By Andrew Liszewski
Is this the missing feature that’s prevented watchphones from really catching on? While their tiny displays make using a touchscreen interface kind of a pain, I don’t think the addition of a numeric keypad on the wriststrap is going to sway the majority of cellphone users. Particularly since handsets seem to be moving towards considerably more capable units that do far more than just make phone calls. But if you are just looking for a compact and basic phone, the current crop of watchphones aren’t a bad alternative.
Besides the keypad on the strap, the CECT features a 1.3 inch TFT touchscreen display, FM radio, 3GP and MPEG4 video playback, TF card slot, WAP and GPRS data, voice recorder, Bluetooth (kind of essential), vibrating alert, calendar, calculator and support for 64 chord polyphonic ringtones. Unfortunately due to the compact battery you’re also only looking at about 150 minutes of talk time, with 100 hours of standby. So it seems like the lack of keypad isn’t the only hurdle in making watchphones a viable, everyday alternative.
The CECT Watchphone is available from SpecialPhones.eu as a US model (850/900/1900MHz) or a European one (900/1800/1900MHz) for about $300.
[ CECT Watchphone ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]
