of dweeby). The watch phone supports stereo Bluetooth, so you can use that to listen to tunes. When asked how much storage was in the phone, we heard it was somewhere around 70MB, but that could change by the time the device launches. The charging pins are on the underside of the watch, which can then be connected to a charging connector. The strap can also be adjusted quite easily. On the right side of the watch are three buttons: the Talk, Clear, and End buttons, respectively.
And if that wasn't cool enough for you, the LG Watch Phone even has a camera. Yes, on the upper right corner of the phone is a tiny little camera that apparently will be used for video conferencing. No word on whether it's a megapixel camera or not, but even if it's VGA, we think that's incredibly James Bond.
The LG Watch Phone will be available in Europe later this year, but pricing is not yet known, and the company has no plans to bring it to the U.S. just yet. It'll be available in a range of colors, from black and silver to blue, red, and even pink. It'll have quad-band GSM and 3G/HSDPA. Check out the LG Watch Phone slide show for a closer look at it.
We're coming to you from CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada and it's all about Netbooks today. I'm sure we'll get more buzz about 3D TVs and more later this week. Also, Ellie doesn't like it when we call out the title of the show, but that makes it easier for Jason to find them for his special edition! (And please excuse a bit of distortion in today's episode. Sorry! -Jason)
Listen now:
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EPISODE 886 |
Yawn— MacWorld (woohoo iTunes DRM free!!)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10133230-37.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090106-apple-mwsf-announcements-new-macbook-pro.html
Apple activates iTunes downloads over 3G, with a caveat
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10133349-1.html
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/06/apple-labels-both-win-with-drm-free-itunes-tiered-pricing
Free Nine Inch Nails albums top 2008 Amazon MP3 sales charts
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090106-free-nine-inch-nails-albums-top-2008-amazon-mp3-sales-charts.html
AMD’s Neo processor debuts in HP notebook
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090106-amds-neo-processor-debuts-in-hp-notebook-whoah.html
Asus says Netbooks can be upscale with the S121
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10131423-100.html
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/06/asus-s121-with-worlds-first-512gb-ssd/
…and new Eee PC with swiveling screen
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10131412-100.html
MSI XSlim MacBook Air-like thing
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/01/msis-super-thin.html
LG’s Watch Phone: production please?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/07/lg-shows-off-gd910-watch-phone-production-later-this-year/
LaCie breaks off quad-interface 2big Quadra RAID drive
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/06/lacie-breaks-off-quad-interface-2big-quadra-raid-drive/
Google’s Android runs on a Netbook — Google OS in the offing?
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=316
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090105-android-netbook-port-leaves-some-pondering-google-os.html
Phishing is a minimum-wage job
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F06%2F2213256&from=rss
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone announced
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19515_1-10131943-234.html
Pay-as-you-go airline charges by the minute
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/01/new-airline-pla.html
What piracy? Movie biz sees record box office in 2008http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090105-what-piracy-movie-biz-sees-record-box-office-in-2008.html
Hey jamoto,
As one of your UK listeners, I’d just like to clarify the ‘liveness’
of the BBC iPlayer. It actually broadcasts tv shows on the internet an
hour after they are first broadcasted on tv. Just thought that you
should know.
LTS,
DanieInHell
**********
Hey Jamoto++,
Web Developer Matthew Horoszowski (say Horoshofski) here and just
wanted to point out this article,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/4126913/Mind-game-where-players-use-brainwaves-to-float-ball-through-hoops-unveiled.html
,
which talks about a new game that uses your brainwaves to control a
small ball and move it through hoops and things.
Guess that one prediction for this year down!
**********
Hey JaMoTo + 1:
On the dial tone issue from Monday’s show: when someone moves out of a
house or and apartment, the phone company *should* leave dial tone on
the line, but with no account information. This gives access to 911 and
611 (to be able to call the company to fully activate the line). When I
worked for BellSouth, that service was called a QuickServe.
However, QuickServes can be disabled if the line is needed at another
residence or business and no other cable pairs are immediately
available, hence the reason that Tom’s line didn’t have dial tone.
FWIW, no dial tone, no 911.
Barry Stubbs
**********
Stop it!!! Stop with the announcing of the title in the actual show!!
Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP!!!
<3 Ellie
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 and it looks to be a real must-have for the spy wannabe in your life. It has a touch-screen user interface (!), three side-mounted buttons, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, and even a full-blown music player. It's water resistant, and it'll feature 3G HSDPA, which leads us to think it may come to AT&T some time this year.
UPDATE: We've just got more details about the watch phone. It has tempered glass, a high-quality metal casing, and is around 13.9mm thick. The touch screen itself is 1.43 inches diagonally, and features LG's Flash interface. Features include voice recognition, Text to Speech so it can read out text messages, and stereo Bluetooth. However, the huge disappointment is that the watch phone will be Europe-only (insert sad face here). We think it may still be compatible with local GSM networks, but only time will tell (apologies for the bad pun).
UPDATE 2: More updates on the Watch Phone. LG has just told us that the Watch Phone will have quad-band GSM, and that the 3G/HSDPA will be compatible with AT&T's frequency. So even if it is Europe-only, you could potentially get one unlocked and use it here. We'll see if we can get more news about pricing and availability.
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