When you spend a lot of time with consumer technology, sometimes it’s the slightly more out there stuff that really grabs your attention. A bit like the Honor V Purse, or this – the LG StanbyMe Go. No, your eyes do not deceive you – that’s a TV that packs away into a suitcase, and as bonkers as it is, I love to see it.
Don’t get me wrong, top-notch, flagship-busting tech is my bread and butter, in a way that this cutesy concept can’t really hold a flame to – but there’s something about fun form factors like the StanbyMe Go that I can’t help buy have a soft spot for.
Announced just before IFA 2023 but shown off on the show floor for the first time, the StanbyMe Go is a 27-inch touch display that packs down into a steel briefcase that’s arguably weightier than your average hand luggage, but not really much bigger.
Accompanying the screen is a 20W four-channel speaker system, capable of Dolby Atmos playback, and the ability to offer three hours of playback away from a plug, thanks to the built-in battery. You can keep it plugged in too, if you’re close to an outlet.
When you’re ready to watch, you unfasten the briefcase and the screen – which jumps into life when the briefcase is opened – lifts out on its extendable arm, up to 18 centimetres. You can then tilt the screen to get the ideal viewing angle and rotate it 90 degrees between portrait and landscape – meaning you can get the perfect orientation whether you’re watching movies or TikToks.
Having given this process a go myself, it’s pretty sturdy, and you need just a bit more confidence than you might have to begin with, to pull and push it past some initial stiffness into the position you want it to be in.
There is also a mode called Table Mode, which keeps the screen lying flat in the case, and opens up the StanbyMe Go to a range of digital board games, like chess, as well as turning it into a virtual record player. This mode replicates a turntable, and from the demo video I saw, it looks like you can interact with it – though it wasn’t something I was able to try out.
Whether it would be loud enough – or sound good enough – to double as a party speaker remains to be seen, but it’s a great little party trick at the very least.
Inputs are minimal, but there are enough for what you could imagine needing it for. There’s a single eARC HDMI for hooking up a video source, perhaps, and a USB input, for hooking up some downloaded content, for playback on the go.
There’s also webOS built in here, so assuming you have access to an internet connection wherever you are, you can access streaming apps like Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video, and even webOS’ considerable range of cloud gaming titles. The need for an internet connection here limits its usability for camping or cinematic park trips, but you do have the aforementioned USB to help you in those cases – or a hardy and plentiful hotspot could do the trick too.
The 1080p screen may not be the most advanced display out there – to my eyes it certainly wasn’t the brightest, sharpest or the most saturated I’ve ever seen – but for this execution, it works just fine. It does have support for Dolby Vision on board though, so for supported content, the display may be able to take things up a notch from what was on demonstration.
The StanbyMe Go is also durable enough to play the part of TV-on-the-go, offering the US military’s rigorous MIL-STD-810G standard. That means everything you could throw at it from a water, heat, dust and impact perspective should be handled without issue – though LG hasn’t confirmed if this protection is when the case is opened or closed. I suspect it may be the latter, but that’s not bad going at all considering you can close it up in a matter of seconds if you get caught in a downpour.
So, who is this $1000 TV in a suitcase aimed at? Certainly someone with considerable disposable income – it’s a luxury to say the least, when ultimately we have tablets that tick the TV-on-the-go for most just fine.
But this all fits into a wider and growing trend of lifestyle TVs. Arguably starting – at least in the mainstream – with the Samsung’s Frame back in 2017, manufacturers have been increasingly exploring how TVs can fit into a user’s life, rather than vice versa.
Whether that’s design-focused TVs, like LG’s own Objet collection, Samsung’s Sero TV or Loewe’s Iconic TV – which can now be customised to feature a whole host of different pricey materials and fabrics – there’s clearly an interest for TVs that are pushing boundaries when it comes to design.
The StanbyMe Go might not fit into the same super high-end luxury category as those, but it’s still taking a step outside the norm to offer up a TV that works around its user’s needs. Whether that’s a dorm student that needs a space-saving TV, a frequent traveller that wants guaranteed access to their shows and games while on the road, or someone that just wants a cool form factor to show off to their mates – the StanbyMe Go can do all of those things.
I might not have $1000 to spend on such a niche TV, but someone will do – and that’s fine by me, in fact I welcome it. The trickle-down effect in tech means that its existence may influence a product I can afford in the future, and that is something we should always remember.
Having manufacturers push boundaries and try new things outside of the mainstream – and even something as wacky as a TV In suitcase – prevents things getting boring, pushes new conversations and inspires innovation for new products in the future. To my mind, that should only ever be encouraged.
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