Dick Tracy, eat Your Heart Out...

With every other major UK mobile network laying claim to the latest and best mobile phones, Orange has been struggling to find an exclusive that can match the iphone and other devices. It still hasn't, but news that they have grabbed the LG Touchscreen Watchphone (LG-GD910) is at least a little cool for those of us who remember Dick Tracy, or grew up watching Thunderbirds, where the International Rescue boys would communicate by watchphone.

The first phones will first go on sale in the UK in its Bond Street Station shop on Thursday, 27th August, but they're not cheap - what Orange describes as the must have gadget of the year will set you back £500.

Available on a first-come-first-serve basis, and one device per customer to those who arrive in person at the store, the device offers a slick scratch resistant touch-screen interface makes writing text messages easy, while an in-built speaker and MP3/AAC player lets you listen to the Essential James Bond theme album when you’re imprisoned in a fake volcano or battling with Jaws.

To make a voice or video call – in true 22nd Century fashion – all you have to do is ask it nicely. The combination of voice activated command, VGA camera and Bluetooth technology mean you’ll never have to raise a finger to make a call again... just turn your wrist and talk away. The handmade timepiece is designed with the image conscious in mind too and features eight different watch faces – one to suit your every mood or crime-fighting outfit.

“The LG Touchscreen Watchphone is one of several ‘future phones’ we’re bringing to UK consumers this year," says Francois Mahieu, Director of Devices, Orange UK, which make you wonder what else they have up their, um, sleeves. (The Palm Pre, perhaps?) "Being handmade, the device really is highly original and exclusively limited - so you’ll be the envy of all your friends if you’re fortunate enough to get your hands on one.”

• A limited number of the devices will also be made available from mid-September via the Orange online shop. For more info visit www.orange.co.uk/watchphone.