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Fossil's $145 PDA Watch
Robogeek writes: "News.com reports that Fossil will launch its $145 Wrist PDA in early 2002 - "a watch that doubles as a Palm- or Pocket PC-compatible organizer." Apparently, the 190KB device will accept data imported from your PDA via infrared. But isn't this kind of redundant if you're already carrying your PDA with you? (And can't enter data directly into the watch?) Besides, what I really want is a combo phone/mp3 player/PDA watch, dammit!"
I've been trying to get my dad to use some sort of electronic organizer for years. He's stuck to a plain paper date/phone book even though pages are falling out, no one is in the right order, etc. I bought him a cheap Palm a few months ago thinking that he shouldn't have a problem getting used to graffiti and entering names and phone numbers with a stylus wouldn't be that hard.
What does he do? He had my little sister put the contents of his planner that she could read in to the palm, but he doesn't take it when he goes on the road. He will forget a number, call home, and have someone look it up in the palm. With something like this, my sister could load up the watch for him and he would be set.
I know what he's getting for his birthday/Father's day gift.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
You could get a really really ugly watch for less than half the price. With a 102 x 64 screen you aren't going to get much usable info on the screen and the size and looks of the watch make it a poor choice. The Timex/MS watch from a couple of years ago looked a lot better and while only really scrolled a single line of text was usable. Some thing like the REX in my pocket and a normal watch seems like a much better deal than this. The REX 6000 from Xircom had a touch screen 512KB (IIRC) and very limited scroll to you get the letter you want input but it had a readable screen and multiple apps, if you could download apps it would have been killer, but only palm has seemed to figure that out. If the digital paper stuff from Digital Ink or Xerox ever gets out the door such that you could roll up the screen and the batteries , memory and processor fit inside a small module with the screen rapping arround I'd by one of those in a second probably as small or smaller than lipstick (or chapstick for the guys) would be really useful and probably could get 640x480, thats what I'm waiting for!!!!
Timex has this item
Only real differences are... this links up to your monitor via flashes on your screen, while the fossil links to you PDA by IR...
AND
the Fossil has lots more memory...
AND
the Timex has that INDIGLO back lite display.
Money cannot buy happiness, but can buy something soo darn close, that you can't really tell the difference
I currently wear a 23-jewel Poljot chronograph made in the Russian Federation. All it does is give the time and date, as well as providing me with a built-in two button stopwatch and tachymeter. True, it has to be wound up daily, but what the hell--it's very precise and reliable.
It's time to ask yourselves--do you really NEED all this hi-tech stuff? A watch is to tell time, nothing more. Get over it.
So ya wanna email me, eh? Change
just have something like Casio's databank watches with an added IR link.
I know the sentiment has been echoed here before, but I own CASIO's PC-Unite, which syncs with the PC via an infrared connection. Since it does not have a keypad, it's [almost] utterly useless for entering stuff on the fly.
Are the marketing people at CASIO and Fossil so dense that they do not see the need for a databank/PDA type of watch with an IR link AND a keypad???