It’s a timepiece three way to the death! We love the LG Watch Phone we saw at CES this month, but it’s not the first Dick Tracy talking ticker to come to market. We’re making it square off against the Nutec Wristfone and the Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch MBW-150, and only one is getting out alive. Find out which after the jump!
Looks
LG’ s Watch Phone is an insanely powerful bit of wrist kit, but despite its touchscreen look, there’s no denying the ring of 1980s oblong Casio Calculator watch about it. Ditto the Nutec Wristfone – just look at that T9 keypad tucked away under the clockface. No, this one goes to the Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch MBW-150, which boasts a shiny metal strap that even the Derren Browns of the world won’t be able to pop off your wrist. None of them are as nice as the LG Prada II Bluetooth watch mind.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch MBW-150
Calling ability
Sony Ericsson’s MBW-150 is sorely crippled here, as it only connects to an actual phone via Bluetooth to display caller ID and message alerts across the tiny OLED screen. While both the other two allow for actual chatter without a separate handset, only the LG Watch Phone can perform video chats over 3G though.
Winner: LG Watch Phone
Battery life
LG says you’ll get about two hours of talk time from the Watch Phone, which isn’t great considering it’s supposed to go up against full form mobile phones. If you want something on your wrist which won’t run out of gas once a day, you’d be better off with the MBW-150: it’ll last up to three weeks from one charge, but of course, you’ll need a fully charged mobile to pair up with it too.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch MBW-150
Multimedia
Sony Ericsson’s MBW-150 is designed to work with Walkman phones in mind – there’s mechanical buttons hidden away on it to skip and pause tracks. But both the Nutec Wristfone and the LG Watch Phone can play music, not just boss it around, so it’s an early KO for Sony. LG clinches this round: never mind that its user interface looks eerily similar to an iPhone, it’s clear that it can handle video too, leaving the door open for MP4 compatibility.
Winner: LG Watch Phone
Extras
No extras on the Sony Ericsson MBW-150 so to speak of, other than it’s probably the only one of the three that people won’t mock you for wearing. We’re impressed by the Nutec Wristfone’s 2 megapixel camera, but the LG Watch Phone has 3G and HSDPA internet connection, making it quite possibly the littlest mobile broadband device in the world, at just 84g.
Winner: LG Watch Phone
Price and availability
Ah yes. The MBW-150 would be the only one of the three actually on sale at the moment – the other two were on show at CES this month. The Classic version with leather strap is available for around £170 online, but the Executive version with the metal strap will set you back £250. Which isn’t great actually, for something that just says “Oi, someone’s calling you”. Wouldn’t you be able to hear your phone ringing anyway? LG is planning to release the Watch Phone this year though, so we’d rather save up for that instead.
Winner: LG Watch Phone
