Wearable gadgets take centre stage

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

A digital camera that doubles as an MP3 player and a Linux-powered wristwatch computer were among the gadgets attracting attention at last week's Computerworld Expo in Auckland.

Samsung's Digimax35 MP3, a combined digital camera and MP3 player that also functions as a web cam, demonstrated the move towards portable items.

Retailing at $399, including GST, the Digimax35 is equipped with a USB interface and an 8Mb compact flash card to store photographs and MP3 music files. The device comes with headphones.

But, as Robert Jelas, managing director of Mt Wellington distributor C R Kennedy was willing to admit, the camera's specification and abilities match its budget price.

Maximum photo resolution is 640 x 480 pixels for still pictures, and the camera can manage only a jerky 15 frames a second when it is used for web-based video conferencing purposes.

A computer that can be worn like a wristwatch was one of the main attractions at IBM's stand in the Expo's "Linux Village."

The watch computer is powered by an Arm7 processor running an embedded version of the Linux operating system.

The device uses Bluetooth wireless networking to communicate with other systems.

Noboru Kamijo, a senior researcher at IBM's Tokyo Research Laboratory, said the purpose of the prototype was to investigate how new technologies could run on small devices.

So far, only 10 Linux watches had been made, but he believed that similar devices could appear as commercial products within three to four years.

Mr Kamijo said the watch could be programmed to run virtually any application, but one of its most promising uses was as a universal remote controller.

For example, a user arriving at a suitably equipped hotel could use the watch to communicate with a computer at the check-in desk.

"There would be no need to show your credit card details, and the watch would show you your room number as you made your way to the lifts," said Mr Kamijo.

"Once you arrived at the room, the watch could even serve as an electronic key to open the door."