Slashdot Mirror
Groovy Wristomo Cell Phone Announced
i4u writes "NTT DoCoMo announced WRISTOMO a new Wrist Phone built by Seiko. Recently Samsung announced the availability of their Wrist Phone at the CeBit 2003. The Wristomo Wrist Phone unique design lets users transform it into a handset.
The phone supports web browsing with up to 64kbps.
Wristomo can receive and transmit Emails with maximum size of 3,000 characters. The Watch can synchronize with MS Outlook via a data cable.
The size of the Wrist Phone is 171.5x40.4x18.5mm, and it's weight is 113g. It is even water-proof.
It supports continous talk-time for 120min. and 200 min. standby. It is even water-proof!
Price expected to be 50,000yen."
Seriously, this thing is waterproof.
Johns: Well, how does it look now? Riddick: Looks clear.
We have to hear it twice because I know I'll definitely be using my cellphone underwater.
is it doubly water proof then?
this sig steers like a cow. and i can prove it
I've been using my cellphone as my clock for over a year now, since my "normal" watch died. I guess this could be the solution to my problem.
:P
Next problem is some cash I guess
http://www.inspirelight.net/
It is even water-proof!
Switch back to Slashdot's D1 system.
And a daughter-in-law with antennae.
Garg
Garg
Alumnus, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
sort of limits how deep your desk can be.
I've been wondering how long it would take them to get one of these. Since it might be harder for me to lose, this is an actual incentive for me to pony up the cash to pay for a cell phone that's decent, rather than just sticking with the one my cell service gave me for two dollars.
-1, "1337" speak
At this rate, in a few more years such technology will be so common that you'll be able to buy real working dick tracy watches from the gumball machine!
I can't read the link 'cause it's slashdoted. But do you mean it has a 200 hour standby instead of a 200 minute one?
My cell phone is 1"x3"x.5" and It's already tough enough to dial without a tooth pick. Soon
I would rather be ashes than dust!
WTF? Its a clever device, but if they can't give me at least 24 hours standby then its fairly useless in practical situations.
These days I'm used to several days standby from my mobile phone; a wristwatch that needs to spend half its life tethered to a mains supply is daft.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
I was initially surprised at the price -- 50,000 yen didn't used to be worth terribly much -- but given current exchange rates, this thing is going for about $420 USD.
It may be difficult to get your hands on one though, since the Department of Redundancy Department is interested in acquiring all of them for their amazing water proofing. ... And they're water proof!
It is even waterproof!!
Laugh. It's funny.
Sheesh.
Imagine a......world closer to "Calling Dick Tracy".
Blueeetoothhh.. BTH.. Common.. Down with the cables!
"Life is all about strategy, mathematics and psychological perceptiveness."
Could you please post your GPS coordinates, so that we can make sure we get you while we're at it?
So I'd have to recharge this thing, at best, every 3 hours? Nuts to that.
Dyolf Knip
In fact the phone is a PHS (Personal Handyphone System), and while in many ways it is similar to cellular technology, it is different in a lot of ways. It has pretty abysmal range, requiring a bunch of transceivers in a relatively small geographic area to get signal. It also cannot hand off to other cells, so kind of limits your ability to use it in a car, or on a train, etc. Still, a pretty neat device. They demonstrated it on the news last night, 2 girls talking to each other. One wearing the phone speaking at her wrist, the other using the phone unfolded as a handset. Reportedly a ring-type is also in development.
OK, now we know how to say "and it's waterproof" in Japanese.
Seriously, doesn't the world realize that the internet should all be in English? And when it's noon in New York, it should be noon everywhere.
I thought we were moving TOWARD standards.
(ok, moderators, it was a joke...)
The Wristomo Wrist Phone unique design lets users transform it into a handset.
Uhh, Wristomo? What kind of name is that for a Decepticon? I am not afraid. Now Soundwave, that was a cool transforming audio device.
*This page intentionally left pointless*
It's not doubly waterproof. It's not even waterproof. It's water resistant. There is a limit to it's resistance as indicated by n X Atm. or n X Meters of pressure it can with withstand. To be waterproof would imply that no amount of water pressure could enter the watch.
I'll wait until I can get a cell phone in a shoe. And I don't want one of those fancy touch tone phones either. Rotary all the way!
-- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
Is it waterproof???
is it waterproof?
Just as another note, Wristomo is composed of the words "Wrist" (naturally) and "Tomo"dachi meaning friend. So it's your wrist friend....how cute.
It's 200 Jikan that means 200 hours long and not 200 min. long of course!
Hontou ni.
Julien
Those times when cell phones were useful, and not only trendy gadgets.
Hmmm.
Ok, I lied. Mod me down.
My weblog in spanish
Looks like the first Dick Tracy joke. Give him a break!
Talk-time of 120min, with a stand-by of only 200?
The relation seems strange, and a stand-by of 200 is not worth much to me.
And it's waterproof! Surely there's something fishy going on...
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
Sice NTT DoCoMo announced it, does it mean it will only work on the Japanese phonesystem? Or will there be a version that is compatible with the GSM systems used in other parts of the world?
One of the dimensions is 171.5mm! If that's not a typo, this thing should be called the wristomoth.
I hope we actually see this one.
Samsung released showed their wrist phone in 1999, and never released it.
2-3 others have had a try on the same concept but never have released them.
The reason I would buy one immediatly, (I actually was looking for the smallest cell phone I could find last night...) is because sometimes, all I want is a cellphone that is completely unobtrusive, and can't be lost easily. During the day, I wear a cellphone with everything under the sun in it (camera, email, IM, calendar, etc) , and it feels like a brick. But at night, or going out.... I hate the @#%@%$
What is the smallest cellphone you guys have seen, that is actually being sold????
Thanks
Mabidex
unfortunately, due to your inability to read and understand words (you can read them, just not get a general idea of what they are about) you not only couldnt understand the thesis; you also did not understand the article.
Hmm, 17x4cm makes a somewhat LARGE wristwatch.
Does it sync my mail, calender etc. I'ld really hate not being able to check that while swimming ;-)
/(bb|[^b]{2})/
Does it support viruses too? Or will they only work in later versions?
The BBC would like to apologize for the repetition in this post.
The BBC would like to apologize for the repetition in this post.
Why is it that both these debut outside the US?
One is in Japan the other in Korea
t68i came out in Asia and Europe.
Is US not gadget crazy enough? Or is it the service provider monopolies in US affetcting manufacturers?
.ACMD setaloiv siht gnidaeR
I just can't wait for someone to release a GSM phone that has no (or a minimal - keypad and one-line LCD) User Interface.
A cell that has bluetooth and that is very small. I don't need a large screen, my Palm Tungtsen T already has one. I don't need to play games on the phone, My Palm TT does it better. I just need a phone that can initiate the calls.
A phone like that would not cost a lot and battery life would probably be a lot better that current phone.
My ideal setup would be:
- A UI-less bluetooth phone,
- A Palm TT or any other small Bluetooth PDA,
- A Bluetooth headset.
It's water-proof! Call now and we'll throw in an extra coat of water-proofing. Be Dialing!
There's no way I'm buying one of these things until they make them waterproof.
The link seems to be slashdotted. Here's a link to another site with images of the unit. It's in Japanese, but the pictures speak for themselves.
Go away, or I will replace you with a very small shell script.
Why would you need to syncrhonize the watch with Outlook? I'm not complaining about the fact that its MS Outlook, I'm wondering why you just can't check your e-mail on one, then check it on the other.
Ooooooooooooh Riiiiiiiiiight. There are still a bunch of stupid people out there who use POP instead of IMAP.
Other than the "Dick Tracy" factor, I don't see the point of the watch-cell phone combo.
The only way I see this as a valid product is bluetooth connectivity with a bluetooth earbud/mic combo. Now, if they figured out how to add all that and include the ear bud into the watch, I think it would be worth considering.
Still, though, not as easy as picking up a phone and answering it.
IMHO.
So it's definitely waterproof? ;)
Chris "Ng" Jones
cmsj@tenshu.net
www.tenshu.net
C'mon! Remember Dick Tracy? The ORIGINAL wristwatch (vid)phones?? Magnetic Hovercars?? Sam Ketcham?
...
NO?!?
How 'bout the later-model Beatty/Pacino/Madonna movie, does THAT ring any bells?
ZD even led with a Tracy reference when it reported this same story
Jeez, yet another reason for SlashDot to institute age filters; I guess it would be pointless for me to make a joke about "Opening Channel 'D'"
I like the concept. However, the band doesn't look very sturdy. How much you want to bet the hinges on this thing won't hold up?
I also wonder what the likelihood would be to make this thing be Kinetic, if its even possible.
And how much is 50K yen in dollars anyway?
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
because I know I would be tempted to make calls from the shower, just to tell people it is waterproof.
it wasnt posted in the article, and i havent seen it in any of the comments, so here is the official link for the watch.
Am I missing something here or does that make it all but useless?
113 grams! That's way too much for a watch!
Some of the earlier posters are getting at the problem, here. This phone is basically the same as any other mobile phone device, it just wraps around your wrist a little better. Waterproof? It had better be, since your wrist goes near a faucet much more often than a mobile phone normally would. I have a Sony radio that fits on an armband or on a belt clip. That seems like a much better form factor than the wrist.
Sometimes I worry that I'll develop Alzheimer's disease, but no one will notice.
but u failed to notice it doesnt actualy give the time.
Obviously, it should read: 200 HOURS of standby...
I don't need a signature.
...is it water proof?
At least someone got it. :)
I used to love watching that show on Nick at Night, I'm glad they reaired it as it was originally way before my time.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
The size of the thing is reported as
171mm by 40 mm by 18 mm
In other words
About seven inches by two and a half by one
(Very approx)
That's a pretty large brick to strap to your wrist.
Did something happen that requires everything to start in the USA? Gosh, maybe once in a while, something could start somewhere else.
Ya think?
Obviously not.
Infuriate left and right
I find it interesting that science fiction suggests some new technologies long, long before they are possible, but completely misses others.
As people have mentioned, Dick Tracy had a wrist-phone, but none of the "golden era" (30's-60's) science fiction that I read ever predicted the cell phone as a commonplace, walking-down-the-street, standing-in-line-at-starbucks, chatting-with-your-friend devices that every student would have.
Also, whatever happened to the videophone? We've had the technology for a while, but the SF authors got it wrong again, I guess. Nobody wants to be on the viewscreen while talking...
Oh, and you can't blow your computer up by convincing it that it's illogical.
- Murphy's Corollary: - It is impossible to make things foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
It will be so small (and waterproof) that it will be placed in your nose. Version 2's name?
Nostromo.
(Don't mod me down just because you don't get the reference.)
There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
Why is it that companies seem obsessed with trying to actually create technology that someone thought up years ago and most people have already decided was lame? I already get strange enough looks when I talk on my bluetooth headset. I imagine it would only take about 10 minutes for the padded bus to arive if a yanked my watch of my wrist in a public place and started talking to it.
Who moderates the meta-moderators?
It seems the main link's server is going quite slow so here's another link b4 the site goes down. http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/342/C1560/
it's even water-proof!
The expression is "I could NOT care less." Think about it.
I mean, really, did I read that right? You charge your watch and it's good to take incoming calls for a little over three hours?
StoneCypher is Full of BS
But this watch is wicked waterproof.
It's so waterproof that if you were to throw it into the Great Salt Lake, it would within seconds sit atop an enormous salt crystal pyramid in the middle of the Great Freshwater Donut.
seven two six five
seven four six one seven
two six four two e
I'm a little slow?
It rocks.
I get sound quality indistinguishable from a land line, days of use on a charge and "pretty good" coverage, including just about everywhere I happen to go around Tokyo, including underground train stations and the top of Mt. Fuji.
Plus, it's way cheaper.
It has pretty abysmal range, requiring a bunch of transceivers in a relatively small geographic area to get signal.
That pretty much describes Tokyo.
For 95% of when I need it, it works.
Cheers,
Jim
-- My Weblog.
The look of it is kind of cool but I wonder if it would feel kind of bulky? I mean sometimes just a regular watch gets in the way of doing other things.So I am curious how this would go.
SuDZ
... which is that -nothing- ever starts in the USA. All the cool stuff always gets started in Japan first and then maybe, if we're lucky, they'll give us a dumbed-down version of it later for much more money.
This is the reason why places like Dynamism (http://www.dynamism.com/) exist.
The question is, why? Am I stupid for thinking that if you release something tremendously cool for a decent price in the US that lots of people will buy it?
+++ATH0
I guess the author of Dick Tracy was ahead of his time...
Is is waterproof?
...200 *hours*.
New killer. It's pronounced "New Killer"
There's only one thing that keeps me from buying one - I don't think they're waterproof.
You can run but you can't hide, except, apparently, along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
...doctors began seeing a baffling increase in cases of "wrist cancer"
You can run but you can't hide, except, apparently, along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
It IS!
Where are the photos of scantily-clad hot Japanese chicks wearing these things?
When they add a camera we will finally have the elusive Dick Tracy wrist phone. These are great times indeed.
Yaay, wrist cancer.
wrist - omo omo(i) [adj] - heavy; massive; I imagine this thing is going to weigh a bit more than your average wristwatch if it has a usable battery life. omo [n] - face As in face of a watch. omo [adj-na;n] - chief; main; principal; important; Until everyone has one, this is going to be the most important thing on your wrist.
because the only people that will buy it are the ones that have absolutely no concern that they look like a BIG FREAKIN' DORK with a gigantic Go-Bot attacking their arm. Seriously, there is a percentage of dateless geeks that will wear this thing and be okay with it, but for an item like this to sell it *MUST* be the same size as a conventional wristwatch. Maybe the one that Fossil is working on will be better, but this Wristomo will only sell to Slashdotters that never leave the house.
\/\/oobie
If this thing is really waterproof, or even highly water resistant, that would be a first, AFAIK. I've been looking for a waterproof phone for years, and I'm awfully surprised no one has offered it.
I think of all those surfers in southern CA who would love to be able to call home and ask when dinner will be ready. Sony sports phone anyone? Talk about untapped potential...
No one but a fashion fiend needs a wrist phone, but a waterproof Star-tac that fits in a pocket would be a boon to many.
Seriously, many of us who work outside are in dire need of waterproof phones. Whether it's doing a wet job or getting caught in the rain, keeping a cell phone dry is a real pain. Most of them die at the first drop of water.
It has something to do with my desire to mate with members of the opposite sex.
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
which is that -nothing- ever starts in the USA
Cell phones started in the USA.
The Internet started in the USA.
PDAs started in the USA.
Flight started in the USA.
Telephones started in the USA.
You can find more examples if you, too, think for a spell. It's not hard.
Infuriate left and right
WOW, you get just over 3 hours of standby time!! I hope their site is wrong when they say "200 min. standby"
You know what I meant, in the context of the article. Gimme a break, I was at work and exhausted. :p
Fine, we create v1.0 of something, but every single time, Japan grabs the idea, pumps it full of steroids, and we are stuck with generation 1 technology for years.
Cell phones? PDAs? Laptops? With anything small and electronic, Japan beats the crap out of us in implementation.
+++ATH0
Oh, OK.
We were all worried about having only 200 minutes for Internet access, but now we know the translator was Jikan off.
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the ...
Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an
utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life
forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches
are a pretty neat idea
-- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
- this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...