Wristwatch gadgets pop up at Cebit

Watch gadgets that would make Dick Tracy green with envy popped up at this year's Cebit.

Samsung was showing off its Watchphone, targeted at the MTV generation, which will initially go on sale in the US this summer.

The Watchphone has a tiny speaker on the side which broadcasts incoming calls, and a microphone on the front of the watch enables the user to talk back. It also features voice-activated dialling, and text to speech enabling short messages and emails to be listened to rather than read. And, of course, it also tells the time.

Pricing has not been set for the Watchphone, but the company said it would reflect the market it is aiming at. Sources claim it could be as low as $200.

Motorola was also showing a prototype of a watchphone with Wap internet access, but no decisions have been made on when, or if, it will come to market.

On the entertainment side, Panasonic was demonstrating a wristwatch digital music player which can carry one hour of stored music on a 64Mb card.