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Google bought the firm behind that Amazon Alexa smartwatch
Cronologics, the company that developed what it hoped would be an alternative smartwatch OS to Android Wear, has been acquired by Google for an unknown sum. The startup was founded by former Google employees, ironically enough, and developed the software behind recently launched the Alexa-powered and Amazon-blessed CoWatch from Imco. The Cronologics OS that powers it is based on Android Lollipop, and can supposedly run almost any Android app, assuming the CoWatch could sideload them (it can't).
The CoWatch brings Amazon's Alexa to your wrist starting today
Amazon hasn't dared to make a smartwatch of its own yet, but it might not have to when companies like iMCO have shoehorned Alexa into a wearable themselves. See, iMCO and the ex-Googlers working on the Cronologics OS have successfully turned what could've been another bit of crowdfunded vaporware into an actual product -- the CoWatch -- complete with blessings from Amazon. At last, you'll be able to order multiple pairs of shoes straight from your wrist. Isn't the future grand? The CoWatch goes on sale on Amazon today with prices starting at $279, but I got to put a near-final model through its paces ahead of the company's big day. Spoiler alert: Having Alexa with you everywhere you go can be very cool, but the CoWatch definitely isn't for everyone.
