Smartwatches are slowly creeping into the consciousness of not just the gadgets-crazy people but even the general public. Now the first watch company is coming out with its own creation, teaming up with US carrier AT&T and tech company Qualcomm, to create a cellular-connected wearable. The GPS One+ will be available in the US starting this fall and just might start a new trend among watch manufacturers.
However, this new gadget, which will use AT&T’s connectivity and Qualcomm’s display, cannot do everything that the normal smartwatches can do. First of all, it doesn’t need to be connected to a smartphone for it to work, which AT&T believes is a distinct advantage that it has over its competitors. It also won’t let you take or make calls, which is what some people like most with their wearables. What it can do is let you exchange messages with friends through an email-based program, let others know your location through GPS, upload data to social networks and play music through Bluetooth. Oh, and yes, tell time.
The smartwatch also has 4GB of storage so you can save your music or pictures or even files on it. If ever you get lost and need help from your loved ones, it has an SOS feature that will let your pre-set contacts know exactly where you are. Qualcomm contributed the Mirasol display, which has color but uses a technology that is usually used in E-ink devices, meaning it has a low-battery consumption.
Now the next question of course is: how much will this cost me? It has a pretty steep price at $399, but it does include one year of AT&T service. There is no information yet on how much it would be to add additional service beyond that, but probably, they would offer other options like monthly fees or adding the watch in shared-data plan for their other devices. Timex Chairperson Annette Olsen said that this is just the first of the many connected watches that they will be releasing in the next few years.
VIA: Recode
