LG TONE Studio rolls out at the end of March for $230

LG TONE Studio

LG garnered a lot of attention from press and public alike for its LG TONE Studio concept: introduced at CES, the device is a speaker neckband and it is a forerunner to a new category of wearable devices. LG has now announced that it will roll out in the coming weeks all over the world, starting this week with the Middle East and then at the end of March in North America, in Asia and Latin America in April and in Europe at the beginning of May. The suggested retail price is 229.99$.

A strange mixture of a speaker and Bluetooth headphones, the LG Tone Studio (HBS-W120) is called a “personal wearable speaker” and is aimed at recreating 3D surround sound around the listener in a more personal way than it is currently possible through traditional speakers.

What worries me the most is that people could actually use these things on the go, as suggested by the company – imagine what subways and pubs could become if everyone wore one of these things! When used indoors, however, the surround nature of the sound could be interesting to enhance games, movies and other contents.

One interesting feature is Dual Play, which allows two TONE Studio users to listen to the same content: this may be the killer feature for movie-watching couples or cooperative players! Anyway, the device will finally launch in just a few days: will the market react positively? Will the LG TONE Studio herald a new era in personal audio (as the JBL Soundgear launch seems to hint at) or will it be a “one hit wonder”? We won’t have to wait too much to learn.

About Riccardo Robecchi

Living in Glasgow, Scotland but born and raised near Milan, Italy, I got the passion for music listening as a legacy from my father and my grandfather. I have reported on technology for major Italian publications since 2011.

Leave a Reply

Did you like the review? Let me know! Please note that you should write in English, as comments in other languages will be deleted. Thank you!

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.