Omate Truesmart watch secures Kickstarter funds

The Omate Truesmart watch is water-
resistant and features a camera on its
side
Omate Truesmart - a smartwatch with a
built-in five megapixel camera - is set to
go into production after hitting its
crowdfunding target.
The device raised more than $100,000
(£63,760) of pledges on fundraising site
Kickstarter, guaranteeing it will get the
cash.
Another watch, Pebble, secured a record
$10.2m via the funding site last year.
Omate's achievement comes ahead of
the much-anticipated launch of a
smartwatch from Samsung.
The South Korean firm has confirmed it
is working on the product and has filed
patents for possible designs.
It has not announced when it will unveil
the product, but its next scheduled event
is at Berlin's Ifa consumer tech show in
a fortnight's time.
Working prototypes
Unlike many of the smartwatches already
on the market, Omate says the Truesmart
can be fitted with a micro-Sim card to
make use of its 3G chip.
This will allow it to make voice calls and
send social media messages without
having to be paired with a smartphone
or tablet - although that is also an
option.
Other details announced by New York-
based team include:
Omate says its watch will be able to run
apps and make voice calls
Google's Android 4.2.2 operating
system will power it, allowing it to
run apps including fitness activity
trackers
The touchscreen will be 1.5in
(3.9cm)
It will be water-resistant, allowing it
to be worn while swimming, but not
if diving
It will offer GPS location support
It can be operated via gesture
controls
Its 4 gigabytes of internal storage
can be boosted by up to an
additional 32GB using a microSD
card
One of Omate's three co-founders told
the BBC that the project had been in
development for one-and-a-half years
and that they already had a factory in
Shenzhen, China ready to go into
production.
"We already have working prototypes,
but not the final design," said Nick Yap.
"Most of the functions are there but we
still need to add voice and gesture
controls.
"There will be a swipe-based touch
function and another when you move,
like Nintendo's Wii games control. For
example you will be able to flick your
wrist to show the clock."
He added that his company planned to
make samples of the finished product
next month and to ship the first watches
to customers in October.
Hyetis intends to offer a Swiss-built
smartwatch with a 41 megapixel camera
The planned retail price is $299 (£190)
Luxury smartwatch
Omate is not the only new firm teasing a
camera-equipped smartwatch.
Earlier this month Geneva-based Hyetis
announced plans for Crossbow - a
product with a 41 megapixel camera in
its side.
The developer said that it intended the
device to be able to interact with iOS,
Android and Windows 8 handsets and
added it would cost $1,200.
It said that it intended to ship the product
by the end of the year, although one tech
journalist has suggested that may be an
over-ambitious target.
"This strikes me as a start-up with a big
idea," wrote Mike Elgan .
"I doubt they'll ship this year, and it's
possible they may never ship. Still, it's
an ambitious effort.
Tech consultancy Gartner predicts the
global wearable computing market could
be worth $10bn by 2016.
Google has already sent out test versions
of Google Glass to developers
However, one of its analysts had doubts
about the products being proposed by
Omate and Hyetis.
"The whole point about the camera in
Google Glass [eyewear] is that you can
take a photo just by looking at
somebody," said Carolina Milanesi.
"With these watches you'd have to
position your hand and extend your arm
to take a picture. The idea of including a
lens seems like a gimmick and not
something that people would want to use
in that kind of way.
"But the idea of letting them be used
underwater is a big thing because fitness
trackers like the Nike Fuelband and the
Jawbone Up can't currently go in the
swimming pool."
Sell outs?
Pebble - whose smartwatch features an
e-paper display to reduce power-use, but
no camera - has been the most
successful start-up of its kind so far.
The California-based firm revealed in
July that it had received about 275,000
pre-orders for its device. The $150
product has since gone on sale at Best
Buy stores in the US.
Pebble holds the record for the largest
amount of money raised via Kickstarter
But Ms Milanesi said Gartner expected
that it would be more established firms
that would ultimately triumph in the
sector.
"Pebble has helped kick off the whole
idea, but I think for a lot of these
companies it's about being bought out
eventually or at least selling their assets.
"I think consumers are really looking for
something from the key players - such
as Samsung, Google and Apple - or
maybe one of the established brands that
already make watches."