Play mobile games with your... face?
Pantech's new IM-U170 turns your nose into a joystick. Kind of.
As a technology, facial recognition is usually associated with security, robots, or security robots. Not games. Yet one of the key features of Korean manufacturer Pantech's new IM-U170 handset is it features the world's first face recognition mobile game.
The phone was only announced last week, and details are scarce on what, exactly, said game is about. But it seems the phone's built-in camera tracks your facial movements and turns them into game actions, which conjures up a host of possibilities.
Imagine dropping blocks in Tower Bloxx with a wink. Or making tackles in FIFA 07 by gurning. Or slitting terrorists' throats in Splinter Cell Double Agent by wiggling your nose like that woman in Bewitched. (Okay, that last one's a bit strange.)
For now, the IM-U170 is only out in South Korea, so we'll have to wait and see exactly how its facial recognition capability is used. The technology means the phone automatically adjusts the camera's focus to get the best photos when taking pictures of faces too, apparently. Oh, and the phone has a metal magnesium case, which Pantech reckons is equally innovative.
"Due to its exceptional range of unique features, including the metal case and the face recognition game, the IM-U170 is expected to exceptionally appeal to mobile phone users who have been seeking for new and different features and applications in their phone," says spokesperson Man Gi Kim. So there you go.
