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Toshiba's Wristwatch PDA
pdawerks says "Toshiba has previewed what it calls a Wristwatch PDA, which it considers to be very popular in future. According to MobileMag and BBC News, the device will provide the functionality of a high-end PDA in a comparatively small and handy form factor. It features a wide hi-definition display, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking and is perfectly suited for videophone conferences. The concept also sports voice recognition, which allows you to simply talk to your Wristwatch PDA."
When is enough, enough?(When it comes to size factor) With PDAs, how small can you have them until they're no longer functionable?
That sounds awsome. A PDA on your wrist, with all that. I can't imagine that not being a big hit if people can afford it. I hope I can....
http://www.beyourowneviloverlord.tk
http://www.frozenchickenthrowing.tk
http://www.killercamel.tk
Anyobody else thinks "small and handy form factor." and "a wide hi-definition display" contradict each other? What use is a high resolution display if it's so small?
Smaller and lighter is usually a good thing with mobile devices, but doesn't there come a point when you've gone too far? In particular, with a wristwatch PDA, I'd be concerned that the screen is too small to be useful -- even on a regular-size PDA, I sometimes feel "cramped".
But, It's HUGE! No one wants a monstrosity like that on their wrist.
I don't wear my watch anymore since I find it more discrete to just keep a cell phone/pda in my pocket and whip it out when I need to know what time it is.
I think the watch form factor was just fine when time was the only portable function. Once you start adding other features it really pays to have more interface options.
About two days, before you smash your wrist into desk or corner as you're walking, and little pieces of LCD dribble down your arm.
"No, the screen is not warrantied against accidental damage."
And the device is not suit-compatible. Great for t-shirts, lousy with long sleeves.
Needs more work.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Did you see how big that thing was? I don't expect it to be tiny, but it doesn't look like you'd be able to move your wrist at all with that thing. It stretches from your wrist to your elbow! Soon we'll see all the skaters wearing it as wrist protection.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
All those in favor of wearing a grey and blue torpedo on their wrists and calling it a PDA, say I. In other news you can buy a nice pocket sized device that wont make you look so odd when you check the time....
print 'Hello world!';
http://compbrain.net
On the other hand, I would certainly have a PDA/Calculator/Cell Phone/Digital camera all in one and in a PDA size (with a decent screen size and definition) and a regular watch. When such a device will come out AND be quite reliable for ALL the functions, I will consider the investment.
DrkBr
is a "watch" now defined by strapping anything to your wrist that can tell the time ?
this sure doesnt look like in the same category as Rolex,Cartier or even a Casio i would argue this is a wrist mount for a PDA not a Watch
Kit!!
Yes Michael?
Come and get me...
What would you do without a monitor? Sit and look stupid behind a keyboard and a mouse
Maybe this will be a worthy replacement for the calculator-watch I've been wearing since 1983.
A clock in the desert? In the middle of Amazon jungle?
The BBC have some nice pics of this device.
One big problem I can see is that it will affect your wrist movements making it uncomfortable to wear in every day use. A mobile phone (they're becoming more and more like PDAs) is a discreet device that you can hide in your pocket and doesn't look so 'weird'. I don't think this will take off. I don't think there will be a market for such a thing because people want to look good. Also this thing will be prone to getting scratched and damaged with everyday wear.
Battery life is the important question, imho.
You don't want a waist PDA spec-ed out so good to be true that you have to carry the spare power source in your other pocket.
Hey, that's my password you are typing
A few have written about diminishing returns in terms of size, but these are the future.
Soon as Bluetooth can stream video and sunglasses have video monitor then theses devices will show a logical step towards the future. PDA will become wrist computers; later fully wearable computers with sunglasses to rival plasma screens. After that, who knows (only progress will tell)?
By the way; I put on a 3d simulation helmet the other day - not quite fashionable but a step in the direction of wearable.
I was an addict.
Anyway, long story short, went cold turkey. Cancelled my service, gave the blackberry to a friend, and have gone au natural for the last couple years. I'm finally happy and unbound from the tethers of wireless email (ironic, eh...).
The thought of something hanging on my wrist to give me email, web, and IM anywhere anytime scares the crap out of me.
Never in a million years!
OK- I'm done...
Doesn't Leela have one of those?
A man is traveling through the desert when he comes upon an an Indian lying on the ground stark naked with a hard-on sticking straight up in the air. He asks the Indian what he is doing, to which the Indian replies, "I`m telling the time." The man tells the Indian that he doesn`t believe it, so the Indian tells him that it is 1:00. The man looks at his watch and is amazed to find that it is exactly 1:00. He travels a bit longer until he comes upon another naked Indian lying on the ground with a hard-on sticking straight up. He asks this Indian what he is doing and he too replies that he is telling the time. He tells the Indian to prove it and the Indian tells him that it is 2:00. The man looks at his watch and once again is amazed that the time is correct. He continues his trek through the desert until he comes across an Indian lying naked in the sand, masturbating. He asks this Indian, "And what the hell are you doing?" To which the Indian replies, "I`m winding my watch."
So THAT'S what Leela had on her wrist all the way through Futurama...:)
Toshiba has previewed what it calls a Wristwatch PDA, which it considers to be very popular in future
Considers? Maybe it's my lack of understanding of English, but wouldn't "forecasts" or "guesses" be a better word? The only way you can consider something to be popular in the future is if you believe in multiple futures so that there will always be a future in which Toshiba can consider its wristwatch to be very popular. Like every company has the right to its own Future Reality (tm).
"Apple considers its Ipod IV to be the most popular player in 2008, however Microsoft says that it considers its player to be the most popular in 2008 but qualifies that statement saying that 'this may happen in the same universe as Apple's or in one parallell to it'"
Actually, yes it is. Definition
Watch n. (...) 8. A small portable timepiece, especially one worn on the wrist or carried in the pocket.
it's too darned big. what sort of professional is going to be taken seriously walking around with a tv sitting on his or her wrist?
it's damned cool, don't get me wrong, but i don't think that items like these are going to take off until they're able to project a holographic image and allow the user to interact with that.
That wrist PDA is a nice idea, but it's not quite there as far as I'm concerned. First, like a lot of people, I don't wear a wristwatch anymore. I have a cellphone most of the time, and it has a nice external LCD display with a clock. When I'm not carrying my phone, I prefer a pocket watch to a wrist watch. Basically, I just don't like bulky shit on my wrists, as it gets unfortable when you are typing on a keyboard (something I do a lot of).
So if someone wants to introduce a wrist PDA that I would buy, they need to make it thin, light, and unobtrusive enough to get around my dislike of wrist-based devices. This model from Toshiba definitely doesn't fit the bill (and it looks like more concept than reality at this point, anyway).
Personally, I could see buying a wrist-based cellphone/pda with a bluetooth headset, but only if they could get the entire unit under 5mm in thickness and keep the weight under 100 grams. Basically, I want it to fit under a shirtsleeve, and be light enough that I can forget it's there. Of course, it should also have an integrated videophone. And it would have to have some sort of clamshell design with an armored lid to protect the screen.
So I guess I'll be buying mine around 2012 or so.
Videophone conferences? But do you see the video camera anywhere convenient placed? Can it really get so tiny?
Only 4 buttons shown - a little too few, imho. A simple digital watch have 4 buttons. Compromised usability?
The screen texture looks too curvy and silk-ed, which will prove irritating for pen based input. Maybe voice input all around? Have fun!
As a conceptual device, it looks good, but I'll bet its unpopularity if this device is ever actually put on store shelf.
Somehow, I feel that Dick Tracy will not look as smart if he was to wear this gadget.
Hey, that's my password you are typing
It really looks impressive, but how long will this PDA run before the batteries go flat?
Having to remove the watch in order to recharge the battery is going to rapidly lose the coolness factor.
I looked at the device, and like and computer, what will make or break is "killer" aps.
For the PDA I have now, the killer ap is the blood meter add-on module. Combine this sucker with the sweat based blood meter device I read about a year ago or so, and you might have a rela interesting device.
Make the casing waterproof to 300 feet, and add a sensor and it might replace several radio dive computers (Like the Aladin Air Z O2 that I already have). (www.uwatec.com)
At the very least, it would almost surely need a screen protector, to protect it from getting clobbered.
I think I'll reserve judgement until I get more data on it.
Not only do you get coupled to one device, vendor, or service (think Treo600 + Sprint cell service), but you can't decouple parts of the hardware to improve it as technology advances.
Device convergence is a bad, bad bad idea. The technology (Bluetooth for example) was originally proposed to "connect devices together". It does nothing of the sort, when your devices are converged.
I'd love to see a PDA, with a Bluetooth attachment, talking to a cellphone (bluetooth enabled, either internally or via attachment), talking to a bluetooth-enabled laptop/desktop, and so on. If you decide to upgrade your phone, the rest of the devices still keep working perfectly. It is the Unix philosophy. Replace one small part, and the process keeps working. You don't have to rip everything out and replace it all, because one small part merits an upgrade.
What do you do when you want to upgrade a portion of this watch's capabilities? Throw it out and get a new one? Unacceptable.
This goes for PDAs with phones, or phones with PDAs built into them. Either you get:
Building a PDA into a wristwatch, while at first seems "cool", in the real world of practical devices and people who use this technology, is an incredibly bad idea.. especially at this size.
...and I hope most of the technology in it is buit around some sort of updatable firmware, so you can update the OS, apps, and other software bits to help it remain compatible with other technology.
I want my existing, bought-this-year devices to work with current technology. I don't want to have to throw them all away and replace every part, just to get a new connectivity option.
Hrmph!
Think about it. It's WAY too big to be a wristwatch (Comminicator is too big to be a phone, IMHO) and it probably costs quite a pretty penny, too. Probably in a similar fashion there'll be that small group of people who will want one and who think they just couldn't live without one.... and then they smash it against a sharp corner or something ;)
Seriously, PDA screens are fragile things and wrists constantly bumb into stuff. I don't think there would be any way for someone to convince me to buy one of these, not after I've had a look at the Palm graveyard (Here's a link)
Sigs for Nerds. Sigs that Matter.
...which it considers to be very popular in future.
This is what happens when a marketer gets hold of a time machine. They don't travel to the future to find the cure for cancer or aids, they travel to the future to see if their latest line of watches are popular. Bastards.
Turns ordinary falls into fractures....
Exacerbates carpal tunnel syndrome....
Gets caught on stair rails and pulls your arm out of socket.....
yes, this is the fashion accessory I need!
They could be smaller.
Using an audio interface you could nearly have no limit on how small it is. Especially if you off processing power to a remote location.
Some people can be terminally forgetful you know, such as me. I'd sacrifice my pride for help remembering things.
Key things:
- INTERFACE is still the problem. Really you need something that interfaces directly with the brain conciousness - a proper memory expansion. HUD glasses and handwriting recignition as good as M$ Windows would be a jump forward methinks. In fact even if this watch thing has good handwriting recognition that works in sentances I'd consider it.
- ALWAYS AVAILABLE. This is why mobiles tend to get used. No point having a PDA if you don't take it everywhere with you. Question: other than a watch what else do you keep with you at all times, such in the gym?
A blog I run for the wealth
(Hmm. Wonder if any of the designers at Toshiba ever owned a Nintendo Power Glove?)
You must think in Russian.
It's too bulky, I wouldn't use something like that. My Palm V PDA is okay for size and has everything I need in a PDA, although the dafult calculator sucks. Handspring's is better. Yes I know Palm bought Handspring.
the part of the serie when they were in Earth they had communicators/arm computers that covered half of the arm. Not remember now the details, but wonder how much they look or like this model.
"considers popular in the future" What?.. they have a time machine now?
These things remind me a bit of the old show from the 70's: 'ark 2'...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
My watch is small, and tells time, and has a light - that's all I want it to do. My cell phone is small and let's me make phone calls. My PDA is small, and let's me use it as a PDA. All these combining of technology is getting out of hand. The form factor is too big on many of them and honestly many people (myself included) don't really want their cell phones/watches to do a million things at once.
the appropriate name is 'data cuff' and yes, I'd buy one, and utilize it, in public...
some of the stuff (crap) I've purchased and mostly still have include
Sony Glasstrons
Logitech cyberman 1 and 2
Archos 340
nintendo game glove
Kyocera 6035 and now 7135
TRS-80 mdl 100 (2) and 102(1)
stuntmaster hmd
at least 4 different lcd shutterglasses
some people don't care about appearance, but enhanced ability/capabilities .. this potentially would allow--- a whole lotta nerding...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
That thing looks real big and clunky.
.5-1 hr of charge, but is easily and quickly charged by its holster. The real weight is on the belt, and since it isn't designed to be regularly pulled out and used, it can be designed solely for comfortable wear.
I've worked in the wireless / PDA space for a while. And the same issues keep coming up: power and antenna. Army guys say that on pound on your feet equals five pounds on your back. I'd say that goes double for your arms.
Why not have a huge battery integrated into a belt, designed to be flat and unobtrusive, along with the antenna. Then have your cell phone, screen/keyboard, digital camera, earpiece, etc mount on the belt, with capacitors charged by induction.
This way, you have an easy, light form factor that holds maybe
As a side benefit, you only have one thing to remember to plug in at night, and all your devices share power, so the power is used by whatever device requires it (nothing is wasted). Plus, you have one GOOD wireless transceiver instead of six-odd mediocre ones.
At work, everyone said it was a good idea, but that you'd never get the companies to agree on an open standard for the recharger. Ahh, well...
This doesn't even show a picture of a solid object,instead just giving an artist's rendition...based on that we could just as easily say that Toshiba is coming out with an X-Wing fighter. There wasn't any indication that there's any software written yet either; the original article note that they used a screenshot from PalmOS. I'd me a lot more impressed if they had ANYTHING besides a "gee, wouldn't it be nice if..." concept.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
The Toshiba stuff is obviously vaporware that will never be released. Microsoft has watches that are available now though:
. ms px
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/spot/product
When all it does is tell time, a wristwatch makes sense. When you need a larger interface, it's time to go back to the good ol' pocket watch form factor. Pocket watches are cooler anyways.
Will the Toshiba actually reach the wrist of Slashdot user? It doesn't matter anymore, because of the invention of a little piece of plastic: the cell-phone belt clip. While wearing a PalmPilot makes one a first-class geek, even women now wear cell phones on their belts. The cell phone is the new standard for socially acceptable portable computing, not the Dick Tracy wristwatch.
All thanks to a little piece of plastic.
"Down and Safe, Liberator. I expect one of the villains to conveniently steal my bracelet in around 15 minutes."
:)
Seriously though, would this ever take off? I think it'd fail due to looking goofy, somewhat like VR headsets did.
However, it's feasible through other input methods like say... a finger. I remember looking a little daft in the 80s operating a calculator watch, but at least it's not as bad as talking to it...
I'm still waiting for the one I used in a 1977 science fiction story. Don't laugh too loudly at my version of the internet. http://www.io.com/~hmelton/stories/opus18.html
"Not likely"
with that size, you'll be hiting doors. you'll need a little helmet to protect it.
~m
"Yes, I have a Disaster Recovery Plan. It's called my Resume"
I was just wondering if this is finally the device Leela is wearing in Futurama? I knew this series was prophetic. Can't wait until they start installing these tubes in my city...
It has bluetooth? Now I can't read the endless posts whining about how it doesn't support bluetooth!
"integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking"
.. and in other news, wrist cancer rates are on the rise, but scientists are not sure of the cause.
Time travel is possible. We are quickly heading for 1984.
Personally, I think the device looks pretty cool. I think many posters are concentrating too much on the mass consumer market when they say the thing is too big and clunky or that you'll look like a dork wearing one.
This could be a very useful device for people who do need some access to information constantly. I could see a UPS or FedEx driver with one of these things instead of the huge tablet they carry around now. I could also maybe see a taxi driver (maybe) have the address of his next few pickups on the display. A lawyer maybe, so that he could have prepared questions right on his wrist of bullet points for his opening and closing (the device would have to look more presentable - less cheesy tech - get John Ives to design it. Everyone'l be scratching their heads wondering why they didn't think of that).
Anyway, there are some professions that could really use a device like this one. It's just not for everyone in the consumer world. That's ok. A product doesn't need mass appeal to be successful. A niche works.
remember when pocket protectors, mended thick-frame glasses and slide rules were uncool and people got swirlies for having them? i personally have seen the inside of a few too many toilet bowls. we geeks had to OWN those things before they became cool. the same goes for having home entertainment systems strapped awkwardly to our wrists. objectively speaking, they aren't any more absurd than a necktie, but provide much more utility. once Arnold Schwartzennegger unloads his klutzy Hummer and gets one of these, society will come around. people will stop taking you seriously if you DON'T have one.
The flag just makes more sense than the constitution. - Judas Gutenberg
Your choice between a flashing "Loser!" and a scrolling "Even I don't want to have sex with me."
PDA phones make a lot more sense. Now when they can only improve battery life and include a more efficient input method (don't forget price), then I'm getting one.
.smell my feet.
Knight Rider and KITT.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Now imagine trying to bend your wrist.
OTOH, if you take it off and hold it in your first, looks like it would make a nice set of "brass knuckles".
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
I see this watch as an intermediate step in the evolution/'decrease in size' of technology. It is inbetween a watch and a pda screen. In the future, I see tiny watches, but instead of having a large screen, they instead project the image onto a wall, the ground, or any surface, which would in turn eliminate the highly nerdy and conspicuous watch.
You show up late to work because you were too busy playing with your watch to notice the time.
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
(1) Obviously, the electronics/display portion needs to be rigid, this is unavoidable (at least until OLED/OLEP tech comes down in price enough to make a wraparound screen).
(2) Flexible circuitry and flexible rubber or silicone keyboards have been available for years. Why not make it part of the wristband?
(3) Logically, what they should do is have as small as possible a "CPU", a hinged screen that can flip up and/or be plugged in, so you could flip the screen up when typing on the bottom of your wrist, and/or just pop the screen out when you're done doing geek stuff, stowing the screen in your pocket.
It is impressive, however, that they have an almost full sized PDA screen on the doohickey, pity the original designers of a programmable computer watch haven't considered releasing a modernized version of the wrist computer back in the mid 80s (I forget the brand).
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Is it long sleeve compatible? Imagine the tan line! Can you imagine how sweaty it would get under there?! How do I hook it up to my portable keyboard? How do I see what I'm typing while using my portable keyboard (sore neck!). Will Casio make a G-Shock version? I'm always breaking my watches. Why stop there, let's design a friggin' laptop around my entire left arm!
Did Toshiba design this at the request of DARPA?
Authority questions you. Return the favor.
I'm not really concerned with input, PDA users have used styluses with great success for years now. My concern: battery life. How long would it last with that huge display? 3 hours tops? My 1945 would die in 3 hours if I left it on, and being a watch I'm guessing that Toshiba display would have to be on 24/7. Even my "old" Palm m515 wouldn't last 5 hours if kept on, so how is this going to be powered?
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
It was discontinued before it reached market I believe.
Seriously... click'n'tap PDAs are very hard to use for entering data, even if you use the onscreen chiclet keyboard "simulations." I don't see a PDA as a _primary_ data entry device, mind you. I just find it so annoying to use the stylus for entering even small amounts of data like the description for an appointment.
My old HP 200LX "palmtop" is eminently typable, either in two-thumbs mode, or six-finger mode (while device is resting on a flat surface). The device continues to run flawlessly five years after it was discontinued.
Newer devices, such as the Sharp Zaurus clamshell-configurations with integrated keyboard (avail. only in Japan 8-( ), look appealing and typable. The U.S. Zaurii with keyboards have keys the size of a pinhed; I tried it; the keyboard is pretty much unusable.
I prefer the keyboard to be integrated; I don't want to carry a separate device on a dongle/cable.
One thought is that I can see uses for this shape/size of device. I can see it as useful for the video display function for different stuff and as just a good shape for getting a device on your wrist (better than the other tries anyway). And, if you want it more descrete, wear it screen-down like some wear watches anyway...
The other is a gripe. If someone wants a display, why not make it a remote one for something with more power and keep it the size of a watch? make the watch a time-piece AND be able to use it for messages, alarms, etc. from a PDA or something else via bluetooth or maybe even PAN?
AB HOC POSSUM VIDERE DOMUM TUUM
Maybe it's just me, but I feel incredibly stupid trying to use voice-recognition in public.
The need for all this stuff would vanish if it somehow became socially acceptable for men to carry purses...
The battery in your palm m515 is probably 1/2 the size of the entire toshiba pda-watch.
Assuming that the unit is 1/2 battery and is more energy efficient than your m515. Also assuming that the backlight is not always on (as is not required with moderate light for a reflective display). Perhaps battery life could be boosted to 7 hours.
If the unit has an instant-on-time-only button/feature (press a button to see the time for 15 seconds), perhaps the battery life might be as much as 12 hours.
My Clie n610c will last for several days if I only turn it on once in a while to jot a note or get a phone number. I imagine that if I had this toy....I'd be doing a lot more with it than just notes/numbers/time.
Bottom line......I'd buy one. I don't date much anyway.
"Lame" - Galaxar
how do u figure, considering the picture of the toshiba looks far smaller than the m515?
If anything the Toshiba is half the size.
"If the unit has an instant-on-time-only button/feature (press a button to see the time for 15 seconds), perhaps the battery life might be as much as 12 hours."
that'd annoy the heck out of me, I'd have to press a button to see the time? Two hands to check the time, whatever happen to "glacing"? Maybe they can shove a small clock in the corner.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
If anything the Toshiba is half the size.
Didn't I say that the battery in the m515 is probably half the size of the entire toshiba pda-watch......hmmm....
These pda's eat a lot of juice while running, but seem to last a long time while powered down and only maintaining memory state. We're talking about a device that has a touchscreen....perhaps a tap of the screen can activate the clock.
"Lame" - Galaxar