Smartwatches have been showing up on Kickstarter and Indiegogo on a regular basis lately as various different developers are looking to cash in on the wearable tech craze. Each smartwatch looks to differentiate itself from the competition by offering some sort of unique feature, whether it be waterproofing, private calling, or a focus on exercise. The latest watch to enter the smartwatch world is the Omate TrueSmart and it does something that none of the other watches are able to do.
Unlike its competitros, the Omate Truesmart does NOT require a connection to a phone to be truly functional as the watch itself is a smart device. It’s running a full fledged version of Android 4.2.2 with Omate’s own custom UI overtop and has its very own microSIM slot for 2G/3G connectivity. In essence you’re getting a moderate smartphone packaged into a watch. Here are the specs on the watch:
- Dual Core Cortex A7 – 1.3GHz
- Omate UI 1.0 / Android 4.2.2
- 1.54’’ TFT by LG display (240 x 240)
- Multi-touch Capacitive Touch Screen
- Connectivity capabilities:+ 2G GSM: GPRS class 12 EDGE Multi-Slot Class 12+ 3G WCDMA: HSPA 7.2Mbps/5.76Mbps+ WiFi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n+ Bluetooth 4.0
- GPS
- Embedded 5Mpixel camera
- Audio Speaker & Microphone
- Memory: 512MB + 4GB + (expandable by microSD 8/16/32GB)
- Micro SIM card
- 600 mAh battery: up to 100 hours standby time
- Messaging Hub: SMS/MMS/Email/SNS
- G-sensor, E-Compass, Gyroscope, IP67
- Vibration alert
- Full set of pre-qualified Android applications
- Over-the-Air (OTA) system firmware update
The big problem that I see (and many backers have already voiced concerns about) is going to be battery life. The Omate team claims the 600 mAh battery will translate into 100 hours of standby time which may sound good but when you translate that into real world time with a device that’s constantly connected to a network, you may run into some major problems.
Despite this huge hurdle, it’s still a pretty cool little device and I’m tempted to jump in and back them but I haven’t decided one way or the other just yet. If you’re interested in backing them, hit the link below.