The Orange LG Watchphone went on sale a few months back and has been selling like hotcakes.
Now, if you think the concept of a watchphone sounds a little odd, you’re probably too young to remember David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider – he was always talking to his car using his watch. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Anyway, the concept obviously appealed to a fair few people, as the Orange LG Watchphone sold like hotcakes after going on sale in a Bond Street shop. Buyers travelled from all over Europe to get their mitts on it. Ben from Surrey told us, ‘I’m here to buy the Watchphone for my brother. He’s been waiting two years to get one.’ Bless.
It’s been called a ‘miracle of miniaturisation’ and ‘the ultimate boys’ toy’. Just a shame there isn’t one left for the Hoff…
What's the craziest gadget you have seen? Let us know in the comments section....
As we promised yesterday, here's our video report from the grand opening of Orange's Multimedia Store in Milton Keynes. Outside the weather was grey, but inside, this ground-breaking store proved to be one hell of a mood-lifter.
We chatted to excited shop staff, the very first customer and took part in creating the world's largest virtual Mexican wave, using the store's HUGE interactive screen.
We've been leaving a trail of teaser photos since August, but now we can reveal that Orange's first ever Multimedia Store is open for business.
As you read, we're there talking to the first customers and finding out what they think of this one-of-a-kind store. Keep your eyes peeled for our video tomorrow.
We first visited a long time ago, well before the transformation was complete. It was a veritable bomb site as the old store was stripped back to the bare bones.
But it's come a long way since. Last week, it was really starting to take shape and the team worked like Trojans to make it happen.
Designed to encourage people to interact and have fun with technology using their mobile phones, the Multimedia Store is stuffed full of toys and gadgets to play with.
As you enter, you immediately come across a large cinema area. Pull up a pew here to watch product demos and videos of Orange events, like the recent Orange RockCorps gig.
To your left is a floor-to-ceiling interactive screen; one of the biggest in the UK. Take part in creating the world's largest virtual Mexican wave by asking a member of staff to record you doing your wave. Shortly afterwards you'll see yourself up on the screen, along with all the other wavers. Here's some testing going on.
Further into the store are a selection of spanky handsets hanging down from different pods, just ripe for you to get testing. They're helpfully divided into categories, so social media mavens, film fans, music addicts and those on the move and in need of sat nav, can all find recommendations right for their needs.
There's also a games pod, where you can use a mobile phone to play computer games on a large TV screen, and a whole counter of phones, laptops and accessories to browse.
We think it's a great success, but the proof will be in the pudding when we talk to people visiting the store today. And we can't wait to show you their reactions :)
Sight. Sound. Smell. Touch. Taste. The five senses. As integral to us as the very air we breathe. They are at the heart of how we perceive the world, how we make decisions and communicate. But human kind has also amassed reams of knowledge, now stored on the internet, that we regularly access using our mobile phones and computers.
The remarkable SixthSense prototype joins up all that 'found' data, with the more intangible information gained from our five senses, so we can interact with it in a natural, intuitive way using hand gestures. So how does it do this?
SixthSense has a mini projector, a camera and a mirror worn around your neck. These connect up to a mobile computer that sits in your pocket. Any surface from a wall to your hand, can be projected onto, to be your 'computer screen'. The camera recognises and tracks your hand gestures and other objects around you.
On your fingers you wear coloured markers (red, green, blue and yellow on your thumb and index fingers), so the camera can track and stream the movement of your fingers. It looks like this...
Just some of the things it can do are projecting live news reports onto a newspaper...
Resizing and sorting photos using a framing gesture on a wall...
Or using your hand as a mobile phone interface...
We must admit, SixthSense has blown our minds a little bit. You see, when we use a laptop or mobile phone, we are physically adapting our own movements to the machine so we can get to the information we need. But with SixthSense we can use natural movements and gestures to do the same thing, all the while combining it with the constant blips and whirrs we're receiving from our eyes, ears, tongues, nostrils and skin.
We admit, there's a touch of the Hollywoods here with allusions to the film Minority Report, but using our bodies in such an expressive way in relation to what is essentially dry old meta data, is a huge leap forward in the way we communicate with each other and perceive the world around us.
We love it. And if you do too, then trust us, you'll be hooked by the video above, unveiling SixthSense and what it can do, from TED.com.
Here you go. Some fab fun links to see in the weekend.
The big tech story this week is of course Twitter's collapse in a massive, super-organised hack attack. It also rocked Facebook, LiveJournal and YouTube.
Apparently, it's been discovered, all the attacks were centered on one person. - a blogger from the Republic Of Georgia.
In the real world, the new Peter Jackson sci-fi film District 9 is getting a lot of buzz. It's like true, old school science fiction too. Watch the trailer.
Monday morning brings us a neat little gizmo for the gadget fans out there.
Step forward the GSM Remote Control Switch. It is assigned its own mobile phone number, connects up to the GSM mobile network and allows you to switch household systems on or off with a single call or text.
Plug the wireless remote control into your chosen system and a call from a landline or mobile will activate (or deactivate) the device it's connected to.
Inside are two independent relay switches, so by sending a text you can either programme the remote to switch on for a set length of time (up to 18 hours), or you can tell it to stay switched on or off permanently.
A geeky look at the insides...
So you could plug the remote into your TV, heating or lighting systems. In fact, why make the choice? Get a job lot and your house will be three phone calls away from being the most warm, welcoming and well lit place on the street.
Working on any network from anywhere in the world as long as you can pick up a signal, we think the remote is truly awesome. Not only that but it's proof, once again, that our mobile phones are the key ingredient to lifestyle convenience, now and in the future.
Do you think it's something you can see yourself using? Leave us a comment :)
The boys over at the Orange Newsroom have been playing James Bond with the LG Watchphone. Check out their demo video of this most futuristic of handsets... or should that be a 'wristset'? ;)
You're at Glastonbury. It's getting late. You've been throwing some spectacular shapes in the dance tent and now you need to find your mates. But you can't cos your mobile battery has gone the way of the dodo. Do you:
a) Climb on the shoulders of a very tall person and scour the site from your vertiginous vantage point.
b) Hit the bars and hope your mates swing by that way for a nightcap.
It's obviously C, although options A and B have their advantages ;-)
Watch our video of the Orange Power Pump phone charger at work. It combines a common-or-garden foot pump with a turbine pack to charge up your handset, which is not only eco-friendly, but pretty nifty too.
If you gotta be stuck in a muddy field then surely this is the quirkiest and coolest way to keep in contact.
