Return of the TV Wristwatch

An anonymous reader writes "20 years after the Seiko TV watch, another Asian firm has given it another go. The Globe and Mail in Canada got their hands on the NHJ TV Watch and have posted a review. The writer thinks it's still just way too huge to be a watch but is still impressed."

Comments

what a great idea!

[conJunk]

it's not like those of us who are actually trying to walk anywhere aren't already constantly dodging distracted pedestrians who's eyes are glued to the adverts on the bus shelters, instead of looking where they're going

this is the sort of handy contraption that makes daily life for the rest of us that much more exciting!

What is it with these watches....

[gorre]

I really don't understand what it is with geeks and these big ugly plastic watches! Personally I just like a very simple analog wristwatch.

Who would want to watch TV on their wrist?

[autopr0n]

The Seiko thing is a pretty amazing piece of engineering for the time, IMO. But who would want to sit there staring at their wrist for more then a few seconds. I mean, after a couple minutes wouldn't your arm get tired?

Why not make some "eyephones", not to be so gibsonesq, but wouldn't a small monitor suspended a few inches from your face make a lot more sense for 'ultraportable' TV?

bah

[abscondment]

TV on a watch is a waste of time. Shrink down a PDA and give me wireless access and then I'll give you a thought.

Cell phones

[awhelan]

Cell phones have become the piece of technology that everyone wants to show their friends now. A lot of people even use them as a replacement for their watches. There may be a market for cell phone TV's, but I can't see anybody buying this.

The beginning of the end?

[Synesthesiatic]

Aside from the woman-repelling aesthetic, I wonder how much longer over-the-air TV will even be available. It seems like it's on the way out, with cell phones slowing creeping into its airspace.

Without broadcast TV, gadgets like this would be useless, and perhaps replaced by those same next-gen cell phones (with an expensive TV subscription plan of course).

Making progress

[Lord_Dweomer]

Yeah...its still too huge, but its still a helluva lot smaller, and doesn't have a wire that has to go up your sleeve to the battery pack/antenna strapped to your arm. Fact is, there's been a lot of progress and once they've really worked out these flexible OLED displays, we will start to truly see a lot more miniaturization, as the display is the largest part of most of todays electronics.

Re:Don't like the trend

[John Harrison]

I want a watch that tells the time and just tells the time. A cell phone that only makes calls. A keyboard without Internet Keys. Why do I end up paying a premium for these simple devices? :(

Please note that you are not forced to purchase this TV watch. You can buy a watch that just tells time at any number of stores. In fact, I understand that they are rather common and have gotten less expensive over time.

As far as the cell phone goes, I want one that can receive calls as well, and find the fact that mine can store numbers to be very useful. Oddly enough each cell phone I have purchased it less expensive than the previous one and superior in every way.

I have an IBM Model M keyboard that just had its tenth birthday. Why pay a premium for a new keyboard when you can just keep using your existing keyboard? If you want one, head to your local thrift store.

As with all gadgets...

[WormholeFiend]

The usage bottleneck is still the battery... limited to one hour of tv in this instance.

Another product for the same old sports niche

[ianscot]

Wow, a portable video player with a tiny, tiny screen. This one, rather than storing stuff on a HD, limits you to VHF and UHF signals -- so I guess it's in a different niche than the various "iPod killers" we see coming down the pike lately.

Instead it's the "I want to hear (and kinda squint to watch) the broadcast while I'm at the game" niche. This has the same appeal as an old lug-it-to-the-game TV from 1980ish. The article's right: it's for the "news/sports junkie" and that's about it. Only, of course, news junkies want CNN and sports junkies want ESPN, neither of which'll come in.

What this article mainly does is impress me with the product Seiko made 20 years ago. The market for the new version isn't any better now -- if anything it's smaller, because people don't think of broadcast signals as the entire universe of TV any more. Eh (shrugs).

Ugly...

[jcostantino]

So it's basically just an ultra-miniature TV with a digital watch tacked on to it. TV doesn't rule my life as much as knowing what time it is.

I bought a new watch from Swatch, mechanical, autowinder, sweep second hand, aluminum band, skeleton front and back, 21 jewels, etc... awesome watch for $125.

I would rather have a nice watch that tells time and lives for more than 1 hour of use. This TV watch (both old and new, actually) seem to be for people with way too much disposable income.

Wow, the thing is huge!

[Judg3]

I used to have a Timex BeepWear Pro, and let me tell you - that thing wore out it's welcome real fast. It was 3 times the thickness of a normal watch, larger overall then a normal watch, and took 3 batteries which lasted about a month. I think I wore it for about 5-6 weeks before finally getting rid of it.
It just screamed "I'm a geek!" and was way to cumbersome to be useful.
From the looks of this TV watch, it would be the same way. Neat toy for a few hours/days, then relegated to the drawer of forgotten tech

TiVo?

[MellieMel]

Why do we need this? Seriously. What do you have to watch that is so time-critical that you MUST see it real-time? The News? What self-respecting geek watches TV news, when there's Google? Sports? Use a radio, check the scores online, or go to a sports bar.

If there's something on that I want to see, but will be out of the house for, I just TiVo it. If I wanted to be low-tech about it, I could use my trusty VCR to tape it. Either way, I can watch Good Eats when I get home. I see no reason to carry a postage-stamp-sized TV with me. Are y'all that addicted to Jerry Springer?