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LAS VEGAS — How does $200 sound for an unlocked phone? Now make it a Dick Tracy-style watch phone and it’s an accessory you just might put on your wish list.

The W “phonewatch” from Kempler & Strauss combines a touchscreen interface with basic phone functionality so you can use the device while biking or hiking.

The GSM phone can work with both AT&T and T-Mobile but it doesn’t have 3G capability or Wi-Fi. Just open the back and pop in a SIM card there to get started. There is a microphone and a speaker on the device, but the company recommends that the phone be paired with a Bluetooth headset.

The watch phone isn’t intended as a replacement for your iPhone, Droid or your BlackBerry, says the company. Instead it has been created as a companion.

The watch-phone idea isn’t new. Last year, LG’s watch phone was a surprise hit at the Consumer Electronics Show. LG showed a slim watch with a touchscreen phone, camera, 3G and Bluetooth capability. Worn on the wrist, it looks like an ordinary watch displaying the time but when a call comes in, the screen changes. Raise your hand a little closer to your mouth, press a button and you can talk into the watch. That device never made it to the United States, though it eventually went on sale in Europe for around $1,500.

The W phonewatch works similarly. It has a digital clock but a single touch pulls up a basic menu that includes icons for phone, messages, address book and calendar. The device even has a 1.4-megapixel camera that can do both still photos and videos. To answer calls, just turn on your Bluetooth headset.

There’s no data capability so forget trying to surf the internet. But the combination of a basic unlocked feature phone in a wristwatch form factor makes it droolworthy.

Check out more photos of the W phonewatch and the company’s video of the device.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

If there’s one thing wireless networking developers have been clamoring for, it’s the ability to take their reference platform mobile. Extremely mobile. TI’s apparently heard this cry, as it’s just introduced the eZ430-Chronos, a fully-capable wireless dev platform contained entirely within a sports watch. Yeah, it’s just about the geekiest thing we’ve ever seen, and at $49 it’s even kind of a steal — especially since it doubles as a heart monitor out of the box. Looks like we’ve got a new super-nerd stocking-stuffer of choice.

TI introduces the eZ430-Chronos development platform… and sports watch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Turns out those leaks about a BlackBerry Bluetooth companion watch were dead on: The Allerta InPulse Bluetooth companion watch—not a watchphone—isn’t actually a RIM product, and should ship in February for $150. So what does it do?

Think of it as an extender for your BlackBerry, or a wrist-mounted dashboard. It won’t place calls or compose texts; it’s really just there to give you a heads-up and preview whenever your BlackBerry mothership gets a call, receives a message, or has some other, being-a-BlackBerry-related news to share with you. Also, yes, it’s a watch, for telling time. It may not do a whole lot, but the hardware sounds nice:

* 1.3″ full colour organic light-emitting-diode (OLED) display
* Bluetooth® v2.0+EDR
* 150 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery
* Glass lens and full metal body
* 22mm interchangeable wrist band
* Vibrating motor
* Micro-USB port (for charging)
* Over-the-air firmware updates
* Dimensions: 51mm height x 38mm width x 12mm depth

Allerta, which totally sounds like a prescription mood drug, says the watch’ll last for four days on a single charge, which is respectable considering that it doesn’t look too hideously large. The InPulse will communicate with any BlackBerry running OS 4.3 or above by means of a free companion app. The watch, though, isn’t quite as cheap: It’ll ship for $150 in February, though it’s available for preorder now.

One thing though: This is a nice render and all and the product doesn’t smell like vapor, but why can’t we see a picture of this thing?

UPDATE: About that! Eric from Allerta shot me an email:

Ah, it’s your right to talk vapour because we don’t have tech demos ready yet…I’m actually quite sorry about that. We’re a new CE startup, so it’s tough going from the get go. We actually have near-complete prototypes, but they’re made out of brass right now (easier to CNC mill). We’re currently in the month-long process of making molds for casting stainless steel. We didn’t want to publish too many pictures of the brass watches, in case it confused people.

Which is fair enough. They’ve posted a few of the early prototype pictures here, in case you’re curious. This is what they look like now—just keep in mind, these aren’t meant to look nice, yet:
[InPulse via CrackBerry]

This is the BlackBerry watch–kind of, sort of, but not really. It’s actually the inPulse Smartwatch, a watch not designed, branded, or approved by RIM, which was created to work with your favorite non-Apple fruit-themed smartphone.

The watch syncs with your BlackBerry, letting you know when youre getting a message or call while your phone is stashed away.It doesn’t read messages. Not a heck of a lot of info available about the product beyond that.

You might recall that RIM was rumored to be following down Sony Ericsson’s path of branded Bluetooth watches to accompany its phones, and now, it looks like we might have the first real renderings of the final product before our eyes. This here wrist candy is possibly called the “inPulse” (not to be confused with Verizon’s similarly-named prepaid offering), featuring an OLED display, real-time message preview, and presumably some sort of glanceable caller ID to make needlessly pulling your Tour out of its holster a thing of the past. Interestingly, it seems like the watch isn’t being developed in-house — instead, work has been farmed out to some company dedicated to the BlackBerry aftermarket with an official announcement expected “soon.” As far as we know, Sony Ericsson’s watches — which arguably look nicer on account of their analog / digital hybrid design — haven’t been hot sellers, but who knows, maybe RIM’s got some neat tricks up its sleeve with this one.

[Thanks, Evan]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

RIM’s BlackBerry watch pictured, possibly called ‘inPulse?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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