Technologizer » Watches

Last Gadget Standing Finalist #10: A Hybrid Watch for Runners

Harry McCracken — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:02:14 +0000

What do you get when you combining Nike’s “just do it” athleticism with the GPS expertise of TomTom? You get a running watch–and our tenth and final Last Gadget Standing finalist.

The Nike+ SportWatch GPS powered by TomTom is a hybrid gadget that combines both GPS technology and an accelerometer, located in the Nike+ shoe sensor. Runners can upload their data to the well-regarded Nikeplus.com website, where they can track their favorite routes, set goals, receive coaching, and challenge their friends.

Key features include the GPS tracking with the shoe sensor –great for runners off trail. The tap interface activates the backlight to mark laps during a run. And the watch has a USB connector molded into the watch strap, so you can plug it directly into a computer, no cable required. At Last Gadget Standing we’ll find out if it tells time, too.

The SportWatch GPS should hit stores in April; the price hasn’t been announced yet.

Video Conferencing on Your Wrist, LG Style

Harry McCracken — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:12:55 +0000

I’m at the LG Mobile press conference at Mobile World Congress, where an LG exec just made the first public video call from one of the company’s watch phones (or is that phone watches?). Who’s that on the display? It’s a tad fuzzy in this image, so I understand if you guess Dick Tracy…but it’s really none other than Mr. Steve Ballmer.

Motorola’s $2000 Aura Phone vs. the Rolex Submariner: The Ultimate Showdown

Harry McCracken — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:04:47 +0000

In introducing its new $2000 Aura cell phone today, Motorola repeated comparisons to luxury watches. So contrasting it to an iPhone or a BlackBerry or even the Prada phone may not do it justice. How about facing it off against one of the most famous mobile status symbols of them all, Rolex’s eternally popular Oyster Perpetual Submariner? I did just that for this T-Grid, and found that it’s a close contest–the two gadgets have much in common, but both sport some attractive features that the other doesn’t. Bottom line: If you’ve got a spare $8K, you might want them both!

The devices	Motorola Aura	Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner
Price	$1999	$6000 (16610 model)
$10 counterfeit version sold by guys on New York streetcorners?	Not currently	Yes
Availability	December	Introduced in 1954
Swiss craftsmanship?	Yes	Of course
Manufacturing time	Front piece takes nearly two weeks to make	“Up to well over a year”
Favored by James Bond	I don’t think so, but I haven’t seen Quantum of Solace yet	Yes
Case material	Steel	Steel
Crystal material	Sapphire	Sapphire
Circular display?	Yes, the industry’s first	Yes, but not the industry’s first
Display type	LCD	Analog
Display colors	16,000,000	Black, white, and green (16610 model)
Waterproof to 300 meters?	I kind of doubt it	Yes
Input	Phone keypad	Crown (call it a “click wheel” if you prefer”)
Powered by	Battery	Your wrist, thanks to ingenious self-winding movement
Rotates?	Yes, to open	Yes (bezel)
Tiny parts inside	200+	Hundreds
Jewels	Unspecified	31
Includes convenient wrist strap?	No	Yes
Bluetooth compatible?	Yes	Not as of yet
Web browser	Yes	No, but it would be kind of neat
Music player compatible with DRM-protected iTunes songs?	No	No
Camera	2 megapixel	None
Displays date?	Yes	Yes
Tells time?	Yes	Yes
Makes voice calls?	Yes	No (consider this model if feature needed)
Talk time	7.3 hours	N/A
Standby time	400 hours	Indefinite, as long as you wear it occasionally
Lofty marketing claim	“From the moment AURA owners hold their phones, they elevate their own experience in luxury and unmatched quality.”	“A Rolex isn’t a watch, it’s technology emboldened by the human spirit”