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SMS m500 watch phone gets FCC approval
Brought to you by the same folks crafting the m300, the m500 watch phone has just passed through the FCC, giving it an air of legitimacy that its predecessor may have been lacking. Of course, there's still a wide gap between FCC approval and making an appearance on store shelves -- but we're cautiously hopeful. Differences between the m500 and the earlier m300 look to be mostly cosmetic, with all buttons now having been moved to the sides to make room for a larger display up front. Now, we want to know: who'd put this on their wrists day in and day out?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Up close with the m300 Mobile Watch
Was the first batch of shots of SMS Technology's m300 watch phone simply not enough to hold you over until its late March release? Well, we come bearing good news: Round Two of m300 pics is now in the house, and this time around we're seeing the device (we can't exactly call it a "handset," now can we?) in action. The OLED looks bright and reasonably contrasty; hopefully useful life is up to snuff, too. On to the gallery! m300 Mobile Watch in action
m300 Mobile Watch get finalized for March release
We've been tracking this one for a while, and it turns out there's a great reason the m300 phone watch took this long to come around: it underwent a massive, much-needed redesign for the better since we last peeped it. The final version should be hitting stores on or around March 25 (yes, of this year!) in your choice of pastel blue / pink, baby blue / pink, navy blue, electric blue, red, yellow, and black / gray. The production spec sheet for the 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz device promises Bluetooth, a music player, USB connectivity, and a 1 inch OLED display; heck, it even rocks dial-up networking, though the GPRS data speeds could have us weeping quietly to ourselves after a few minutes of use. Hit up the gallery for all the live shots you can handle! m300 Mobile Watch gallery
m300 "Mobile Watch" in the wild
As you may recall, we touched on the m300 GSM watch a couple weeks ago with a healthy dose of skepticism, but it now appears the device is more than just vaporware. SMS Technology, the m300's manufacturer, did us the favor of sending along a handful of in-the-flesh pictures along with a detailed account of its development. Apparently, the m300 owes its existence to another Australian product -- MTrak -- a kevlar-strapped GPS bracelet designed for tracking children. MTrak evolved into a CDMA watch phone, and then on to its current GSM incarnation. Packing the GPS proved too bulky for a mainstream watch, though, so the December '06 delivery date is giving SMS some additional time to engineer that part of hardware out of the platform. The result is said to be roughly the size of a TAG Heuer, supports speech-to-text for messaging, and rocks both Bluetooth and a speakerphone -- not shabby specs for a phone the size of a few coins. The company claims to have some 1.2 million Australian orders alone on tap, so hats off to these guys for giving it the old college try, eh? More wrist-talkin' eye candy after the break.
