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RIM VP of Accessories, Antoine Boucher, apparently let slip that in between working on a new Bluetooth headset code-named Alpha 1, they’re also developing a watch accessory that will show e-mail, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, and SMS text alerts as well as push music from your smartphone to the car stereo by FM transmission. I’m a little dubious about this rumour, since it was supposedly gleaned from WES, the big BlackBerry conference of the year that happened four months ago – it just seems like a long time to sit on this kind of information. However, a RIM VP is getting quoted here as opposed to some anonymous source, and considering how agressively RIM has been going after the accessory market with the likes of the Remote Stereo Gateway and Bluetooth Visor, I wouldn’t put it past them to be getting into watches (though I wouldn’t hold my breath).
If a BlackBerry watch were to happen, the form factor makes more sense as an accessory, like with the LG Prada Link, as opposed to being the phone itself, like we’re seeing with LG’s product. Sure, the novelty value of making video calls into your watch is high, but from a practical standpoint, you can’t really count on the battery taking you through a whole day, let alone being easy to use. Hopefully we’ll get a few more hints of this device soon (that is, if it exists) – it would be really nice to have the same at-a-glance functionality of the Pearl Flip’s external display across other BlackBerrys and smartphones.
[via BlackBerry OS]
(Oh, and that watch is actually the Sony Ericsson MBW-100, if you’re interested)
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
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RAAZ SINGH
