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The Meta Watch talks to your cellphone via Bluetooth

The Meta Watch from Texas Instruments is the ultimate nerd accessory. For real, this time: the watch is a development platform aimed at software engineers.

Don’t believe me? Here’s the description from the product page:

Meta Watch is a wearable development system that enables rapid development of ‘connected-watch’ applications. With Meta Watch, developers can quickly and easily extend the interfaces of devices and applications to the wrist.

So, the watch’s geek credentials are firmly established. What does it actually do? The stainless steel and leather device has Bluetooth and a 96 x 96 pixel dot-matrix display at its heart. This can then be programmed to do pretty much anything you’d like. Paired with your phone, it could show caller ID, incoming mails, weather alerts or even ping you when somebody is ready to play some head-to-head Super Stickman Golf.

That’s not to say it relies entirely on an external computer. The watch also has a vibrating motor, a three-axis accelerometer and an ambient light sensor, so it can send info back to your phone, too. It’s even water resistant, so it can survives the odd accidental dunk in a programmer’s Mountain Dew.

The watch will cost you $200, and ships with a USB cable for programming and charging, and sample code for music control, IM, alarms, Caller ID and more. Available June 30th although not, the product page says, in Asia or Japan.

Bluetooth Wearable Watch development system with Digital display [TI via Laptop Mag]

See Also:

• Casio Watches Promise Long-Lasting Geek Chic
• Casio Spruces Up Nerdy Calculator Watches
• Gallery: Sexy, Strange New Timepieces Debut at Basel Watch Fair …
• Casio Bluetooth Low Energy Watch Has Two Year Battery Life …
• SonyEricsson MBW-150: Non-Ugly Bluetooth Watches

When he first showed off the original iPad, Steve Jobs talked up the “fourth screen.” But is four really enough? We mean, really? Could the fifth screen really have been on our wrists all along? Sure, we’ve seen plenty fall flat with smartwatches, including big names like Microsoft and Sony Ericsson, but that hasn’t stopped companies from trying. The Meta Watch certainly isn’t Fossil’s first connected wristwatch — nor is it the first watch SDK — but it does have a lot going for it, including a thumbs up from HP. The two models are built on Texas Instruments’ CC2560 Bluetooth platform, which allow them to receive push notifications from smartphones and tablets, so you can read e-mail, tweets, or Facebook updates — assuming the right developers get onboard. And since none of the apps actually live on the watches, they get solid battery life — seven full days on a charge, according to the company. You can pre-order the watches now, or wait until they officially go on sale in July for $200 a pop — make sure to set a reminder on your nano. Press release after the break.

Continue reading Fossil Meta Watch shows you where you can put your fifth screen

Fossil Meta Watch shows you where you can put your fifth screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading TI aims to bring wireless charging to more devices with smallest receiver chip to date

TI aims to bring wireless charging to more devices with smallest receiver chip to date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The words “play” and “book” are a bit of an odd choice for RIM’s latest attempt at consumer relevance, a tablet that, at its core, runs one of the most hardcore and industry-friendly operating systems known to man. The OS is QNX and the hardware is, of course, the BlackBerry PlayBook. It’s an enterprise-friendly offering that’s also out to conquer the consumer tablet ecosphere, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the BlackBerry handsets that have filled the pockets of corporate executives and BBM addicts around the globe.

It’s something of a serious tablet when compared to the competition running software from Apple and Google and, while it certainly has games, its biggest strengths are rather more boring. It does a really great job at displaying PowerPoint presentations, for example, and has the security chops to keep last quarter’s dismal sales figures from falling into the wrong hands. Exciting stuff? No, but useful features for sure, and regardless of whether you find those intriguing or boring this is RIM’s seven-inch, Flash-having but 3G-lacking tablet clad in an unassuming but extremely sophisticated exterior. It’s what’s running behind the glass that disappoints.

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook review

BlackBerry PlayBook review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes Texas Instruments’ (TI) share of the semiconductor market. The Dallas-based firm announced today that it will pay $6.5 billion for National Semiconductor. With the acquisition complete, National will become a branch of TI’s analog segment, which is now positioned to make up 50 percent of the company’s revenue. According to a joint press release, TI held the biggest chunk of the analog semiconductor market in 2010 at 14 percent, and with the new addition that number’s bound to get even bigger. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Texas Instruments to acquire National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion in cash money

Texas Instruments to acquire National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion in cash money originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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