Qualcomm Toq Smartwatch Has a Mirasol Screen, Will Cost $300
Rumors have been circulating for a few months now that Qualcomm had a smartwatch in the works, and it looks like the rumors were true.
Qualcomm has just announced their entry into the smartwatch market. It’s called the Toq, and it is both more interesting than some of its competitors and in some ways less capable. But if the real product is actually as good as the early images suggest then this could be quite the nifty gadget. According to the product page, this isn’t your average smartwatch. The Toq has a Mirasol screen similar to the one found on the late Kyobo Mirasol eReader. There’s no mention of the screen size or resolution, but the Mirasol screen is reportedly going to make it possible for the Toq to run for several days without needing to recharge.
Update: The TOQ has a 1.55″ screen with a resolution of 288×192.
Qualcomm is pitching the Toq as being able to pair with Android smartphones over Bluetooth so it can receive notifications on the watchface. This watch also includes a pair of BT earbuds and it comes with a wireless charging station built into the case. With luck there won’t be any need to worry about plugging in the Toq; just drop it on the charging station at night.
Qualcomm is showing off the Toq at its Uplinq developer’s conference today.
Hands on Coverage
Even though I haven’t seen it myself I do know that early reports say that this smartwatch will feature several different watch faces, including one that displays both time and weather information as well as another that matches the time with upcoming calendar appointments. The Toq can also display text messages and notifications, and it can control the music app on the smartphone.
I might be erring in calling the Toq a smartwatch; it’s more of a smartphone companion. A lot of its settings are only going to be accessible via the companion app, and that runs on the smartphone.
This watch is expected to be released later this year with a retail of around $300. You can sign up to be notified on the Qualcomm website.
Comments
Name September 4, 2013 um 3:13 pm
Too expensive for a gadget. They should have made a cheap watch for the masses, not the umpteenth lifestyle device, whose capabilities will, like all comparable devices currently on the market, probably be rather unimpressive anyway.
Nate Hoffelder September 4, 2013 um 3:22 pm
I’m not so sure. If this really is as good as it looks then it could be worth the $300.
Also, the Mirasol screen is rather expensive to produce.
Namer September 4, 2013 um 4:56 pm
From what I’ve seen of Mirasol displays, the colours look washed out and I’m not sure whether they are really that energy efficient if actually used to display moving content such as video or other animations. So unless the display technology has made some steps forward in the meantime, I’m sceptical.
Nate Hoffelder September 4, 2013 um 10:25 pm
True. BTW, I just looked through the photos and the video, but i can’t tell if the color quality has been improved.
wayne leong September 4, 2013 um 10:43 pm
Why get a smartwatch , when joggers already velcro their iPhones to their arms while jogging ?
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[…] Qualcomm unveiled their Toq smartwatch a couple weeks ago many tech bloggers assumed that it would eventually show up on store shelves.Now it seems that is […]