Watches To Get Bluetooth Capabilities
Wednesday - 15 February 2012
A number of watches on display at this year’s Baselworld, the trade show for the watch industry, have incorporated blue tooth and smart phone technology.
Some watchmakers revealed high-tech phones that also incorporate mechanical watches, whilst others unveiled watches with phone-like touch-screens.
Casio gave a sneak preview of a watch which can communicate with smart phones via Bluetooth. If the owner’s mobile rings at an inappropriate time, such as in a meeting or at the cinema, a tap of the screen will silence the phone. Similarly the user can be alerted via their watch when they receive an email. The Casio watch will launch later this year.
One designer at the event spoke about a touch-screen watch which allows users to download photos and personalise their watch face. It stops short of allowing them to make phone calls, though.
Ulysse Nardin, a maker of Swiss luxury watches, launched what it claimed is "the world's first luxury hybrid smartphone", integrating a mechanical watch rotor into the mobile phone.
Bobby Yampolsky, co-founder of UN Cells which make the phones for Ulysse Nardin, said that these hybrid phones are a significant breakthrough. He commented: “I feel this is the future. The watch world is over 300 years old. Cellphones are 30 years old. Before cellphones, watches were mobile technology. This is now mobile technology.”
