World's first wrist-watch video phone available by Christmas



If you spent boyhood imagining yourself as Dick Tracy, there may be no need to grow up.



The comic-strip detective hero, with a watch which doubled as a two-way radio, was the stuff of dreams for Fifties youngsters.



But now an electronics company has made his gadget a reality. In fact, the latest phone and timepiece from LG is even better than Tracy's.



The LG G910 phone watch was first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It has voice-recognition software

Combining a wristwatch with a mobile phone, it has a touch screen and miniature camera for those vital video calls - and also sends texts and emails.



The LG-GD910 allows wearers to search the web and download films and music - useful for time spent alone at a stakeout.



'Our new 3G Touch Watch Phone is stylish, sophisticated and the height of technology,' said LG Electronics Mobile Communications. 'How else can you re-enact those scenes from your favourite spy movie?'

From fiction to fact: In the 1950s, the comic strip detective hero Dick Tracy had a 'two-way wrist radio'

A new generation of smart watches has been promised for a number of years, however none has yet reached the mass market.



In 2003, the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, unveiled plans for smart watches that worked as mini FM -radios rather than mobile phones.



It was suggested that the watch screen would be constantly updated with news, sports results, stock market updates via the FM radio system. However, this idea has been overtaken by LG even before it reached the mass market.



There is no information yet on the price of the Watch Phone, however analysts expect the device to cost around £100 no the basis of signing up to an 18-month contract.



Yves Maitre, senior vice president of devices at Orange, said: 'This phone really manages to combine form with functionality, and its chic styling and mobile broadband connectivity will no doubt appeal to all the early adopters out there.



'It is a great addition to our range, showing that we can give customers the latest in high-tech design for a totally new kind of multimedia experience.'



The LG device is just one of a number of new phones being launched at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a technology show devoted to mobile phones and services. A wrist-watch that doubles as a mobile phone is set to go on sale in the UK by the end of the year, manufacturers said.

The gadget will be available via Orange's network later this year. Thankfully, at just half an inch thick, with its glass face and contemporary metal casing, the watch has the gravitas to look right on a man's wrist . . . even though there's a schoolboy spy inside.

Watch the phone in action...



