Qualcomm quietly announced its Toq smartwatch during the IFA tech show at the beginning of September, and while it told us all about the specification and its cool Mirasol display, it failed to mention the price and exact release date. Both of these details have been confirmed today, as you’ll be able to buy the Toq for $350 from December 2.
Update on 11-25-2013 by Andy: Qualcomm is now accepting orders for the Toq. The price is $350, and shipping is expected to take place between one and three weeks time. Going through the order process, it looks like Qualcomm is only able to ship the smartwatch in America, as there is no option to select international addresses. Also, only the black version is being sold at the moment, with the white model listed only as coming soon.
If $350 sounds expensive, it’s because it is. Qualcomm’s smartwatch is officially more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Gear, priced at $300, and the $200 Sony Smartwatch 2, plus is more than twice the cost of the Pebble. Like the Sony and Samsung watches, the Toq is only compatible with Android phones and tablets, but it’s less restrictive than the Galaxy Gear, as the minimum in needs to operate is Android 4.0.3.
So what do you get for all this money? The real draw is its color Mirasol display, an always-on screen without a backlight, which consumes very little energy, but still remains visible in sunlight thanks to its clever reflective, ambient-light harvesting technology. The Toq also has wireless charging built-in, and comes with a pair of custom stereo Bluetooth headphones.
The Toq has a 1.55-inch screen with a 288 x 192 pixel resolution, and is powered by the same 200MHz chip found inside the Pebble. The watch is waterproof, and the battery is expected to last for around three days. Like others of its kind, the Toq will display notifications from your phone, accept or reject calls, and run various apps. Qualcomm has said an AccuWeather and stocks app will both come pre-installed.
Qualcomm will be selling the Toq through its own dedicated website from December 2. At the time of writing there’s no pre-order listed, and it’s unclear whether the Toq is only for the US market, or if it’ll be sold internationally. We’ll update here when this is clarified
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