sWaP watch phone likely won't change your opinion of watch phones

While watch phones have gotten a tad more "wearable" in recent years, they still haven't exactly caught on like some folks may have thought they would in their younger, jetpack-filled visions of the future, and we're going to go out on a limb and speculate that this new so-called sWaP watch won't change that situation. As far as watch phones go, however, this one looks to be fairly capable, with it packing a SIM card slot to let you easily hop onto your cell network of choice, a 1.3 megapixel camera, 128MB of built-in memory, a T-Flash card slot to add up to 2GB more, and even an included Bluetooth headset to avoid the embarrassment of actually talking into your watch. You'll have to pay a bit of a premium for this particular slice of a future that might have been though, with the device sporting a price tag of £249, or roughly $370.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

[JKTown @ Nov 21st 2008 6:00PM]

The phone replaced the watch. This is the 2008 equivalent of the the calculator watch

[Ratnesh Mehra @ Nov 21st 2008 6:01PM]

cool that it comes with the bluetooth headset. no details on whether or not it's quad band? what kind of data speeds?

[LC @ Nov 21st 2008 6:26PM]

well, wearable - the R2i and D188i are both very handsome watches... looks like the d188i actually... http://www.mp3nmp4.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=198

[LC @ Nov 21st 2008 6:29PM]

no, the swap watch is only Dual band. You need a tri-band watch to work with T-mobile or Cingular in the USA; Quadband works with both + ATT.... all phonewatches come with bluetooth sets....

[Oleg Prosalov @ Nov 21st 2008 6:03PM]

Person passing by: "Excuse me Sir, May I ask what time it is?"

You: "Shut up! I'm on the phone!"

[Jamma @ Nov 21st 2008 6:04PM]

Watch phones were one of those things that would have been popular if

a) someone incorporated bluetooth in phones before a camera
b) texting didn't exist
c) Snake didn't exist
d) dignity didn't exist

[Xenoterranos @ Nov 21st 2008 6:09PM]

I could imagine maybe a computing device divvied up between my wrist, phone, and perhaps pen, but only if those three object combined provided a vast amount of usefulness, perhaps air-writing or air typing on a virtual keyboard that's laser-projected from the watch itself.

Or as Switch would say, "Not like this. Not like this."

[LC @ Nov 21st 2008 6:33PM]

or if the big companies got their stuff together... i think prada and several other companies were developing them... I think watch phones are asian inventions marketed soley to gadgety foreigners... hehe

[oZone @ Nov 21st 2008 6:51PM]

Xeno, I know you watched The Matrix on TV on one of those channels included in a movie package for satellite TV. Amirite? I was watching too. :p

As for the watch: until I can wear one incorporated into my Welder watch, then I'll keep my phone, thanks.

[Wwhat @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:02AM]

Perhaps a watch that tells you you forgot your phone might be more to the point at this time.

[ScOObyDoo @ Nov 21st 2008 6:06PM]

Looks the same as one of the many watches Dealextreme sells (for a third of what the source article is charging):

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10654

[Labrador @ Nov 21st 2008 6:15PM]

But wait, there's more! Related items: the $138 SciPhone and the $124 iFone

[Labrador @ Nov 21st 2008 6:10PM]

I went from using a watch to tell time to using my mobile phone. It would be ironic if I had to go back to the watch.

There are several obstacles to overcome though:
-People are very fashion conscious about their watches, so to be successful the mobile phone watch has to be very slim and good looking.
-Inputting text and commands would probably have to be voice based. Voice recognition is almost good enough but not quite.
-Output is severely limited by the screen size. This is probably the biggest problem.

[mabhatter @ Nov 21st 2008 6:47PM]

maybe they can include one of those tiny projectors!! then you can have an OLED screen or any flat surface!

[Wwhat @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:04AM]

You'd have to take it off to get a stable screen, so you'd need a backpack with a table to put it on, somewhere this is going wrong.

[Mark @ Nov 21st 2008 6:22PM]

I wouldn't mind a good looking (non-monolithic) watch telling me via Bluetooth who was calling or texting me at a point in the day where I couldn't pull my phone out of my pocket. The whole phone in the watch seems like a fail, to me.

[Dave @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:45AM]

I've got one of those SE BT watches and with 3rd party software porting it to WM you can do an amazing amount of stuff without ever taking your phone out of your pocket. The SE sports version watch looks OK, too. Furthermore the sWaP watch is 17mm thick, so SE watch, while not exactly small is less than half as thick.

[Jhongerkong @ Nov 21st 2008 6:29PM]

swap pmah

[Strange Quark Star @ Nov 21st 2008 6:33PM]

From the linked Page:

"[...]Compatible with all networks except 3. [...]"

Do you get to choose the 3 incompatible networks?

[matt @ Nov 21st 2008 6:43PM]

As in 3 the network. I believe that you can only use a 3g enabled phone on their network.

[LarryLarryLarry @ Nov 21st 2008 6:41PM]

5cm x 4cm is too big for a watch. Very tall men can wear it, everyone else looks like they have a saltine strapped to their wrist.

[MarbleMind @ Nov 21st 2008 6:41PM]

On the face of my watch, there's a small inscription. It reads "10 year battery". I like that. Very much.

[ClaytonNeveseven @ Nov 21st 2008 6:43PM]

i still want to see a shoe phone...

[Lowest Ranked @ Nov 21st 2008 7:02PM]

If you insist: http://www.friedmanarchives.com/Too%20Unusual%20to%20Sell/pages/Me__Shoe_Phone_6x8_72_dpi_001.jpg

[MarbleMind @ Nov 21st 2008 7:08PM]

@Lowest Ranked

I think he's looking for something like this:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Images/Businesses/Product_safety/Childrens_products/shoephone.jpg

[EdZ @ Nov 21st 2008 6:45PM]

"and even an included Bluetooth headset to avoid the embarrassment of actually talking into your watch.
I thought the entire POINT of a watch-phone was to talk into your watch! All we need now is 3g (for video calls) and a pair of huge blue-rimmed glasses. And some outdated dredging equipment to berate.

[DarkLight @ Nov 21st 2008 7:16PM]

Am I the only one who actually thinks that the *only* thing holding these down is the tiny battery life?

It's not like your generic digital watch looks that much better... If you use an analog watch, then you're too old for this anyway.

Granted, THIS one is not quite *the* wristband phone, but there are better ones out there, and with a good bluetooth headset, they work really well...

[FLaSHBaCK @ Nov 21st 2008 9:37PM]

analog watchs are not outdated. their classy. Im rocking a seiko perpetual gold plated with stainless steel band and 10 bar water resistant to 100m. $525

[DarkLight @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:45AM]

That's like saying that hard disk drives are classy compared to SSDs

[James @ Nov 21st 2008 7:28PM]

Hmm a product market that Chinese knockoffs might be able to compete in.

[Rhea @ Nov 21st 2008 7:38PM]

This would be great for me if it had skype and can upload my fav podcasts

[ace587 @ Nov 21st 2008 8:44PM]

the CECT M800 is better and cheaper

[entrepreneurmindset @ Apr 28th 2009 3:31PM]

The M800 is cheaper but lacks two key features.

The M800 does not have a camera or video recorder.


http://www.MJDhitekgear.com

[Xenoterranos @ Nov 21st 2008 9:49PM]

In retrospect, screw it. If i'm gonna wear something gadgety on my wrist that's more than just a watch, I want it to be a PipBoy.

[Richard Lai @ Nov 21st 2008 10:15PM]

I've had a brief look at the device at Stuff Live last month (it was literally rushed out so the ones for sale then were still SIM-locked to Orange UK, for some reason), was impressed by its potential although not so much with the price. The company rep was a nice guy though, had a friendly chat about the product and company.

You can check out my photos of the device here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardlai/sets/72157608567907126/?page=3

[Lucy @ Nov 21st 2008 10:56PM]

This is a branded CECT W600.

I bought mine in the UK for my boyfriend from MantisTech www.mantistech.co.uk He loves it although it is a bit on the chuncky side but he can pull it off as he's a big guy. It only cost me £159.99 not the £249.99 the other website is asking for it! MantisTech do both the gold and silver version. I think the silver version is better.

The direct link is below:

http://www.mantistech.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=132

MantisTech seem to specialise in watch phones and they are always getting in new models, check out all their models here:

http://www.mantistech.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=42

I'm thinking of treating myself to one for christmas. After speaking to them, they recommended either the EG100 or Mini QuadBand Watch Phone

http://www.mantistech.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=141
http://www.mantistech.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=140

I'm very pleased with them as their customer service is fantastic and delivery was next day as they keep all their own stock. Buy from MantisTech if you are in the UK!

[Dan @ Nov 22nd 2008 7:12AM]

Hey Lucy,

I brought one too from http://www.mantistech.co.uk. But a dual sim version, which is very cool, and suprisingly small. Really impressed with the sound quality via bluetooth. It was a present for myself really but I think these are a definate Christmas stocking filler. Here's the link to the one I brought http://www.mantistech.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=143&osCsid=1edc31186c92b10fc8485378d18cd4be.

And if anyone's interested, 5% discount code is 'winter'. Happy shopping.

[Fred @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:24AM]

All I can think of when I see this is "KITT, Keep your scanners peeled".

[Kris @ Nov 22nd 2008 6:53AM]

Upon reading that to use this without a blue tooth brought up the classic memory i think these fellas are trying to keep alive. Old school James Bond. Using a watch as a walky talky, or in this case a phone? Kinda cool idea...but only if it was cheaper and i felt like being an ubber nerd at the same time.

[Tohe @ Nov 22nd 2008 9:42AM]

On monday http://mymobilewatch.com will preview their new selection of smaller and more powerful phone watches. They make the m500 which is the world smallest and sleekest commercially available watch-phone. From what I've seen, a lot of the other watch phones run the same Chinese OS, so I presume they are made by the same company ...I don't recall its name right now. The reason why I favor the Australian company is because they don't include silly things like cameras, etc in their devices. I believe these type of devices fit a need for people who jog and those who travel frequently.

These are the things I'd like to see in a phone watch:

1- Strong voice command suit.
2- Simple, clean, focused interface (one I could see clearly from a distance)
3- GSM Quad-band
4- A2DP
5- GPS
6- Small and confortable form factor.

If a phone-watch maker meets all of the above I'd buy their product.

[tiuk @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:07PM]

Very Dick Tracy.

[ug @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:35PM]

Not until it can do skype video, it isn't.

[redleader158 @ Nov 23rd 2008 5:01PM]

is it waterproof?

[entrepreneurmindset @ Apr 28th 2009 3:31PM]

No, this particular model is not Waterproof.


http://www.MJDhitekgear.com

[Jamie Lomas @ May 18th 2009 10:06AM]

I recently purchased the original version via the swap watch official site http://www.s-w-a-p.co.uk
I don't own a mobile phone anymore and it makes for good entertainment on a long journeys.