By It seems these digital watches are becoming all the rage these days. After Sony Ericsson launched their LiveView accessory to little fanfare, Motorola decided they wanted to one-up them with the MOTOACTV. But yet another competitor has stepped into the fold.The company’s name is i’m and their product’s name is the i’mWatch. Sounds odd, right? We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover though.
The i’mWatch makes use of the Android operating system to create the “smart watch” experience that’s looking more and more exciting as OEMs take on the idea. You can receive and accept calls from the watch as well as read text messages.
Another area they hope to have the other products beat in are apps. Their app store (called the i’market) will house a number of apps adapted for the small display. Facebook, Twitter, weather and more are just a few of the obvious we imagine will be on there. They also have i’music, a music subscription service that’ll allow you to listen to millions of songs on the go.
The watch also looks good aesthetically. i’m is all about style and they bring a simplistic but elegant design with the i’mWatch. They’re aiming to come to market with the four great designs you see below. Depending on its price (which, alongside a launch date, has yet to be announced) this could be a hit.
I know I’d consider it if the price is right. But with their emphasis on it being a premium product, we somehow feel this one won’t be easy on the piggybank. Watch the video above. [Thanks Josh!]
Great, now I have to charge my watch every night? =p
That is my worry as well. Otherwise I think I would love something like this.
If I could get at least 2 or 3 full days (with light use) out of it, then it’d be worth it, but not if i had to be power conscious at all for my watch every day.
Lol! You guys. This watch doesn’t have radios needed to connect to cell towers or huge screens eating up juice.
I actually had an old LCD picture watch (back before they were cool) and it would last me about 2 days without charging. =p
It does have a BT radio, tho. The battery specs aren’t that impressive, actually. It would be nice if it could be recharged via kinetic and/or solar energy.
“Power and battery
Built-in rechargeable Li-Po 450 mA battery
Charging via USB to computer system or via power adapter
Standby time without Bluetooth connection: up to 48 hours
Standby time with Bluetooth connection: up to 24 hours
Talk time with speakerphone: up to 3 hours
Time for other uses: up to 5 hours”
Ohh oh… I smell a lawsuit from Apple
Damn, you’re right. They patented the concept of time.
No, but I’m pretty sure Apple likes to sue, especially if you have an “i” in front of your product.
I would buy one.
Looks cool, but I don’t think I am replacing my watch for this.
I wonder how the battery life on that is?
It looks nice, but that needs to be an open app store! Not necessarily completely open, but needs to be a way to get third party apps on there.
Dems nice!
I like black one, and would actually buy one as a casual Friday/weekend watch. Won’t pay more than $150 though.
I would like the black one as well, I read on another tech blog that it will cost around 249 € which is about $363. Sounds like a complete rip off. :/
This may be the first watch I buy in 10 years!! I would pay $150 for this.
When you think of it, these watches, combined with voice control will be the future of mobile devices.
Funny how we talk about this stuff being the future when Dick Tracy had it as early as 1964. :P
It runs android so it can be rooted :)
Does anyone know if this is compatible with a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am?
Posi trac?
The two yutes?
The two hwat?
For 150-200 i’d probably go for this one. The Moto ACTV is a huge beast compared to this and I don’t want something that big on my wrist. I’ve been considering the digital MetaWatch for a while now but I would like something a bit more full featured.
It would be great if one of the WIMM concept watches came out, they looks even better than the i’mWatch
cm7!!!!!!
Based on this link, looks like somewhere north of $350. That’s steep, especially when it doesn’t offer the some of the same features that the MotoACTV does.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/06/06/im-watch-android/
Kill the 1st 2min 33sec of the video. Sheesh, if you’ve got to blow that much smoke up my ass before showing me the product then I’m already pre-disposed to NOT liking it.
Awful lot of bezel around that screen though, I hope the final product can be tweaked for more screen real-estate!
Looks promising though.
http://download-knight-rider-episodes.edogo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/riverwired-c013anthonydevito53_barret_knight_rider181.jpg
Oh, and for a wristwatch, it better have Gorilla Glass, or something just as strong. I know I’m always glad at the sapphire crystal on my wristwatch, every time I bang it into something.
I would get one if I could link to my phone using the current data plan. Screw getting one specifically for this. And tethering isn’t an option, not paying 30 a month to use a watch… Very nice though, not having to whip out my phone every time.
+1 This is an accessory – needs to tether to your phone.
If anyone wants to check out more about the i’mWatch just goto test.imwatch.it
specs (not very impressive)
http://test.imwatch.it/en/smartwatch/specs/
Sorry I’m late guys. My watch didn’t have reception …
Keep it under $100!
A couple weeks ago it was listed at 249€ on their site… pretty steep for a watch.
Pretty steep for a digital watch, maybe. You must not know anything about real watches to say that this price is “steep for a watch”
I am aware that there are show-off watches that cost a lot more than that, but I don’t take them into account. If you’re ok with spending that much to know the time, good for you. I’ll keep the 60$ Timex that’s been on my wrist for the last 15 years and still working as good as it did on day one.
I can be Dick Tracy for Halloween!!!!
I’m wondering about both the battery life and the internal memory. Just how many of those little apps will it hold and run smoothly?
This is something I’d like to buy but I can’t see what I would possibly use it for. Can anyone throw out some good concepts to help me wrap my brain on the possible uses for a device like this? I know answering calls is a feasible use case (not for me though I never talk on the phone – average about 25 minutes of talk time each month).
I’ve been waiting for this a long time. It definitely is on the pricey side, but I’ve paid more for watches that do nothing more than tell the time, so this is an improvement enough for me
Man, watching the first half of that video I thought they had invented a time machine or cold fusion reactor.
~$150 and I would buy one.
Dumb, I wouldn’t buy something redundant that I already have in my pocket. I enjoy the simplicity of a watch…
To compare to MOTOACTV, these guys really missed the mark. It is a watch. MOTOACTV, can become a watch. Further, where the hell is my heart monitoring bluetooth headset? Oh, there isn’t one? For guys that are all about interconnecting your digital devices, they missed a few. I’m totally getting the MOTOACTV. Motorola hit something. They’ve been trying to nail it for a long time. They finally did. Accessories. Accessories are huge moneymakers.
I don’t see this thing taking off and replacing our phones. Mainly because it’s on a 1 1/2 ” screen. Who wants to stare at their wrist at such a small screen and try to read an sms, email, etc. This type of thing has been tried before and failed. Maybe not at this level, but overall, it’s just not practical for everyday use and would never replace the smartphone. Why do you think 4+ inch smartphones are all the rage now? People want bigger, not smaller screens. While it’s a cool concept, it’s size will inevitably be it’s demise.
http://www.getinpulse.com/
Not as good looking, but seems to beat them to the punch
EDIT: After looking at it a bit more, I realize that the i’mWatch is much more advanced
I’ll keep my swatch watch, thanks.
But does it have an unlocked bootloader?
I’ll take one for each wrist plz.
I think this is a nice concept. I have been using the Luna Tik watch with the 16gb ipod nano. (Don’t kill me I know Apple “ew rabble rabble rabble!”) for a while and have enjoyed having my music on my wrist. I do have doubts however about having facebook, texting, etc on it but if its just to display these things then it seems cool. If they expect me to compose a txt on this……
I actualy like it, good for kids. It can accept calls not make calls. they can play games at limited times. It keeps them occupied enough and when time for dinner or to come home, just call. dont have to buy a smartphone, ipad add a tracking device you got a winner. as long as the price is reasonable….awesome
Thought it was an iPod nano untill they say is called a “imWatch”. cool name. lol
Wow the icon placements are exactly the same as the nano as well. I guess they didn’t hire designers, all they needed to do was go to apple.com
I would buy this, if only for the fact that it reminds me of a super cool upgraded Nintendo watch. Do any of you guys remember those things? I still have my zelda watch :)
I don’t know if I can trust these guys … well produced video, fancy setting, hipster employees, but all working on Windows machines??? How can this be??
I’ve never had a watch my whole life. I wonder if this (or the MOTOACTV) will finally make me buy one…
Looks like an iPod Nano with one of it’s wristband accessories. Another original Android product… NOT!
Interesting product. Maybe I should move my clocks to it. http://www.artware-software.com/android/
a wireless charging base would be ideal otherwise this would be ridiculous.
There are different designs. According to the website the ones pictured above are the luxury ones which run about 9999€… which translates to about $14,000+ (SMH). The most basic ones are 299€, which is about $400+. Not worth it at all. This writer didn’t do much research before posting this article.