I’m Watch

Is 2013 the year of the resurrection of the smartwatch? We saw an armful of the things at CES 2013, including the i’m Watch. It’s an Android-based smartwatch, the “world’s first real smartwatch” according to its makers.

i’m Watch Design and Features

Given how chunky some past fitness "smart" watches look, we’re glad to see the i’m Watch look borderline normal. Although a little thicker than a traditional watch, its design is intended to blend in, rather than grabbing attention with a self-consciously techy look.

Plastic strap versions of the I’m Watch are available now for $389 (£241), and seven colours are on offer, including white and black as well as jollier-looking shades. The front bezel of the watch is made of aluminium, and the thing is reassuringly well-made. A garage gadget experiment this is not. If $389 is just a little too cheap for your liking, there are also titanium “tech editions” at $1048 and gold-n-jewels encrusted options from $17,000, available to order online now. And no, we didn’t hit the “0” key one too many times there.

The i’m Watch hires Google's capable Android OS to run the show, but the watch is not designed to be used independently. You need to hook it up to an Android phone or iPhone, and the connection is made over Bluetooth.

Unlike most Android devices, the i’m Watch does not have its own Wi-Fi connection. Instead, the smartwatch leeches Wi-Fi or mobile data from your phone to receive updates. As such, using it may diminish the stamina of your phone a little, although of course it should mean you have to activate your phone’s screen a good deal less – it all balances out in the end.

i’m Watch Software and Hardware

The i’m Watch features a heavily customised version of Android called i’m Droid 2. This is flicked through using the 1.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, which is reasonably responsive. The i’m Watch is far from the most powerful Android device out there, though. It uses the IMX233 chip, clocked at 454MHz. We noticed some lag, but the watch doesn’t necessarily need much more grunt – it has apps, but this watch is not going to let you play high-end 3D games, or any games at present for that matter. Other tech specs include its 128MB of RAM, 4GB internal memory and 90g weight.

Apps offered by I’m Watch include an email client, a weather report, a stock checker and SMS app. However, what you can do in them is distinctly limited as you can’t type using the watch. It’s for looking at updates, not making them. You’ll be able to download additional apps from the i’market store, although all the basics seemed to be covered from the start.

The i’m watch isn’t a phone by itself – there’s no SIM slot here – but phone calls are an important part of its duties. It can act as a handsfree kit, with a caller screen that’s a dead ringer for Android’s own one. There’s a headphone jack and microphone built into the watch, as well as a fairly loud internal speaker. As long as you don’t mind talking to your wrist, you’re good to go.

i’m says the 450mAh battery will last for three hours of calls with the speaker enabled. Without calls, the watch is rated for 24 hours of use. This means you’ll have to charge it as often as your phone, which isn’t ideal.

i’m Watch Impressions

The i’m Watch has the colourful, friendly look that helps to offset some of the innate geekiness of a smartwatch, but we’re not convinced it’ll have the appeal to break through to the mainstream buyer. Even the geek natives may be a little disappointed, as the 240 x 240 pixel display feels a little past it – the screen may be tiny, but text isn’t as smooth as we’re used to from today’s top-end displays.

For a small company, i’m has done fairly well with its custom UI, though. It’s not the most stylish, but i’m Droid 2 successfully treads the path of the 2010 iPod nano to produce an interface that’s fairly easy to use on a tiny screen.

Are you interested in a smartwatch you have to charge every day or so? Or is the i’m Watch a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist?