Time to make a phone call
The Burg 9 wristwatch-phone is a pretty basic gadget, but it keeps up a good conversation
At first glance, the Burg 9 (Milan) looks like a bulky wristwatch. But it is actually a basic wrist-phone that lets you make and receive calls using a built-in speaker-phone.
Since it’s a basic phone, it doesn’t offer SMS messaging or any function that needs a display – there is no display. The Burg 9 informs you which phone number it’s calling with a voice count, saying the number out loud. And when you make a call it will say each number you press. The voice counting can be deactivated.
Burg 9 is available in six colours – white, blue, pink, black, yellow, and orange.
The black one tested here looks like a fashion phone with solid black strips and a shiny black body. It has number keys and two other keys for making and ending calls located around the dial of the watch.
The device looks bulkier than regular watches because it has a phone electronic-circuit board inside.
The wrist-phone, designed by Dutch firm Burg and assembled in China, has a full-size SIM card slot on the left side and a loudspeaker on the right. It uses both a replaceable battery to keep time and a rechargeable battery for the phone. A USB charger port is also on the right side, and a charger is included in the package. The charger port also takes the plug for an optional headset. The phone battery has 450mAh capacity, 48-hour standby time and about two hours’ talk time.
Since it’s minimal in size for a phone, it has to be designed with few buttons. You might need to consult the manual if you need to press special buttons for a call. For example, you need to press and hold 8 for the asterisk (*) and 9 for the number (#) symbol.
The red key for ending a call has several other functions. When the phone is turned off, press and hold the red key to switch it on. When the phone is in standby mode, press and hold to power off or to lock and unlock the keypad. Press it to delete the last digit you entered. Press it three times to “refuse delete” all input. Press it to reject a call.
The green key is used to make a call after you’ve entered a number and also to answer a call.
Since there’s no display, you have an LED indicator to show the phone’s status. The LED flashes red every 10 seconds to show that the SIM card is not inserted or invalid. It flashes yellow to indicate a weak signal or no signal in the area and blue to indicate a good signal.
You can set speed-dial up to nine numbers using the 1 to 9 keys.
During the test, my conversation partners could hear me loud and clear when I spoke into the microphone on the left edge of the dial and I could them just as well.
The Burg 9 has a suggested retail price of Bt4,900 and is available at Timedeco shops.
Key specs
_ Network: GSM900MHz/DCS1800MHz or GSM850MHz/DCS1900MHz
_ Movement: Japanese movement
_ Phone battery: 450mAh, 48-hour standby time, two-hour talking time
_ Watch battery: SR626SW 1.55V
