TV In A Suitcase, Purse-Phone, More: Weird & Wonderful Gadgets At IFA 2023

LG StandbyME GO TV, Honor V Purse, Lenovo Legion Glasses, more gadgets worth checking out.

Honor V Purse might look like a regular purse with a metal strap, but is actually a smartphone. ( Image Source :Honor )

For years, the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin has been the go-to platform for brands to showcase all the new and innovative gadgets they work on throughout the year. While most of the products on display at the show stick to the normal and routine, there are often a few that are out of the box, to say the least. This year was no different. Alongside the usual array of smartphones, notebooks, and robotic vacuum cleaners, were also gadgets that not only pushed the envelope of regularity but pretty much tore it open.  Here is a list of six really weird gadgets that showcased the crazy side of tech at IFA 2023: 

LG StandByME GO TV: Making A Case For TV In Your Suitcase 

Taking your smartphone or tablet to watch content on a holiday and work trip is passe. You can now actually pack your actual TV in a suitcase and take it wherever you wish!  Sounds insane, right? Well, this is actually possible, thanks to LG’s latest innovation, the LG StandByMe Go - a TV that is also a suitcase, and vice versa. 

The LG StandByME GO TV is basically a touchscreen 27-inch TV with 1080p display and 60 Hz refresh rate. It opens out of a suitcase and has a stand that allows you to set it up and while it is touchscreen, you do get a conventional TV remote with it.  

The TV runs on WebOS and comes preinstalled with some popular content streaming apps. 

Some would say that it solves a problem that does not really exist, but that said, it still is an innovation that could be handy to some people. In fact, it would work very well in situations where one needs a screen bigger than a tablet. This portability will cost you some serious buckage, though, as LG has priced it at $999. 

Urbanista Malibu: (Solar-Powered) Sound Of Music

Charging a gadget is truly a chore that we all hate, especially in today’s day and age where almost every gadget comes with a rechargeable battery. We have all felt the panic of rushing to find the charger just as our gadget is shutting down. It happens with our phones, laptops, tablets, speakers and even the portable power banks that are supposed to be our power backups. 
Well, you can put some of this charging panic to peace with the Malibu Bluetooth speaker showcased by Swedish audio company Urbanista showcased at IFA 2023. The speaker comes with a small solar panel which keeps it charging with both indoor and outdoor light. Once charged completely the speaker can last for an entire day, given it has a light around. 

For those wondering, the speaker does have a conventional USB Type-C port that can be used to charge it and comes with IP67 rating that makes it water resistant as well. The speaker also has an app which can be used to customise audio and one can even pair two of these speakers together for even louder output. The Malibu comes with a price tag of $149. Not too high a price to pay for some peace of mind, at least as far as charging goes.

Honor V Purse: Fashionable Foldable

During its presentation at IFA 2023, Honor showcased a concept phone called Honor V Purse. This is basically a foldable phone which comes with a small fancy strap attached to it, making it look like a purse. With this, Honor is basically reimagining foldable phones as a fashion accessory. The concept phone will have multiple interchangeable straps that can basically clip onto the sides of your phone and help you carry it like a handbag or purse and there is an outward display with a number of wallpapers that mimic the outsides of a purse.  

While it may be an interesting idea to some, plenty of accessories exist in the market that can help you attach a strap to your phone, helping you carry it with less effort. The Honor V Purse is just a concept device, and is unlikely to be available commercially, so we cannot say how heavy it would be on the purse. Pun intended. 

Lenovo Legion Glasses: A 27-inch Monitor On Your Eyes? A(R)actually!

It came out with relatively conventional  Lenovo Legion Go and Lenovo Legion 9i notebooks at IFA 2023, but Lenovo also upped its gaming ante by launching the  Lenovo Legion Glasses. These are basically Lenovo’s take on AR glasses, and can not only connect seamlessly with Lenovo Legion Go and Lenovo Legion 9i but can also work with other devices. 

When connected, these glasses can serve up a vision of the equivalent of a 27-inch monitor and can display content at 60Hz at 1080p per eye. It uses micro LED panels for excellent video quality and comes with inbuilt speakers, that Lenovo claims will serve up a truly immersive experience. The glasses come with sound and brightness controls, an “unpi” button to disconnect and a USB Type-C port as well. Best of all, they are not crazy expensive. They will be available for $329 starting October. 

Sylvox Waterproof TV: Water, Water Everywhere, Lots Of TV To See

This year’s IFA saw some particularly innovative TVs. Sylvox at IFA 2023 launched a waterproof, floating 15-inch TV which is basically perfect for pool days or times when you wish to just soak yourself in the tub after a long day, and still want your TV viewing fix. The Sylvox waterproof TV comes with a full HD display and can connect to a source via an HDMI port. 

It also runs on Android 11 out of the box, allowing you to access streaming services. You can also use a USB drive with it. The TV comes with  3-6 hours of battery life which may not sound like much but will see you through a longish movie session. It has a bulky design that keeps it from drowning and it comes with a stand which allows you to set the angle of the display as per your convenience. 

It is priced around USD 680 which may sound a bit on the expensive side for a 15-inch TV but the experience of watching TV in a pool or a jacuzzi does not come cheap. After all, it is a luxurious experience.

TCL 40 NXTPAPER: Phone With A Touch Of Paper

TCL launched NXTPAPER for tablets a while ago, and the company introduced something similar for smartphones at IFA 2023 for smartphones. The company showcased the TCL 40 NXTPAPER  at Berlin, a phone with a full-HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate, which also had a special coating that gave it a very paper-like feel. 

Not only did it reduce Blue Light emission but also gave it an E-ink display-like look minus the lag, making it perfect for those late-night reading sessions.  Unlike many innovative smartphones, this one is not premium-priced and comes with a starting price of around USD214. 

The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88 chipset paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and is likely to be available from September itself in European markets.