CES 2014 has been an orgy of “wearable” crap. Smartwatches, life-logging cameras, even 50-inch TVs can now be worn on your body. But if you’re looking for the future of personal tech, then look at the Speaker Band from Bem Wireless. If you thought teens were annoying now, with their mobile phones and tinny music, then wait until they get hold of this wrist-mounted speaker.
The speaker will last for six hours of talk time (it’s also a hands-free speakerphone, only not actually “hands-free”). It has caller ID, play, pause and skip buttons and blinking LEDs, and kids will now be able to walk around spurting out their tinny tunes from their wrists instead of their hands.
But the best part is this line from the press release, which details possibly two of the worst ways to use such a device. “Make calls while you’re in your car or listen to music while walking the dog.”
That’s right. Instead of making dangerous in-car calls using your actual phone, you can use this device to distract you and force you to take your hands from the wheel instead. And notice it said make calls, which means you’ll still be dicking around with your phone instead of noticing that cyclist in the road ahead of you.
And I included the “walking the dog” part as it’s just plain funny.
At $50, the Speaker Band is within the means of even a McDonald’s-employed teen. Available at the end of January.
Source: Bem Thanks: Jaclyn!
Charlie Sorrel writes reviews and how-tos. Follow Charlie on Twitter at @mistercharlie, and at micro.blog on @mistercharlie
