* Update 2 - October 26th, 2009 - the inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry Smartphones has been officially announced and is now available for pre-order! *
* Update - Just to be clear as I've seen some confusion in the commments, but as far as we know at this time the inPulse watch is not being made by/for BlackBerry (it won't feature a BlackBerry logo), but is being made for use with BlackBerry Smartphones. However, this is in fact "the BlackBerry watch" that has been referred to previously in articles dating back to WES in May. There isn't another RIM-built BlackBerry watch out there. *
Remember that story about a Bluetooth BlackBerry Watch accessory being in the works? In case you were doubting it, today we can say with certainty that it's happening, it's getting announced soon, and what you're looking at above (another image below) are actual renderings of the real deal. Key features we've been told so far about the BlackBerry-connected smartwatch by our source:
- it has been designed specifically for use with BlackBerry Smartphones from the ground up - developed by a new BlackBerry-dedicated accessory company
- it features an OLED screen that we hear is "big, bright and beautiful" and optimized for displaying text clearly, and thanks to OLED has solid battery life
- it's designed to show you notifications and previews of messages arriving on your BlackBerry
- judging by the filename of the photos as they were sent in to us, we're thinking it's going to be branded the inPulse smartwatch
The intent of the watch isn't to replace using your BlackBerry to view messages. Rather, it's for those occassions when your BlackBerry is tucked away - while in a meeting, while driving, or while you're out for a bike ride and you feel it vibrating in your camelback. When you get that impulse to stop what you're doing and pull out your BlackBerry, now you can quickly glance over at your inPulse and decide if you need to pull out your BlackBerry to address that message now or if it can wait fifteen minutes you're free.
Definitely a cool accessory. And because this smartwatch is desiged specifically for BlackBerry, we're thinking hoping that at somepoint the watch APIs will become available to BlackBerry app developers so even notifications from third party apps could be displayed. CrackBerry heaven! We'll bring you the official details on this when they emerge soon.
inPulse SmartWatch for BlackBerry Smartphones
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