LAS VEGAS (AP) " It looks like Dick Tracy may finally get his wristwatch cell phone, the one that does video calls.
LG Electronics Inc. plans to introduce a wrist phone later this year, giving reality a chance of catching up with the comic-strip hero who famously used a two-way "Wrist TV."
Several manufacturers already make wristwatch phones, but the LG model would likely be the first that can do video calls. It has a built-in camera and full cellular broadband capabilities, the company announced Wednesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show. No price was disclosed.
As demonstrated by LG's chief technology officer, Woo Paik, the phone is slightly more than half an inch thick and has a touch-screen interface with three buttons. It offers two hours of talk time on a single charge, Paik said.
LG didn't announce a U.S. carrier partner Wednesday, and no U.S. carrier sells any of the existing wristwatch phones. However, LG is one of the largest phone suppliers to U.S. carriers, and the wrist phone would be compatible with AT&T's network, so it could come to the U.S.
Neutrano Inc., a small Canadian manufacturer, was also at the show to demonstrate a wristwatch phone. It also has a touch screen, but lacks a camera and broadband capabilities. It will cost between $250 and $300, the company said.
With its tiny screen and short battery life, a wristwatch phone would be more suitable as a second phone, complementing more fully featured devices. U.S. carriers so far haven't attempted to sell more than one phone to each customer, and their plans and billing systems aren't designed for this. But in Europe, it's not uncommon to have several different phones for different occasions.
"Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer.
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SlotPhones combine a headset with a MP3 player
LAS VEGAS (AP) " A new model of headphones can play MP3s themselves, without connecting to a separate device.
Hauppauge, New York-based Adrenaline Technologies LLC is releasing SlotPhones, a pair of wraparound Bluetooth headphones that work as a standalone MP3 player if you insert a song-filled microSD memory card into a tiny slot on the side. The product also serves as a stereo Bluetooth headset that can receive calls and music from your cell phone.
Adrenaline Technologies showed the lightweight, collapsible gadget this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show, and expects it to be available in the second quarter for about $130.
The SlotPhones name echoes that of the recently released slotMusic format supported by SanDisk Corp., four major record labels and retailers Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. SlotMusic comes on 1-gigabyte microSD cards loaded with music free of copy protections. Some full-length albums are being sold in this format " and now they can be played on SlotPhones.
"Rachel Metz, AP Technology Writer.
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Toshiba to expand the powers of the TV set-top box
LAS VEGAS (AP) " Toshiba Corp. is planning to use the Cell processor, the brain of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console, to create an ultra-powerful TV set-top box that can record up to six high-definition channels at once and improve the look of any video.
The box and a separate flat-panel LCD TV will be sold as a package this year in Japan for between $5,000 and $10,000, said Scott Ramirez, vice president of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. It may come later to the U.S., he told press gathered Wednesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show.
Toshiba has been experimenting with several different ways to expand the use of the zippy Cell processor, which was jointly developed by Toshiba, Sony and IBM Corp. Toshiba has demonstrated laptops and TVs with Cell processors, but the PlayStation remains the main use for the chip.
The Cell TV box will accept video content from cable, memory chips and other sources, raise their apparent resolution, then send the video signal wirelessly to the TV, Ramirez said.
"You're going to have the cleanest picture you've ever seen," Ramirez said.
The box will also be able to record content to a hard drive, like a digital video recorder. It would thus combine the functions of several different set-top boxes, but it's unclear how it would work with cable or satellite hookups, particularly when it comes to recording several channels at once.
"Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer.
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Audiovox to expand availability of TV on the road
LAS VEGAS (AP) " More options for watching TV in the car are on the way.
Audiovox Corp. said Wednesday it will make an in-car receiver for Qualcomm Inc.'s subscription-based mobile TV broadcasts, previously available only on AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless cell phones.
The receiver will be available in eight to 10 months for less than $500, Audiovox senior vice president Tom Malone said at a presentation at the International Consumer Electronics Show. It will work with all existing in-car entertainment screens, including seat-back, dashboard and ceiling-mounted ones, he said.
There are 20 million U.S. cars with such screens, according to Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Audiovox.
"We feel with this partnership, we have an opportunity to breathe new life into rear-seat entertainment," Malone said.
Users will pay a subscription fee to use the system, but details have not been finalized, said Gina Lombardi, president of Qualcomm unit MediaFLO USA.
Currently, Verizon Wireless and AT&T cellular subscribers with compatible phones can pay $15 per month to receive 10 channels through MediaFLO. The broadcast system covers 68 markets and is expanding to cover more than 100 by the end of the year, Lombardi said.
MediaFLO is designed for reception by mobile antennas. Conventional U.S. TV broadcasts, both analog and digital, are designed for stationary antennas, and don't work well for moving ones. However, TV broadcasters are gearing up to transmit channels designed for mobile reception, and may start as early as this year. At least some of those broadcasts will likely be free to receive, just like standard over-the-air TV.
There are car-mount antennas for satellite TV services like that of Dish Network Corp., but installation is expensive and the signal can be blocked by buildings. As another option, Sirius XM Radio Inc., the satellite radio company, beams three kids' channels to receivers that are available as a factory-installed option on some Chrysler LLC cars.
"Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer.