Hasta La Gadget!

Crystals and technology: it’s a marriage I’ve been exploring for almost a month. Now Swarovski has knocked it out of the park once again with the D:light, a sparkly bracelet that turns into a digital watch. Just touch a button and this bangle displays the time.

There are two flavors of this essential accessory: the D:light 1003142 is gold and sells for $1,700. The D:light 1003141 is stainless steel and lists for a much more reasonable $1,500. Both have Swiss quartz movements, measure 1 3/8 x 2 1/4 inches, and feature 171 shiny crystals.

If this guy looks serious, it’s because he is — serious about bringing you some awesome watch phones. Canadian firm Neutrano is working with Chinese OEMs to import, tweak, and certify some of those watch phones that we’ve unfortunately been spending more time reading about than actually using — and while they aren’t going to appeal to everyone, the stainless steel version is the closest thing we’ve seen to something we’d consider wearing this side of an LG. Fans of chunky, stylish wristwatches should be able to pass it off as a fashion statement of sorts — your friends don’t even have to know it’s a phone, really. When you get a call, the thing’s got to come off your wrist and be held up to your ear unless you’ve got a Bluetooth headset ready to rock, but worry not: Neutrano’s also showing a model of its Nutec WristFone that pops off at the base of the wristband so you don’t need to unstrap it from your wrist. You pay for that convenience with some extra bulk (and we’d argue that this is the geekiest, ugliest model of the bunch), but we’ll admit, it’s pretty trick. Everything’s controlled over touchscreen; you’ve got character recognition for entering text messages and a row of shortcuts silkscreened across the bottom of the display, and the detachable model also features an integrated keypad (think Casio calculator watch) to make entering phone numbers a little less painful. Neutrano is targeting June for these at a price somewhere between $300 and $400, and the company’s president is still actively deciding on colors, band styles, and software features, so sound off in comments if you’ve got any hot ideas for ’em. Oh, and check some video of the phones in action after the break!

Continue reading Neutrano’s Nutec WristFone watch phones at CTIA

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

Neutrano’s Nutec WristFone watch phones at CTIA originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not saying that this ¥9,980 ($100) OTAS watch with built-in pinhole-sized video camera and 8GB of flash memory can’t be used for constructive endeavors. Hell, maybe you’ll use it to ferret out corruption at the highest levels of government. Maybe the 80 minute, 352 x 288 pixel video you shoot provides the irrefutable evidence needed to put away a hardened criminal. We’re just saying we doubt it. Video sample and more pics after the break.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Video: OTAS camera watch for tardy office pervs

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Wearables

Video: OTAS camera watch for tardy office pervs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Know what comes with exclusivity? Price gouging. Word has it that Orange’s little European exclusive on LG’s touch-screen G910 watchphone with HSDPA data will result in a £1,000 / €1,144 price per. That directly translates to about $1,500 but, as these things generally go, it will likely be priced closer to $1,000 (without tax) whenever it lands Stateside. With contract, however, you’ll be handing over £500 and then £40 per month for what we suspect will be the next two years. Such is the life of the early adopter.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

LG’s G910 watchphone to cost £1,000? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember what LG did at CES last year? Those crafty sons of guns showed off a shockingly decent-looking concept watch phone that ended up seeing a production announcement exactly one year later. Not to be outdone by its crosstown rival, Samsung came to MWC this year with a timeline showing its nearly decade-long history of designing and selling watch phones — and interestingly, the rightmost entry in the timeline was dated “2009.” We couldn’t get any solid information on the GT-S1100, but like LG’s GD910, the device features a full touchscreen, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone (probably a good thing for a phone you can’t put up to your ear without getting a lot of odd looks). ‘Course, in all likelihood, this is just another chapter in the book of Samsung heartbreak — it’ll either never see production or get released by precisely one carrier in precisely one country, then promptly fade into oblivion — but it’s looking awfully production-friendly. Same time, same place next year, Sammy — just make sure you guys bring something more than a dummy behind a glass case this time, k?

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

Samsung teases wrists with GT-S1100 watch at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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