Re:What's next?
by
redherring22
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
well that's where the bluetooth headsets come in... even though those things currently look like some kind of borg-wear or at least a futuristic cochlear implant.
this begs the question-- what will look weirder? talking into your wrist? or talking to nothing at all?
Well, it seems that Microsoft has been working on some pretty cool moble devices too. They call the techonology SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology).
They have devices, like watches, alarm clocks, toasters, key chains, that know where they are and what is around them.
So your next watch will be something that keeps acurate local time, updates you on sports scores, stock quotes, weather, instant messaging, traffic reports, and news. And they are actually kind of stylish!
Other people on the road already get that impression of me. When I'm riding my motorcycle, I use a handlebar mounted HAM radio with a hidden speaker and microphone mounted inside my helmet. It's a full face helmet, so from the outside it looks like I'm talking to myself.
if only they can make a freaking tv remote control that can locate itself. i don't wanna know how much time i've wasted searching around for the damn remote after the wif^^^^^^someone has misplaced it. i just might have to get me one of those keychains too!
no, i want one that's wi-fi. and can be "found" from a control box like my cordless telephone. i just press a button on the main box and the phone starts beeping. i need a keychain that does that and tv remotes that do that too. i'm (we're) always loosing that stuff.
Putting your wrist up next to your head and talking? In modern society, that's a good way to checkin to the closest nuthouse.
Seriously, though, I hate to go into the 'fashion aspect', but putting my wrist up to my ear (otherwise, who else is listening to the conversation?) isn't my idea of the coolest way to show off new technology. Maybe if it had an earpiece (wireless?) it could work, but as is, no thanks.
It does have bluetooth and voice activation - so no reason you couldn't use a bluetooth headset with it. The problem with that is if you're going to have to carry round the headset you might as well just carry any one of the many small phones already out.
No way is correct. The first watch described in the article has bluetooth support for headsets. So I would imagine your watch could be in your backpack, around your belt, or whatever other oddball location should strike your fancy and it would not impair your ability to make calls.
Who knows, with bluetooth being what it is, but it is entirely possible that you could dial from your PDA, and use it as an access point for your PDA when you are not in a hotspot.
And how many times did you not see the tiny, tiny cell phone in someone's hand while both are by the ear yammerin'.
Or better yet, the new headphones/mic's. When someone is not facing you directly.
Trust me. Once these things become popular, it will be a social norm to guess, he's talking to someone via a device, not into random space. I hate it myself.. fookin' confusin'.
And you really think a wireless earpeice+mic are better? That way people will really think you're nuts! I know I still do a double take every time I see someone yapping into thin air without holding a piece of tech.
Trust me. Once these things become popular, it will be a social norm to guess, he's talking to someone via a device, not into random space. I hate it myself.. fookin' confusin'.
Back in the Bay Area, right after the Jabra in-ear hands free mic was released, the San Jose police were called because there was a "well dressed man, in the parking lot, screaming frantically and very angry... to himself."
When the police got there, he sure enough was screaming his head off still. They form the traditional circle and he is completely oblivious to it, until one of them gets close enough and says, "Sir, I'm going to need to ask you to come with us." He then looks over, and says, "Hold on a sec."
The cops at that point just started laughing at the guy, and told him not to yell at himself in public anymore:)
The problem with that is if you're going to have to carry round the headset you might as well just carry any one of the many small phones already out.
Those phones are still too big. We only think they're small as they're smaller than older phones. "Small" would be one that I wouldn't notice in my pocket - which means one that would fit in a matchbox. Now that would be nice...
Yer an idiot, did you even read the spec's on the watch? Not only does the Samsung model support Bluetooth, but it also supports a ton of heatsets. Plus holding your hand up to your ear/mouth is how making phone calls have been done for years.
Re:No way
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Plus holding your hand up to your ear/mouth is how making phone calls have been done for years
holding your hand up, backward, with your wrist to your ear is how phone calls have been done for years?
Who's the idiot?
Re:No way
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Putting your wrist up next to your head and talking? In modern society, that's a good way to checkin to the closest nuthouse.
I wonder if you actually followed the links, or checked out the wristomo website... If you check it out you will see that you do not hold your wrist up to your ear. The watch folds out to be used as a normal phone would be used...
I think you would end up in the nuthouse if YOU used it like that!
Maybe if it had an earpiece (wireless?) it could work, but as is, no thanks.
I don't mean to be one of those RTFA-nazis... but did you even give it a quick skim? (The article says it will work with bluetooth headsets.) Honestly, I'm not trying to be a jerk about it... I'm just saying before you post a dismissive "No way" comment, you should maybe look to see what you are dismissing first.
Technology advances in leaps and bounds. A wristwatch with a battery life that measures in days and allows people can look like complete fools by holding it up to their ears and talking to it.
(Some) People will look like fools with or without a gigantor wristwatch.
The battery life however, is what will most likely be the big issue. I can't believe what the article says about battery life. 4-8 hours? Riiiiight. Unless that's with the phone part turned off.
If it takes off there will probably be a sudden increase of pedestrian/vehicle accidents. "Officer he just walked into my car with his wrist to his ear and his arm covering his face..."
Re:Marvellous
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Reading comprehension: what does "dropping to between three and five hours when the wireless connection in on" mean?
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Re:.SubNotebook
by
druske
·
· Score: 1, Insightful
These clamshell devices really have a hard time finding a niche to fit into. A company I worked for spent significant time and money porting a Windows based product to such a CE platform, and we ended up with an inventory of hardware that nobody wanted, save for the few enthusiastic customers that led us to think there was a real market.
It stinks as a PDA because of the bulk and an inappropriate UI designed for the desktop. It stinks as a subnotebook because the keyboard's too small for proper touch typing and the display strains your eyes when used for more than a few minutes.
These look cool at first site, but are utterly impractical for most real-world use. They're a solution looking for a problem, and not typically finding one.
Holy Dick Tracy Batman
by
Torinaga-Sama
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Am I underwhelmed by the idea of Wristphones. Now that cool thing DoCoMo was working on awhile back where you could use your hand as a phone (you know, how you look when you mime talking on the phone), now that was friggen cool. Whatever happened to that anyway?
Re:Holy Dick Tracy Batman
by
cybermace5
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Ah yes, it was a wrist band that would transmit sound up through your fingers, and you'd put a finger in your ear!
Imagine a combination! Slashdotters have been scoffing at the idea of holding your wrist up to your ear, but try putting your finger in your ear: your wrist is naturally near your mouth.
It could be a winner, once they get the battery life improved.
No way man. Subvocal processing and cochlear implants, all the way.
On a side note, I could see this being cool if the speaker could be mounted on a ring. That way, you cup your hand to your ear and talk into the wrist-band of the watch. It could have some pretty good noise rejection if it has one mic on the band and another on the face.
Cool gadget. But, I wonder why it took them this long to come up with something like this!
In near feature similar devices may also include holographic projector, wi-fi connectivity and those Philips disks that can hold GBs of data. (and a big cell in the users backpack)
Freedom, at last.
Re:Not in all my long time on Slashdot
by
Blaine+Hilton
·
· Score: 1
It seems they provided just enough information to peak peoples curiosity, have the privacy fanatics reaching for their aluminum foil and sending massive traffic to The Register, again.
As long as the shoe phone camera is on the top of the toe area.
Of course they are.
by
Vengeance
·
· Score: 2, Funny
It only makes sense.
After all, it's only within the past month that I signed both my wife and myself up for two years of new service, locking us out of upgrading for a while.
To all those who are planning to get a wristphone: You're welcome.
-- It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
Just tell her it was in the fine print of your contract that you had to upgrade your phone every 6 months/whatever.
Not the best place for a phone?
by
yeoua
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
I hope I'm not the only one to note that a watch is not the best place for such tech? I mean... your hands are used to do some crazy stuff (uh.. i didn't mean that) such as... washing in water, bathroom stuff, eating, handling large objects, and so on.
So why put hundreds of dollars worth of equipment a mere inch away from the most active part of the body and risk damage? Why not just make an all in one wireless device that you put in your pocket somewhere that does everything instead? Do we really need this all on our wrists (not to mention that they do look pretty big, and wearing something clunky on my wrist isn't exactly a good thing either).
Kinda reminds me about a scene in a movie... (Spy Kids 2) where the boy gets a wrist watch that has everything a movie spy ever needs, pushing a button will expand the thing into a massive gargle of everythingness with a sat dish, scanning devices, keyboard, holo projected screen, everything and the kitchensink...
but no time. The inventor comments that he didn't have room to fit in the time on the watch.
I wouldn't be surprised if that happened one day.
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1, Funny
... bathroom stuff,...,handling large objects,...
for some of us, these two are the same;)
sorry, couldnt' resist
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
brakk
·
· Score: 1
I still think the best combination of technology was putting a watch into my phone. Now I don't have to wear a bulky chunck of metal on my wrist.
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Why not just make an all in one wireless device that you put in your pocket somewhere that does everything instead?
They do.
It's called a PMG (personal mobile gateway, iirc). You whack the PMG module wherever it's handy (pocket, belt, bag, whatever) and can then use wireless headsets etc to communicate with it. However, you need to remember to take all the bits with you when you leave the house!
That way you could have your bluetooth headset talking via your PMG in your pocket, with the UI on your wristwatch.
I can't wait.:)
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
falsified
·
· Score: 1
Kinda reminds me about a scene in a movie... (Spy Kids 2) where the boy gets a wrist watch that has everything a movie spy ever needs, pushing a button will expand the thing into a massive gargle of everythingness with a sat dish, scanning devices, keyboard, holo projected screen, everything and the kitchensink...
but no time. The inventor comments that he didn't have room to fit in the time on the watch.
So...you watched Spy Kids 2? Awesome.
-- HI, MY NAME IS ISAAC.
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
"So why put hundreds of dollars worth of equipment a mere inch away from the most active part of the body and risk damage?"
I move my face much more than my wrist during the day.
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
Kredal
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
Nah, it was in the previews.
-- Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
strike2867
·
· Score: 1, Funny
Could the comment im replying to get a negative score for blatant stupidity and uselessness? Or if not could I?
--
Vote for new mod!!! Score:-2,Imbecile
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
daviddennis
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
What I really like about this idea is that I'm the world's expert at losing cellphones, and if it's strapped around my wrist, I won't lose it.
I wonder if there's a way to make it big enough to have a readable screen for Internet access without making a mess out of my wrist's other functions.
D
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
Glytch
·
· Score: 1
I'd like to see a forearm-mounted screen using some of that roll-up electronic paper and velcro. Think about it. You have a small velcro band near your elbow, and when you need a bigger screen, just unroll the monitor from the wrist mobile and stick it to the velcro.
I know this won't be reality for another two or three decades, though. Sigh. 'Course, by then, there will probably be something completely unexpected and better to do the same job.
Re:Not the best place for a phone?
by
strike2867
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
come on i asked for negative.
--
Vote for new mod!!! Score:-2,Imbecile
Wristphone ergonomics?
by
ackthpt
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Ok, I've suffered through a bag phone (first commonly available cell phones, still have it, too!) and has a succession of ever decreasing sized cell phones and they generally were easier to use, mostly due to form factor and weight. But think about something on your wrist for a moment, try holding your wristwatch up to your cheek as if you were talking into it and listening to it. Awkward, right? A hand-held cell phone is easy, since fingers place it as just the right distance so your elbow can remain close to your body and you're balanced and not smacking into things with your elbow. Try walking a few steps with your wrist near your mouth and notice (unless your arm doesn't match typical proportion, apologies for my insensitive clodness) it's awkward. It may have looked good for Dick Tracy, but without plugging a mini headset into such a thing I think it's not as good. Now, maybe if it were removable from the wrist band with a small twisting interlock you'd have something. <- Please note, all you patent hungry monsters, this idea has been publicly discussed and represents prior art, so fsck off.
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Re:Wristphone ergonomics?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
It has Bluetooth. No holding-to-ear required.
Re:Wristphone ergonomics?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
great idea...
a built in head set (such as for the nokia phones, just a wire and one ear plug) that extracts from the top of the watch. then you could use your hand (as long as you don't pull the headset out of your ear).
What appears to be misunderstood in many of these posts is that you dont use it as a phone while it is still on your writst.
press a button on the top and bottom of the phone and the wrist band parts and the phone shape resembles a banana which you then hold up to your ear in the standard way
A wrist phone with a Bluetooth headset is not a totally stupid idea. One less gadget to carry. The wristwatch has the display needed to operate the phone.
However even with current technologies the power requirements for cellular telephony make the watch rather bulky. But having GPRS in the wrist watch makes it potentially a rather neat piece of kit, you could have your calendar, selected e-mail subjects, network monitoring etc. easily available.
But instead of carrying it all on the wrist, what I have been thinking about is placing the CPU, memory, communications stuff and powerpack in one unit that can be stashed away and then use Bluetooth to access the system. The wristwatch could have a display and a couple of buttons. All the programming is in the computing unit, which could be anything from a simple Java phone to a full computer.
For more demanding data entry use something like a chord or a foldable keyboard. To work on more than a few lines, use a HUD or a separate LCD display. To have a camera, make it separate and use the wrist display to aim and the computing unit to save pictures. Great for peeking over people's heads in a parade.
This setup would be mostly for hardcore nerds, civilians are likely to prefer simpler systems. And I see a major problem in how to power all these different devices. Having to charge half a dozen devices each night becomes a hassle at some point.
Passing airport security checks becomes more fun, too. I got my money's worth yesterday, with a cell phone, GPS, Palm, not to mention laptop, watch, keys, belt and coins.
kiravuo
Please stop.
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Please stop these kinds of rants, you make these clods look good by comparison.
And I hate you for talking on them in public. Yea, I especially mean you Ms. Jabra
Earpiece Lady. I always think you're a fucking nutcase talking to yourself until I
see that earbud. Then I just want to kick your ass.
I still think the best combination of technology was putting a watch into my phone. Now I don't have to wear a bulky chunk of metal on my wrist that only has one function.
Looks like a good start
by
RealErmine
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I've been waiting for wrist PDA/phones and was resigned to the fact that it was just a matter of time. At 3.8 x 6.4 x 1.8cm (a little larger than the Insert thru Page Down keys on a standard keyboard) this one seems a little bulky, but has some neat features like the Bluetooth connectivity and color OLED screen.
It's pretty nice for a first round attempt at a truly marketable wrist phone. I'm not sure why they made the longer dimension across the wrist and not along it. Seems it would be more comfortable in a "widescreen" format. When they are more wearer-friendly I will definitely buy one. Who doesn't want a wireless information/communication device strapped to their wrist? While they're at it, throw some biometric sensors on there for kicks! On second thought, maybe making reality more like an FPS is a bad idea for some people.
-- Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
Re:Looks like a good start
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
maybe making reality more like an FPS is a bad idea for some people.
Yeah --- they'd just spend all their time complaining that the plot was too linear and that the designer had put spiders in because he didn't have any imagination.
Wristphone
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
One of the reasons it so clunky is probably due to the fact that you take it off your wrist to use it. e.g. you use it as you would use a normal cellphone.
Lighten up on the wrist thing
by
binaryDigit
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
These wrist phones are not an attempt to "show the future" as such. They serve three purposes.
First they are tech showcases for the manufacturers. They get to show off how cool of a phone they can produce. Look how small, oooh, look at the color screens, ahhh, polyphonic ring tones and internet, geeee.
Second they are for the gadget/fashion statement crowd. These folks want the latest and greatest and they want to look cool. Utility, functionality, and ergonomics be damned.
And thirdly, and maybe most important, they bring bodies into the stores so the retailers can push their other more "mundane" wears. "Hey, lets go check out that cool wrist phone" is what they want the telcos want to hear. When you get in the door, they'll sell you that new Nokia, or that hands free kit, or that led antenna, etc.
Need a Microphone attachment that...
by
A_Non_Moose
·
· Score: 4, Funny
straps in such a way it rests in the palm.
I got a phone call...hey, it's for you...TALK TO THE HAND!!!
Or insert Vampire Hunder D reference...of course the soul sucking ability would be cool too, but I wonder if that would be good or bad for the battery life?
.
-- Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK?
(and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
Wireless earpiece?
by
st0rmshad0w
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Ok, so if it has bluetooth for a wireless ear-piece/headset thing, why exactly does it need to be a wristwatch?
At first glance it is, but it has some advantages from the normal handset with bluetooth headset support. For one, say I have my phone in my bag and my headset in my shirt pocket. If I receive a call I'd like to see who's calling before answering... rather than fishing for my phone while driving it would be way more handy to just glance at my watch(phone) at the caller ID.
It's gimmicky in some ways, but I can see the advantages for certain situations. Myself, I wear a watch all the time. I wouldn't mind if my phone was inside of it, since I wouldn't need to carry it around on my belt or in my bag then fish for it when I get a call.
-- "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Mmmm, how about they come up with a Voice-Synth caller ID feature that's integrated into the ringer?
I too wear a watch all the time, a good watch, chronograph. It's nearly indestructable and is perfect for any occasion. I can't see this watch-phone thing being better than my watch.
I'd rather see a small PDA with an integrated phone w/bluetooth (are these out? I'm heavily outta the loop). Something that lives on my belt or an eHolster is much more preferable to the wrist. And considering the beatings my watches have taken in the past, this thing would be dead in a week.
At first glance it is, but it has some advantages from the normal handset with bluetooth headset support. For one, say I have my phone in my bag and my headset in my shirt pocket. If I receive a call I'd like to see who's calling before answering... rather than fishing for my phone while driving it would be way more handy to just glance at my watch(phone) at the caller ID.
Well, you could achieve the same thing by creating a watch that is bluetooth enabled so that it is able to recieve the caller ID information from the phone. That way the same watch could be used for varying phones, and it would probably use far less battery life.
Yeah, I too shudder when I think about the durability (or lack) of this type of device. I also have a pretty damn durable watch, and over the years it's taken quite a pounding. It's outlasted several cell phones.
This might be a nice niche for a watch manufacturer to get into with a cell phone company instead of just the phone guys making a go of it themselves.
-- "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
...and provides Bluetooth connections for headsets...
By the way, samsung has actually had a wristwatch phone for a long time - since 1999. I think it's been available for sale in limited quantities in korea, but I can't verify it and the page on samsung's site that said so seems to be gone.
There's one thing the articel doesn't mention...
by
Mac+Degger
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
The DoCoMo wrist phone doesn't exactly work like you think. It's basically a clip-on phone; it clips to your wrist, and when you get a call you have to clip it off and you hold it like a regular phone (the bit which fold it on your wrist have the speaker and mic in them).
So you don't talk to your wrist, it's just a heavy ass bracelet which turns into a phone.
-- --
Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
Babe Magnet
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Is it just me or does technology keep making it easier for us geeks to stand out?
Hmmm...
I'm not sure if I would want one of these phones. It is *known* fact that any radio equpment should not be close to the body for long periods of time. That radio equpment includes even walky-talky's, what to speak of cell phones.
I'm gonna replace my ring tone....
by
mao+che+minh
·
· Score: 1
I'm gonna replace my ring tone with a sound byte of "calling Dick Tracy!".
The phones are too big & ugly. I'll stick to my digitally-controlled analog watch, thanks. As for cute laptops, check out dynamism.com, they import the best from japan.
-- Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
GSM phones generally synchronize their clocks to the network's time. Wherever you go, if there is a GSM cellular network, your cell phone watch will pick up the local time.
With a wireless earpiece ....
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
I think this is WAAAYYY cool. I mean, you don't have to carry around that bulky phone in your pocket anymore, and since it doesn't have any buttons, it probably works really well with voice dialing. True... if you're going to use text messaging this might not work too well, but otherwise.... =)
While I question the eurgonomics of such a device, I feel a solution is simple. Just join it with an ear bud.
http://www.greatbuyusa.com/product_detail.asp?pr od uct_id=MA12W-A&site=DDI http://www.functionalb.co m/watch.html http://home.kimo.com.tw/waterradio20 01/radiowatch. htm
I remember the first time I saw such a device in the early 1980's. While it was technicaly impossible to actually create a radio watch that wasn't remarkably tacky, I welcome this idea. No fear of loosing the cellphone, only your earbud.
-- There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary.
SHUT UP!
There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Data Only?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
I know of GPRS enabled phones, but I've never heard of a GPRS-Phone. Does this mean that the device is data only and voice traffic is send through the GPRS data channel? Why not include GSM? May be a mistake....who knows.
Battery Life
by
SlightlyMadman
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
The battery life on these things may not be too bad for a phone, but it's really short for a watch. With a phone, you just stick it in a cradle when you walk in the door, but with this thing you'd have to actually take off your watch in the evenings.
Wouldn't that kinda defeat the purpose of having it always available on your wrist, if you have to take it off all the time, and remember to put it on in the mornings?
--
Money I owe, money-iy-ay
on my wrist
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Halflife of this device on my wrist would be about 3 days. Then I would hit it on a doorframe or something and it would end up dead just as all my cell phones do.
The only devices sturdy enough to carry it all the time are 2-way pagers. You can drop those from several meters on a conrete floor and they survive just fine.
How many phones have you lost?
by
MrBandersnatch
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I'm on my third. I'm not particularly clumsy or forgetful, but throwing a coat down in a pub and having one too many has lost me 2 phones so far. A wristphone with a comfortable cheap bluetooth headset is an absolute boon in terms of avoiding phone loss or misplacing it. The price of a relacement headset is also less than that of a phone.
All this thing needs for it to be an absolute dream as far as Im concerned is 3G.
Just a ringer, please
by
moral+kiosk
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I'm not interested in talking into my watch.
That said, I would jump on the chance to have a wristwatch-ringer for my cellphone. Not even a tone-ringer, just vibrate. For starters, it's discreet; it eliminates the need to ever turn your ringer on in public. You feel a slight vibration on your wrist, look at your watch (which displays caller info), and decide whether to get your phone out and take the call. Secondly, it eliminates the problem of being unable to hear/feel your phone in loud and busy places. I think women who carry a phone in a purse might appreciate this even more.
-- It's so much more attractive / inside the moral kiosk.
The GPRS Wristphone is just the next evolutionary step towards the ultimate personal communication device, the GPRS Suppository.
This sleek cylindrical object requires no physical interface elements since all your needs are covered with built in Bluetooth, GPRS, and wireless power.
The GPRS Suppository is also an intimate personal area router, supplying Internet connectivity to your various hand held devices.
At last, self-conscience individuals everywhere will be free of the uncomfortable feeling of wearing Belt-Clip and Wrist-Based mobility products!
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 [phone] watches are a pretty neat idea
Calling Dick Tracy...
by
mdwong
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
... maybe in Europe or Japan, but expect the sloath-like FCC to drag it's feet when it comes to approving these things for use in the U.S.
The "slim-line" model will be released before these wrist weights will even be available to American consumers.
Why specialize this way? Small does it all
by
ianscot
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Fine, so you carry it around on your wrist. Sure looks like you don't use it there, you take it off and hold it like a... well, like a phone. Another poster backs that up. But whatever.
Aren't cells small enough now that you should be able to slip them into any number of different carrying rigs? I want one in my pocket protector, of course, or in my slide rule case... Those cool LAN people clip them onto their belts, the studs. Laptop cases should have protected, dedicated exterior pouches, people on a treadmill might want an armband strap like for their iPod, and so on...
Aside from getting a little design spark out of consumers, I don't see the pros of pushing the design in some particularly specialized direction. Sell me a $15 accessory that lets me jog with it, don't sell me a whole new phone.
-- "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
And the Answer is: Bluetooth Headset
by
kalidasa
·
· Score: 1
And the question is: "Imagine how stupid you'll look holding your wrist up to your head to talk/listen?"
Next time, geniuses, RTFA.
only works well in high density areas
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
This works better in areas with very high population density. In many north american markets there would not be enough people to support enough receivers and these devices would get only a fraction of the talk time that they are rated for. You can blame at least part of the large size of north american telephones on the larger batteries and bigger RF components designed to cover longer distances.
You know, I'd kind of like really small telephones, but I'm not willing to trade my forests and open spaces for them.
Seeing wrist-gadgets like this always makes me think of Seiko's Ruputer, which never seemed to make it to these shores. They never even bothered to make English web pages (or at least I never found them.) I noticed that Seiko has upgraded it to the Pro4 model, with a whopping 4MB RAM. Then again, the copyright notice (one of the only things I can read on that page) says 2000, so that doesn't sound so bad for then.
Michael: Kitt, Kitt, I'm in trouble!!1 Car: I'm coming Michael.
Dick Tracy, 007, Maxwall Smart, Startrek?
by
lcsjk
·
· Score: 1
Out of about 80 comments, only three or so mention Dick Tracy, who pioneered the first wrist phone. He called it a "wrist radio". Those who refer to the others (007, Startrek etc) probably have never seen a vacuum tube either.
Next step in the series of wireless products is... (Well, what does Wonder Woman use to call that invisible airplane?)
We need it now !
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0
Difference is that i do not want radiation to comme to my head !
As far as i know bluetooth radiation is very few compared to a 2W usual mobile phone.
So instead of having a 2W stuck to your head you will have it near your harm, one of the safest place the radiation;-)
And only few milliwats will go near your head (bluetooth)...
Two rings. One -- with the ear-piece -- for the thumb, another -- with the microphone -- for the pinkie.
Spread your fingers, raise them to your head and talk. The third piece -- with the antenna -- can be somewhere else on the body, like some other form of jewelry (belly chain, or an ancle bracelet).
The pieces will communicate with the antenna over something very short-range, like bluetooth.
The dialing done by rotating the little dial (!) on one of the rings or something. Click the rings together to hangup -- or to answer a call...
When it happens, just remember. You read it here first.
All you guys are doing is complaining about something you didn't even take the time to read. I read 80% of the posts to this summarized as "It's too difficult to use", "I don't wanna look like a nut holding my wrist to my ear". For christ sake guys we've been palming small objects to our ears for years. And it supports Bluetooth and has a built in speakerphone so the most your ever gonna be doing is talk into your watch. Fools, read the goddamn article so you can at least reserve the right to an educated opinion/rant on why it sucks. Snooge,
"A hacker is someone who derives joy in circumventing limitations".
So what happens when you get a huge tumor on your wrist from having a cell phone strapped to it 24/7? Or do we "not go there" with the whole cancer from cell phones thing anymore.
Hey, I don't want to have a clunky wristphone slowing me down!
Where is my waterproof, robust, bluetooth containing, Wifi internet searchable, buzzword compliant RingPhone(TM) with fold out 152 dpi 24 bit color screen?
What happened to 'practical?' Or 'usable?'
by
KC7GR
·
· Score: 1
The ongoing scorning of practicality and usability, in favor of fluff and glitter, never ceases to amaze me where the cellphone manufacturers are concerned. It seems to go hand-in-hand with their delusion that "Smaller is Always Better!"
Consider: An awful lot (heck, most) of the portable phones made today have keypads that Tinkerbell would have trouble working with, and they just seem to be getting smaller. Anyone with large hands (like me!) is going to have trouble with pressing only a single key. I question whether voice-recognition technology is far enough along to make up for it.
I dread to think what the keypad on these wristphones is going to be like. I doubt that anyone with hands bigger than a midget's will be able to use the thing effectively.
And what about people who are visually impaired, like my wife? We've been looking for a decent cellphone for her for three years now. Nothing that's in the 'consumer' arena will work because she needs an all-black background with bright-white legends on the keys to even be able to see the thing, and said legends need to be bold print to boot.
It would be dead easy for the cellphone makers to turn something like that out, but no... They seem much more concerned with making their products into fashion statements instead of the useful tools they can be.
And how about mobile safety? There are far too many people on the road right now who seem to never have heard the phrase "hands-free kit," let alone installed one. How safe is some driver going to be who suddenly sticks their wrist up to their face to answer a call?
This whole idea seems to me to be another of those points where I have to ask 'Just because we CAN do this with our technology, SHOULD it be done?'
To put it another way, I'd really like to see the makers of this expensive toy devote their resources to something that can actually be USED instead.
Rotate the band 180 degrees, so the watch is on the inside of your wrist. I learned that trick in the navy, so it wouldn't be smashing into bulkheads and coamings. Easier to see, definitely easier to hear. In fact, you can pretend you are scratching your head and nobody can tell the difference unless you want to talk also.
Slashdot Mirror
This sounds pretty neat, but is it really necessary? I mean, talking into your wrist like your 007 or something.
I guess the next step is to have a badge on our left breast that we hit and say "beam me up!"
...are a yellow coat and fedora, and I'm good to go.
The coolest voice ever.
Imagine calling someone by accident whilst exercising your wrist.
"What, mom?! No, I was just churning butter, honest!"
Harald
Putting your wrist up next to your head and talking? In modern society, that's a good way to checkin to the closest nuthouse.
Seriously, though, I hate to go into the 'fashion aspect', but putting my wrist up to my ear (otherwise, who else is listening to the conversation?) isn't my idea of the coolest way to show off new technology. Maybe if it had an earpiece (wireless?) it could work, but as is, no thanks.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Technology advances in leaps and bounds. A wristwatch with a battery life that measures in days and allows people can look like complete fools by holding it up to their ears and talking to it.
... plus a very cute wireless sub-notebook.
Yea, based on Windows CE.NET 4... Real cute.
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Now I can run around muttering "I need you buddy!" into my watch.
Am I underwhelmed by the idea of Wristphones. Now that cool thing DoCoMo was working on awhile back where you could use your hand as a phone (you know, how you look when you mime talking on the phone), now that was friggen cool. Whatever happened to that anyway?
(/local/home/curiosity)-#who -u|grep thecat|cut -c 44-49|xargs kill -9
...not feel a little stupid talking to thier wrists?
Here is a google news summary of the articles about wrist phones!
Cool gadget. But, I wonder why it took them this long to come up with something like this!
In near feature similar devices may also include holographic projector, wi-fi connectivity and those Philips disks that can hold GBs of data. (and a big cell in the users backpack)
Freedom, at last.
It seems they provided just enough information to peak peoples curiosity, have the privacy fanatics reaching for their aluminum foil and sending massive traffic to The Register, again.
Hang on, isn't the shoe phone supposed to precede the wrist phone in the psuedo-spy tech tree??
It only makes sense.
After all, it's only within the past month that I signed both my wife and myself up for two years of new service, locking us out of upgrading for a while.
To all those who are planning to get a wristphone: You're welcome.
It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
I hope I'm not the only one to note that a watch is not the best place for such tech? I mean... your hands are used to do some crazy stuff (uh.. i didn't mean that) such as... washing in water, bathroom stuff, eating, handling large objects, and so on.
So why put hundreds of dollars worth of equipment a mere inch away from the most active part of the body and risk damage? Why not just make an all in one wireless device that you put in your pocket somewhere that does everything instead? Do we really need this all on our wrists (not to mention that they do look pretty big, and wearing something clunky on my wrist isn't exactly a good thing either).
Kinda reminds me about a scene in a movie... (Spy Kids 2) where the boy gets a wrist watch that has everything a movie spy ever needs, pushing a button will expand the thing into a massive gargle of everythingness with a sat dish, scanning devices, keyboard, holo projected screen, everything and the kitchensink...
but no time. The inventor comments that he didn't have room to fit in the time on the watch.
I wouldn't be surprised if that happened one day.
Ok, I've suffered through a bag phone (first commonly available cell phones, still have it, too!) and has a succession of ever decreasing sized cell phones and they generally were easier to use, mostly due to form factor and weight. But think about something on your wrist for a moment, try holding your wristwatch up to your cheek as if you were talking into it and listening to it. Awkward, right? A hand-held cell phone is easy, since fingers place it as just the right distance so your elbow can remain close to your body and you're balanced and not smacking into things with your elbow. Try walking a few steps with your wrist near your mouth and notice (unless your arm doesn't match typical proportion, apologies for my insensitive clodness) it's awkward. It may have looked good for Dick Tracy, but without plugging a mini headset into such a thing I think it's not as good. Now, maybe if it were removable from the wrist band with a small twisting interlock you'd have something. <- Please note, all you patent hungry monsters, this idea has been publicly discussed and represents prior art, so fsck off.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
2002 01 20 Monday.
Actually 2002 01 20 was a sunday.
All this technology, but they can't get the day right.
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
I still think the best combination of technology was putting a watch into my phone. Now I don't have to wear a bulky chunk of metal on my wrist that only has one function.
I've been waiting for wrist PDA/phones and was resigned to the fact that it was just a matter of time. At 3.8 x 6.4 x 1.8cm (a little larger than the Insert thru Page Down keys on a standard keyboard) this one seems a little bulky, but has some neat features like the Bluetooth connectivity and color OLED screen.
It's pretty nice for a first round attempt at a truly marketable wrist phone. I'm not sure why they made the longer dimension across the wrist and not along it. Seems it would be more comfortable in a "widescreen" format. When they are more wearer-friendly I will definitely buy one. Who doesn't want a wireless information/communication device strapped to their wrist? While they're at it, throw some biometric sensors on there for kicks! On second thought, maybe making reality more like an FPS is a bad idea for some people.
Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
One of the reasons it so clunky is probably due to the fact that you take it off your wrist to use it. e.g. you use it as you would use a normal cellphone.
These wrist phones are not an attempt to "show the future" as such. They serve three purposes.
First they are tech showcases for the manufacturers. They get to show off how cool of a phone they can produce. Look how small, oooh, look at the color screens, ahhh, polyphonic ring tones and internet, geeee.
Second they are for the gadget/fashion statement crowd. These folks want the latest and greatest and they want to look cool. Utility, functionality, and ergonomics be damned.
And thirdly, and maybe most important, they bring bodies into the stores so the retailers can push their other more "mundane" wears. "Hey, lets go check out that cool wrist phone" is what they want the telcos want to hear. When you get in the door, they'll sell you that new Nokia, or that hands free kit, or that led antenna, etc.
straps in such a way it rests in the palm.
I got a phone call...hey, it's for you...TALK TO THE HAND!!!
Or insert Vampire Hunder D reference...of course the soul sucking ability would be cool too, but I wonder if that would be good or bad for the battery life?
.
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
Ok, so if it has bluetooth for a wireless ear-piece/headset thing, why exactly does it need to be a wristwatch?
This is too gimicky to be practical in my book.
have been out for a long time now...
...and provides Bluetooth connections for headsets...
By the way, samsung has actually had a wristwatch phone for a long time - since 1999. I think it's been available for sale in limited quantities in korea, but I can't verify it and the page on samsung's site that said so seems to be gone.
Buttsex.
"hello, Agent 99. Agent 99?" ..."
"PhXx pejjdd"
"Whoops, wrong shoe
The DoCoMo wrist phone doesn't exactly work like you think. It's basically a clip-on phone; it clips to your wrist, and when you get a call you have to clip it off and you hold it like a regular phone (the bit which fold it on your wrist have the speaker and mic in them).
So you don't talk to your wrist, it's just a heavy ass bracelet which turns into a phone.
-- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
Is it just me or does technology keep making it easier for us geeks to stand out? Hmmm...
Good luck getting a service provider here in the states. If you buy it now, you MIGHT be able to use it by 2006...
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" -- Homer Simpson
Plus side - Having a wrist phone would be pretty cool. Be nicer if it was 3g with a video phone, of course.
Minus side - I like a keypad. Texting on these things will be a pain, and since about 70% of my mobile comms is text based, this is a big issue.
Can you imaging if the device comes with a booster antenna that you can put on your other hand? Say on the finger.
Now you have the phone arm bent to have it closer to the face and the other arm in the air. You now look like you're in the "Staying Alive" video.
It's a conspiracy to bring back disco I tells ya.
Phoenix
-- Wiccan Army, 13th Airborne Division "We will not fly silently into the night"
I'm not sure if I would want one of these phones. It is *known* fact that any radio equpment should not be close to the body for long periods of time. That radio equpment includes even walky-talky's, what to speak of cell phones.
Boy I'm a geek.
"KITT!!! I need ya buddy!"
The phones are too big & ugly. I'll stick to my digitally-controlled analog watch, thanks. As for cute laptops, check out dynamism.com, they import the best from japan.
Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
Where are the watches that will dynamically change time depending on what time zone you are in? I need that way more the a phone on my wrist!
I think this is WAAAYYY cool. I mean, you don't have to carry around that bulky phone in your pocket anymore, and since it doesn't have any buttons, it probably works really well with voice dialing. True... if you're going to use text messaging this might not work too well, but otherwise.... =)
While I question the eurgonomics of such a device, I feel a solution is simple. Just join it with an ear bud.
r od uct_id=MA12W-A&site=DDIo m/watch.html0 01/radiowatch. htm
http://www.greatbuyusa.com/product_detail.asp?p
http://www.functionalb.c
http://home.kimo.com.tw/waterradio2
I remember the first time I saw such a device in the early 1980's. While it was technicaly impossible to actually create a radio watch that wasn't remarkably tacky, I welcome this idea. No fear of loosing the cellphone, only your earbud.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
I know of GPRS enabled phones, but I've never heard of a GPRS-Phone. Does this mean that the device is data only and voice traffic is send through the GPRS data channel? Why not include GSM? May be a mistake....who knows.
The battery life on these things may not be too bad for a phone, but it's really short for a watch. With a phone, you just stick it in a cradle when you walk in the door, but with this thing you'd have to actually take off your watch in the evenings.
Wouldn't that kinda defeat the purpose of having it always available on your wrist, if you have to take it off all the time, and remember to put it on in the mornings?
Money I owe, money-iy-ay
Halflife of this device on my wrist would be about 3 days. Then I would hit it on a doorframe or something and it would end up dead just as all my cell phones do.
The only devices sturdy enough to carry it all the time are 2-way pagers. You can drop those from several meters on a conrete floor and they survive just fine.
All this thing needs for it to be an absolute dream as far as Im concerned is 3G.
I'm not interested in talking into my watch.
That said, I would jump on the chance to have a wristwatch-ringer for my cellphone. Not even a tone-ringer, just vibrate. For starters, it's discreet; it eliminates the need to ever turn your ringer on in public. You feel a slight vibration on your wrist, look at your watch (which displays caller info), and decide whether to get your phone out and take the call. Secondly, it eliminates the problem of being unable to hear/feel your phone in loud and busy places. I think women who carry a phone in a purse might appreciate this even more.
It's so much more attractive / inside the moral kiosk.
you hit your hand on something, and if your like me, some words are heard that children should not repeat, let alone hear...
;)
does this generate a 'busy' signal?
This sleek cylindrical object requires no physical interface elements since all your needs are covered with built in Bluetooth, GPRS, and wireless power.
The GPRS Suppository is also an intimate personal area router, supplying Internet connectivity to your various hand held devices.
At last, self-conscience individuals everywhere will be free of the uncomfortable feeling of wearing Belt-Clip and Wrist-Based mobility products!
There will be drawers filled with these things by the end of the school year.
It was me, bob, that guy you hate.
Assholes like you should be fired.
Oh, and like information, my Penis wants to be free!
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 [phone] watches are a pretty neat idea
... maybe in Europe or Japan, but expect the sloath-like FCC to drag it's feet when it comes to approving these things for use in the U.S. The "slim-line" model will be released before these wrist weights will even be available to American consumers.
Aren't cells small enough now that you should be able to slip them into any number of different carrying rigs? I want one in my pocket protector, of course, or in my slide rule case... Those cool LAN people clip them onto their belts, the studs. Laptop cases should have protected, dedicated exterior pouches, people on a treadmill might want an armband strap like for their iPod, and so on...
Aside from getting a little design spark out of consumers, I don't see the pros of pushing the design in some particularly specialized direction. Sell me a $15 accessory that lets me jog with it, don't sell me a whole new phone.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
And the question is: "Imagine how stupid you'll look holding your wrist up to your head to talk/listen?"
Next time, geniuses, RTFA.
This works better in areas with very high population density. In many north american markets there would not be enough people to support enough receivers and these devices would get only a fraction of the talk time that they are rated for. You can blame at least part of the large size of north american telephones on the larger batteries and bigger RF components designed to cover longer distances.
You know, I'd kind of like really small telephones, but I'm not willing to trade my forests and open spaces for them.
Seeing wrist-gadgets like this always makes me think of Seiko's Ruputer, which never seemed to make it to these shores. They never even bothered to make English web pages (or at least I never found them.) I noticed that Seiko has upgraded it to the Pro4 model, with a whopping 4MB RAM. Then again, the copyright notice (one of the only things I can read on that page) says 2000, so that doesn't sound so bad for then.
Can it communicate with my car ?
Michael: Kitt, Kitt, I'm in trouble!!1
Car: I'm coming Michael.
Out of about 80 comments, only three or so mention Dick Tracy, who pioneered the first wrist phone. He called it a "wrist radio". Those who refer to the others (007, Startrek etc) probably have never seen a vacuum tube either.
Next step in the series of wireless products is... (Well, what does Wonder Woman use to call that invisible airplane?)
Difference is that i do not want radiation to comme to my head !
;-)
...
:o)
As far as i know bluetooth radiation is very few compared to a 2W usual mobile phone.
So instead of having a 2W stuck to your head you will have it near your harm, one of the safest place the radiation
And only few milliwats will go near your head (bluetooth)
I know what i will order to i-santa
-SLK
The dialing done by rotating the little dial (!) on one of the rings or something. Click the rings together to hangup -- or to answer a call...
When it happens, just remember. You read it here first.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
For instance, does it have a clock?
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
now i can wipe my nose while pretending to be talking on phone!
All you guys are doing is complaining about something you didn't even take the time to read. I read 80% of the posts to this summarized as "It's too difficult to use", "I don't wanna look like a nut holding my wrist to my ear". For christ sake guys we've been palming small objects to our ears for years. And it supports Bluetooth and has a built in speakerphone so the most your ever gonna be doing is talk into your watch. Fools, read the goddamn article so you can at least reserve the right to an educated opinion/rant on why it sucks. Snooge, "A hacker is someone who derives joy in circumventing limitations".
what do ya do with that little antenna to resonate 80 meter transmissions on:-)
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B - D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
So what happens when you get a huge tumor on your wrist from having a cell phone strapped to it 24/7?
Or do we "not go there" with the whole cancer from cell phones thing anymore.
Here a Sig There a Sig Everywhere a Sig Sig...
Hey, I don't want to have a clunky wristphone slowing me down!
Where is my waterproof, robust, bluetooth containing, Wifi internet searchable, buzzword compliant RingPhone(TM) with fold out 152 dpi 24 bit color screen?
Then I can make a call and look like Mini-Me !
The ongoing scorning of practicality and usability, in favor of fluff and glitter, never ceases to amaze me where the cellphone manufacturers are concerned. It seems to go hand-in-hand with their delusion that "Smaller is Always Better!"
Consider: An awful lot (heck, most) of the portable phones made today have keypads that Tinkerbell would have trouble working with, and they just seem to be getting smaller. Anyone with large hands (like me!) is going to have trouble with pressing only a single key. I question whether voice-recognition technology is far enough along to make up for it.
I dread to think what the keypad on these wristphones is going to be like. I doubt that anyone with hands bigger than a midget's will be able to use the thing effectively.
And what about people who are visually impaired, like my wife? We've been looking for a decent cellphone for her for three years now. Nothing that's in the 'consumer' arena will work because she needs an all-black background with bright-white legends on the keys to even be able to see the thing, and said legends need to be bold print to boot.
It would be dead easy for the cellphone makers to turn something like that out, but no... They seem much more concerned with making their products into fashion statements instead of the useful tools they can be.
And how about mobile safety? There are far too many people on the road right now who seem to never have heard the phrase "hands-free kit," let alone installed one. How safe is some driver going to be who suddenly sticks their wrist up to their face to answer a call?
This whole idea seems to me to be another of those points where I have to ask 'Just because we CAN do this with our technology, SHOULD it be done?'
To put it another way, I'd really like to see the makers of this expensive toy devote their resources to something that can actually be USED instead.
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
....may day ravers already wear wristphones.o /laite/progres s_30_04_2003/slides/DSC04394.html
http://sinirinta.sigmatic.fi/~techn
Rotate the band 180 degrees, so the watch is on the inside of your wrist. I learned that trick in the navy, so it wouldn't be smashing into bulkheads and coamings. Easier to see, definitely easier to hear. In fact, you can pretend you are scratching your head and nobody can tell the difference unless you want to talk also.
Infuriate left and right
Now I can control my giant robot! --TRR
the wrist on your phone is looting YOU!!!