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Fossil/Palm PDA Watch Reviewed
SLiK812 writes "Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has a pretty good review of Palm's and Fossil's new wrist PDA. We all knew some time ago that this was coming out, and was initially covered last November and briefly last month. This is the first review I've seen, and Mossberg does bring up some interesting points, both good and bad. Definitely worth the read before buying it."
Ultra mobile super-nerd technology, in style.
that this thing is going to sell very well. It doesn't even look like it would be easy to use. And as I recall the battery only lasts like 48 hours. I wonder how they ever got this idea to market...
"Windows Me offers tremendous reliability and stability improvements..." -- Paul Thurott
In terms of coolness factor its a 10, But looking at all the pictures I have seen I am not sure how usable this really is. Sure it has all of the Palm features but its so small, my blind eyes would probably have trouble reading anything without stairing. More impotantly for the price, I would rather have a refurb Handspring Edge and get one of those wallets that has room for my palm if I really needed to keep my palm with me all the time (which is infact how my current setup is. I would rather the USB watch anyday over this one
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
...even in major newspapers. There are many interesting things about this watch/PDA I always wanted to know, but the fact that "The watches...come with a tiny stylus" is a little more personal than what I wanted to know.
I have an original Palm Pilot. I should probably upgrade that some day.
.sig
Fossil Watch Has Awkward PDA, But Comes With Cool Style Feature
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
Men's wristwatches always have been a tempting target for gadget designers. Ever since Dick Tracy comic books began depicting their hero using his watch as a walkie-talkie, people have tried to jam all sorts of oddball functionality into watches.
But there's a problem with this quest. Watches are too small to accommodate too many techie functions. And if you make a watch too large or weird-looking, the wearer can look so geeky that he may never get a date.
Now, a big watch maker known for style, Fossil, is tackling this watch/gadget conundrum. It has devised a line of watches that incorporates a Palm personal-digital assistant -- complete with calendar, address book, memo pad and to-do list. The watches can even synchronize with a Windows PC, and come with a tiny stylus for entering data.
Fossil's new Wrist PDA
I've been testing the Wrist PDA to see how it works and how it looks. My verdict is that the Wrist PDA makes for a crippled Palm, of very limited functionality. But as a watch, it could be revolutionary because of an interesting new capability Fossil built in that is unrelated to the Palm aspect of the device.
Fossil plans several models of its Palm watch. I tested a black, plastic Sport model that will sell for $275, but there will be two dressier stainless-steel models, with different bands, for $295. All have identical functionality and come with software, adapters and cables for connecting to a PC and for recharging the battery.
The company also plans two less-expensive models, at $179 and $199, that will be sold under its Abacus brand. These will be functionally identical, but will look a bit different and will be sold at electronics stores, while the Fossil-branded watches will be sold at department stores and Fossil's own stores.
The Wrist PDA is a big, bulky watch with an electronic screen for a face. It has three buttons and a semicircular rocker switch for controlling its functions. The stylus is a tiny thing that tucks into a metal slide that keeps the band in place. It's easy to lose, so Fossil supplies a free spare. Beyond that, a stylus will cost $7.99.
The back of the watch conceals a socket for connecting the cable that attaches to a computer. An infrared port on the watch's top edge can beam data to and from other Palms.
The Wrist PDA is much harder to use than other Palms or Palm-compatible devices. I found entering text, and even accurately tapping on items on the screen, to be awkward and frustrating -- especially with the watch on my arm, but even when I removed it to hold it with both hands. The screen and stylus are simply too small.
But the awkwardness goes beyond entering text. Fossil has eliminated the direct-access buttons every Palm has used since 1996 to take you instantly to popular functions, such as the calendar and the address book. Instead, you have to use the main menu screen, which is small. I found the rocker switch that you use to navigate around the screen to be stiff and its surface to be as slippery as rob malda's love sausage-- though Fossil says it will add texture to the switch by September.
I was able to synchronize the Wrist PDA with a PC to bring over my calendar and contact data. But because the watch is too small to accommodate a standard USB port, Fossil had to use a proprietary cable and adapter box, and a special piece of software that runs in the background on your PC.
On the other hand, the screen is surprisingly sharp and easy to read, so the Wrist PDA works well if you just want to check your calendar, to-do list or address book without actually adding entries. I wouldn't try to search through a very large address book or scroll through hundreds or thousands of listings on the watch because of the text-entry and navigation problems.
But the most interesting feature of the Wrist PDA has nothing to do with the Palm functionality. In watch mode, when the thing is j
And if you make a watch too large or weird-looking, the wearer can look so geeky that he may never get a date.
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It's a great idea, but it's just too small. I hate the cell phones that attempt to cram so much into such a small space, or the laptops that cram a 1600x1200 resolution into a 15" monitor. With only 2MB of memory and an extremely small screen in a relatively bulky enclosure, I just don't see this as a great product.
It definitely has its uses, but many would be well suited with a larger Palm Pilot or PocketPC.
The Political Programmer
Summary: Functionally clumsy, but it looks cool!!
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
I saw those pda/watches and my 1st thought was the old lcd "draw the numbers on" calculator watches were making a comeback.
Mmmm..big and ugly, where do I sign up?
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
it would have a circular OLED screen that went to the edge, same face size as a normal man's watch and would simply run java, so that I could put whatever the hell I want on it.
Hrm, according to other sources, the relase date for the pda/watch is delayed until 30th September.
"VA Linux" changed its name to "VA Software" when they started selling non-linux things.
So "palm" has to change its name to "bodypart" since they start selling things you don't use in your palm.
Shouldn't the picture be on the back of the panties?!!! (And to they come in XXXXL?)
For those people who think that a calculator watch just isn't quite geeky enough.
Fossil PDA:
Looks very
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but it's
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yay for tech jewelery
Traditional PDA screens are about as small as you can go while still retaining a reasonable degree of usability. Get a watch that's too large, and it's no longer anything that you want to wear on your wrist.
While the entire concept of being able to wear your gadgets on your wrist is cool, it takes more than simply saying "I'll meet you halfway" to design such a device. Simply put, the PDA is too small, and the watch is too big for most people to be interested in this device.
Unless you're dealing with a very limited input style--think at most four or five buttons and maybe some form of roller switch--it's going to be nearly impossible to develop a viable wrist-worn device that relies on tactile input. Data storage, sure. Even limited data output is doable--an iPod-esque control system could be adapted to a wristwatch, and one can create relatively unobtrusive displays for a watch (without too great of expectations for resolution, readability, or volume.) But trying to drop a PDA into a watch--that's just too much fine motor control and tactile interaction in too small a space to be practical.
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Well I guess it could have a little chance since large face watches are now in fashion.
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.
This PDA would be pretty inconvenient, especially because of its (probably) little memory capacity, as well as poor battery life. Imagine a hot girl at Starbucks asking you the time, and your reply: "Ummm, I'm sorry my cool Fossil PDA_Watch battery is dead, would you care for some coffee instead?"
As it it wasn't hard enough to get a date, now they want me to strap a PDA to my wrist. Yeah, that'll reel 'em in...
While I think a watch is one of the ideal places to keep a data device - since you always have it with you (the other being a keychain), I don't see the point of paying a $100+ premium for a fashionable one over a functional one - no matter what you are going to be considered a geek for wearing one these, that you paid $295 for a Fossil branded PalmOS watch versus $179 for a Abacus branded one, only makes you look like a geek that is careless with his money.
Work for Change & GET PAID!
to sneak a gadget into a meeting to get me away from self-important blowhards is cool by me. It may take an entire meeting to input my daily schedule, but at least my previously wasted time is no longer a complete write-off.
Well, as far as Sig's go, Freud was a doozy.
I found entering text, and even accurately tapping on items on the screen, to be awkward and frustrating -- especially with the watch on my arm, but even when I removed it to hold it with both hands.
Yeah, I've always had the same problem with my regularly sized Palm. Whenever I hold it using both hands, it is damn near impossible to use the stylus with any accuracy, much less trying to write letters. However, I don't suspect Palm is going to fix this anytime soon. My inclination is that they will just wait for users to evolve a third hand. Even then, I suppose you will have people trying to hold their Palms with all three of their hands.
-- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
Assuming I would want to wear an ugly huge watch (that's a personal opinion of couse) that's called "Fossil" and is MSN-enabled (uuh), I have a problem with such small devices that have an internal battery.
:
...
From the specs page
POWER REQUIREMENTS : AC power adapter (100V-240V), DC output (4V-9V), Lithium-ion rechargeable battery (internal).
BATTERY LIFE : 4-5 days (based on average use of 30 minutes per day with no backlight or IR)
Right, so in real life, if I was to use the thing normally, with backlight at night and syncing with my desktop with IR, I'd say I'd probably have to charge it up every 2 or 3 days. Given that a real-life Li-Ion batteries have a typical life of 300 recharge cycles (yes, you can get more out of them, but you have to be *very* careful when you charge and for how long, which isn't always practical in a consumer device), especially since it's probably a super-small fragile battery, that means the battery will have to be changed after 2.5 years of use at most.
Do I want to see the face of the watch repairman when I bring him the Fossil for a battery change? Do I want to see the bill when I have to send the watch back to Fossil for a battery replacement? No.
So, no PDA watch for me. Nosiree
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
that Flava-Flav will now hang an iBook around his neck?
I'm left handed, and I wear my watch on my left wrist... so am I supposed to change which wrist I wear my watch on after 20 years?
Should I try graffiti with my right hand? I have a hard enough time with my left.
Palm pilot...$70
Palm pilot watch w/ almost no features...$300
Look on wife's face...priceless.
NOTE: Don't click the above link.
Do I dare ask when the Linux version will come out? I'm surprised I haven't heard anybody ask yet. What's with you people?
Then again, I'd hate to have SCO sue me just because I'm wearing a damn watch. Man it sucks being a geeks sometimes.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
For the following reasons:
I do have some questions:
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Maybe I'll consider it after they add the cell phone capability
It's for tennis. I'm going to program it to keep score/stats for me. After every point, I'll indicate whether I won or lost and why (eg, double-fault, forced error, unforced error, service winner, ace...) Then it can sync with my computer and over time I'll have in-depth statistics on my match, so I can compare myself to Agassi and see the precise scientific extent to which I suck. I'm assuming, of course, that I can actually program the thing. And that it's water resistant. Hm.
Wow, a lucrative publishing contract! I don't have to be evil anymore. --Meteor
Among Mossberg's comments about the watch:
Now in all fairness, keep in mind that Mossberg is in his 50's, and that's not Fossil's target audience of 20-something, eagle-eyed early adopters. So his first experience should be taken with a 30-year-old grain of salt. But I think I'll let some other people "early adopt" this one.
Have fun: Join D.N.A. (National Dyslexics Association)
A beawolf cluster of these!
. . . will be the left-handed market. It appears that the buttons on the watch itself are all on the right side. For me, a left-hander, it's tough enough manipulating a normal watch to set the alarm. I sure wouldn't want to have to try to navigate the Palm OS at that awkward angle. I've already run into this problem with my Sony Clié. One of the most heavily-touted features is the "revolutionary" jog-dial switch. In principle, it's a good idea because you wouldn't have to get out the stylus to open just one program and access a file in it. However, the scroll rate isn't fast enough (for me) and the fact that I hold my palm with my right hand means that I would have to use my thumb, way out of normal "holding" position, to use the jog-dial. I don't think it's that great of an innovation for those who can use it, and I don't use it all since I'm left-handed. The PDA watch looks really cool, but until they get through the first generation's usability issues and decide to release a left-handed version (even if it's only available through special order or online), I'm not getting one.
LARGER!!!
add THREE
INCHES to
your styl
us!!
No electrons were harmed creating this post, though some may have been subjected to electrical and/or magnetic fields.
From the article:
But the most interesting feature of the Wrist PDA has nothing to do with the Palm functionality. In watch mode, when the thing is just telling time, you can scroll through and select from a wide variety of different watch-face designs. This is the first watch I know of that lets you pick the way its face looks and change that look as often as you like.
Well, duh! It's a Palm, so of course you can make the watch have whatever face you want!
My Palm III (all of $11 on eBay) has multiple clock faces, too -- Analog, Big Digital Clock with world time and weekday-only alarms, another Analog version, and my favorite, the Hell Clock with built-in countdown to Halloween. "Hell Clock" is the one that I like to beam to the cell phones at the Verizon store, to give them more "visual interest".
I'd have dozens more, but I lost interest after four. And I didn't pay one red cent for any of 'em (all were freeware at the time).
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Well, I think she was referring mostly to posted speed limits, and how she would commonly drive 5-10 mph under the limit, but...
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
Hey, buddy...wanna buy a Beowulf cluster of these?
For those interested, you can download the manual as a pdf here:o wnloads/WristPDAUserGuide.pdf
http://www.fossil.com/images/retail/Product/TechD
Seems to answer a lot of questions. In fact, I think screen is probably big enough to write on, but the biggest problem lies in the size of the stylus. I'm sure there will be even better methods of input that can be used one developers get some in their hands.
Personally,I think it might actually be a better implementation than Walt leads us to believe... if only they can get the size down and increase battery life.
amazon.com revised its shipping date to 30th of September. http://www.i4u.com/article489.html
It makes a nice "stylus"
Part of the problem, as people have mentioned, is that the screen is simply too fscking small. Too small to do really look at data (address books, etc), too small for input (stylis or not) - just too small.
It almost seems to me that we need to wait until we have an interface that can be built on the fly - say, a hologram idea.
Now, let's pretend that this actually works, and, a la Star Trek style, ignore the science: you have a flat pane of the watch that normally tells time. At the touch of a button, an interface appears over the watch that is about the same size of a standard PDA screen. It is able to sense the location of objects moving over it, so you could "touch" the images with your fingers, "scroll" through the address book, read an e-book (though you might want to move the watch for that to make it more comfortable, etc). You would have to allow the user to shift the display (so if you're driving, you can make it stay "upright" as you look into your address book before smacking into the car ahead of you because you didn't have your eyes on the road).
If you wanted to be really cool, you could let the user lay the watch flat, and "expand" the interface into a whole desktop complete with "keyboard" so they could type, use their fingers as pointer devices, etc. (We are of course pretending that the watch's electronics are so small and heat efficient they don't burn a hole in your wrist/desk to compute all of this information).
This technology I'm sure is about 15-20 years off, but I think that's what you would need to allow something that small to have an interface worth using.
Of course, this is just a "pull the idea out of my ass" concept - I could be totally wrong as to whether this would be useful or not.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
A bluetooth profile for "auxilary displays", and a watch that supports it. When I get a call on my bluetooth-capable PDA-phone, the watch vibrates and displays caller ID info. Ditto for text messages and appointment reminders. There's a minimal interface on the watch, just enough to look up a contact or dial the phone. Fancy models might include a loudspeaker and microphone, for PTT-style calls. Really fancy models might include a camera, for use as a videophone, once the cell phone network can support it.
That's all I want. If I need any significant interaction, even just to enter a phone number, I'll take my PDA-phone out of my pocket and write it in a civilized fashion. A "smart watch" is primarily useful for letting me know when I don't need to do that.
Oh, and as far as I know, none of what I'm asking for would take much hardware. Battery life might be a problem, but I'm sure someone can design a clever cradle and quick-release strap, and then I'll just charge it every night.
MSK
than an entire mini-PDA would be a watch linked to your regular PDA or computer.
It should be able to display reminders etc but would n't really need a full user interface.
Tor
would be bluetooth support to my real palm m500, which could also be networked to my nipple ring... yeech
Reality check. Girls know geeks don't pull down big money anymore, and they will likely be unemployed with the next round of outsourcing to India. The watch is babe repellant.
So if you're the type of person that wants a PDA in your watch, you will never get a date period. So just buy the "less stylish" $179 model.
- Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
For those people who think that a calculator watch just isn't quite geeky enough.
Uh huh. And the rest of us look like James Bond with our tri-corders clipped to our belts, right?
Now I have to wear my watch on my LEFT wrist? Please.
Ooh, I personally modded this down.
Whatta ya gonna do, punk?
Wussy Linux homo.
And if you make a watch too large or weird-looking, the wearer can look so geeky that ... she'll need a much larger stylus to fight men off, if she notices they're there at all.
(I remember the day I first saw a Mac, at the A&M computer club - dozens of guys, and me. And I didn't notice, because I was too busy playing with the Mac)
There's no left-handed variant. A normal watch you learn to deal with; one windy button you use once-in-a-while is OK... But when there're a load of buttons on one side of the watch, and no easy alternative, it's completely unusable by lefties.
I mean, the normal palm is bad at times with the scrollbar on the wrong side of the screen [don't tell me about lefthack; it breaks Eudora]
Experiment: Put your watch on your right wrist. Now change the time. Now imagine you need to do this with far more dexterity.
Bah. They're only losing about 10-15% of the market by doing that, so no great loss, I guess...
Gary (-;
Nobody seems to have mentioned the time-tested Casio Databank watch yet, so here is the product comparison with the Fossil PDA watch:
:^) If you use a CR2032 battery instead of the CR2016, and you turn off the hourly chime and alarms, you can get about 8-10 years use out of one battery!
Fossil features: clock, calculator, backlight, address book, date book, to-do list, IrDA port, ability to run Palm apps, and a memo pad.
Casio features: clock, calculator, backlight, address book (kinda), 5 alarms, world time, atomic time synchronization and a stopwatch.
Fossil battery life: five days
Casio battery life: two years
Fossil price: $295
Casio price: $89
I'm going to stick with my Casio Databank.
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
The only reason it looks cool: a software-driven watch face. Not something I'd pay that much money for!
If you need information on hand and you'd rather use a joystick than lose a stylus, you might look at the OnHandPC (seems to run a DOS variant, not palmos, not linux :( :)h and.com/
http://pconhand.com/onhandpc.asp
http://pcon
http://matsucomusa.com/
I've seen a few people walking around with them, and I have to admit they're GIGANTIC as far a watch goes.
I can't see the point in wearing one of the first generation if the functionality is so limited vs the size. Never mind the battery life.
Personally, I hope that a larger form factor watch gains acceptance though, so that a 2 or 3 inch^2 display could be used. (Flex displays?) At that point you might actually be able to use it for something. Chapter of an Ebook while you wait for the bus?
I think cooler points lean in favour of being able to page a cab, find the time and book a movie ticket when you meet someone (without having to lug around a separate cellphone) - as opposed to worrying about whether someone is superficial enough to dismiss you based on your watch.
Your shoes however...
When it interfaces with FreeBSD 5.X, then I'll care.
It might just replace the Microsoft M70 watch.
This looks oddly familiar, minus the links about the comparably priced Palms. No, I'm not complaining. It's just weird. But I do hope for a little more consistency in the future, especially considering that Amazon taking orders for this watch was considered front-pageworthy.
* 2003-07-17 14:15:56 Mossberg Reviews Fossil's Palm PDA Wristwatch (articles,pilot) (rejected)
It's not really a handheld, but in today's Personal Technology column Walt Mossberg reviews Fossil's Palm-based PDA wristwatch that was announced at Comdex 2002. Not surprisingly, he finds it difficult to input data with the micro-stylus [insert your own joke here] it comes with, but thinks it's fine if you just want to view your to-do list, calendar or contact list. On the upside, he likes the black and white screen quality and the display features. You can see the Fossil Tech watches at Fossil's site. For the $275-$295 price tag you could get a real, usable Palm such as the color m515 or the Zire 71 with a camera, or if you prefer an even lower price, the $199 m130 - but then price isn't as much of a consideration as the geek-cred.
As awesome as it is having a programmable PDA watch, i think its probably not the best platform for anything more than telling the time.
:)
:(
Anyone who has the money for this thing will almost 99.99% certainly have a mobile phone aswell and therefore the phone book function is completely useless. Infact anyone who has the money for this probably has a quite a decent phone that they can store memos/todos etc on, download programs for, take photos, read email, browse the net and all with a colour screen. Ok so maybe you might not want to take your phone somewhere, but in that case you probably wouldnt want the phonebook, or the todo list, or any of the other things! I can imagine how hard it must be putting text in one of those things, i remember my databank watch from ages ago
For years and years i dreamed of computer watches and now they are here i dont even want one
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Hmm wonder how long this watch will actually last? Fossil is actually signed on as one of the manufactures for the upcoming Microsoft SPOT watch, which meets all of the high points that the reviewer mentions. It has changeable watch faces, and is actually set up only to let you view your calendar, address books, and new streams. This makes me wonder if Fossil is going to try and sell two competing lines of PDA watches or just drop one of them.
we can rebuild this sig. we have the technology
Wow it does everything my cell phone does, except make phone calls or play games and it only costs $50 more. Actually I would buy one if I could make the face display a cartoon of people having sex on it at the touch of a button.
You can double the geek factor by adding some retro. If I'm going to wear a watch with a screen on it, I'd much rather wear one of Nintendo's game watches. I bet you could put some decent games on that palm, but the article says the watch doesn't have the palm hardware buttons.
Bork Bork Bork!!
Until I can have a watch computer like Dr. Aki Ross in Final Fantasy:TSW
If you saw it, it was a Seiko watch, that when you turned it on a computer beamed a holographic gui around your arm. But when you wanted to tell simple time, it was just a watch.
Note to self: No more arguing with the faithful.
Yeah, I can imagine Wal-mart selling them at a 30% discount with a permanent Wal-mart logo face. And then I can imagine someone writing a De-WalMart hack to replace the logo, and going to court for violating the DMCA because they thwarted the rot13 encryption neccesary to bypass the logo lock. Same shit, different year.
11*43+456^2
A friend of mine had a Casio vdb-1000 well over 10 years ago. If anything it seems smaller than the fossil.
Palm pilot watch w/ almost no features...$300
Actually, the Fossil watch has almost exactly the same feature set as the $70 Palm Pilot (a Palm Zire). The screen is the same number of pixels, the pixels are just smaller. The memory is the same, there's IR beaming and character recognition. It's even got buttons; they simply don't happen to ship mapped to the usual functions.
I play Nerd-Folk!
Palm pilots have limited sized screens as it is, now they want to make a watch PDA? Sure, technology may allow it, but is it really practical? They better have a great warranty on the scroll button. :)
Everyone does wrist watches this way...meanwhile my pocket watch is twice the size, meaning all the size issues of a wrist watch are moot. But I can't even find one that's digital, much less one that has some cool features.
Very frustrating.
Evan Reynolds evanthx@hotmail.com
Two peanuts crossed the street. One was assaulted.
You must be joking about lack of market. It's roughly like an old Palm III, but with a smaller display and vastly greater portability, and I don't recall lack of market being a problem with Palms. I'd love to have one of these watches.
It lasts 48 hours only if the PDA is continuously in use, which is pretty similar to that of a Palm III as well (I have one). But the Palm III lasts 3 months when not in use (on two AAA alkaline cells), so I would expect the watch alone to last a lot longer than 48h between charges.