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OK then, just putting it out there …. What with all the news on both the LG and Samsung Watchphones (you should be able to get the Orange one this week for about £500), I was just wondering, does anyone actually want one?
The device is a puzzler for me, because although I can see the somewhat sentimental idea of emulating TV Series such as Knight Rider (Michael could call KITT on his watch), in actuality I don’t think the device will be hugely practical.
For instance, are LG and Samsung hoping that people will defect from their normal mobile device? No chance. So is it a second device (with less functionality than the primary device)? Erm, no.
In which case is then just a gimmick for rich geeks to flash to people? Maybe. But that’s hardly an addressable market segment is it! I can also understand the idea of a PoC (proof of concept) for future crossover devices, but other than that, I think the watchphone is somewhat of an oddity.
Personally, I gave up wearing up a watch when I started using a mobile device, because of the on-board clock – now that many mobile devices use network time sync to keep their time accurate, they are in fact better than many watches that are out there – so for me the whole concept is a retrograde step.
But hey ho, I’m sure it will do some sort of ‘niche volumes’ in the outlets where it is carried. But if I wanted a relatively uncommon device that had a nice hardware ID, I’d be looking to spend the same money on eBay (or similar), looking for one of the Nokia 8xxx series devices.
You can read about the LG device here, and the Samsung device here.
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
