Maybe it's because the concept was born in comic strips: Wristwatch devices always seem kinda goofy, even though they were often vital to Dick Tracy as he performed his sober duties. So it is with the TV-Wristwatch (dynamism.com, $199), a piece of tight engineering that works surprisingly well but looks as nerdy as a detective in a fedora. The watch sticks higher off a wrist than any of the multifunction, diverse-dialed watches that are popular with a certain crowd. As unfashionable as it looks, the TV is nevertheless cutting-edge hip and is only available from Japanese maker NHJ Ltd. (nhjapan.com) through specialty shops like Hammacher Schlemmer (hammacher.com) and Dynamism.
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Thankfully, it actually works, at least sort of. It does tell time. Wouldn't you feel silly wearing a TV on your wrist but missing Arrested Development because you didn't know what time it was? The TV picture is surprisingly good on the small (1.5-inch) flat-panel screen, and the sound is decent even though restricted to one user with an earphone. The earphone, which also serves as the set's antenna, is included.
Reception, though, is its primary shortcoming. Don't even think of walking around with this thing—a good picture goes fuzzy if you twist just a bit in any direction (those who predate cable can remember wrestling with rabbit ears).
So after wowing somebody, get the thing off your wrist and settle in for some private TV watching. The rechargeable battery will last only about an hour, though there is an attachable pack that can hold 4 AAs and will last about three hours. But then the set is hardly more portable than other handheld TVs and so large that Dick Tracy's big-shouldered, yellow trenchcoat wouldn't be enough to cover it up.
