Watch Maker Android USA's Smartwatch Now Available On Touch Of Modern For $199, 'Half Off'

Last month we told you about Android USA (that's an American company that makes wristwatches, and has nothing to do with the Android OS or Google) preparing their own branded smartwatch, which may or may not also run Android. Well Android's smartwatch is now available on the designer deal site Touch Of Modern, and it's already 50% off. Sort of.

See, Android USA still isn't technically selling the smartwatch on its own yet - all five colors of the watch are still in the pre-order stage on Android's web store, so Touch Of Modern is technically the exclusive retailer at the moment. I say technically because the deal site doesn't use a conventional shipping model, and it'll be 3-4 weeks before the watches actually go out to customers. (All watches will ship when the initial "sale" ends on December 16th.) If you want to order one, you'll also need a Touch Of Modern account - the site is one of those newfangled invite-only stores, but they seem to let just about everyone in via the standard signup page.

Then there's the price. If you look on Android USA's pre-order pages, the "Smart Watch GTS" has a retail price of $400 - higher even than Samsung's Galaxy Gear, double the price of Sony's Smart Watch 2, and not quite three times the price of the Pebble. Touch Of Modern is selling the "SmartWatch™" (really?) for $199, technically half off the MSRP, though the store lists that figure at $375. It's currently available in red, purple, or orange with a matching leather strap.

And we still know very little about the watch and its capabilities. The Touch Of Modern listings mention a pedometer, voice memos, calculator, standard watchy stuff like a clock and calendar, and four-day battery while in "sleep mode," and the promotional videos show multiple watch faces, music control, call accept/reject and speakerphone capabilities. But we still don't know what operating system it's running, any of its internal hardware aside from a TFT screen, or if it needs any special smartphone hardware like Bluetooth 4.0. It seems like Android USA is hoping to sell this thing on its merits as a watch and not as an electronic device. The description says that the watch is 1.3cm thick, which is chunky even by the rather expansive standards of smartwatches. There is an app available - it's on Android USA's site as a direct APK download, with a side-load necessary to get it working.

All told, Android is asking its potential customers to take a lot on faith for $199, and a lot more for $400, if the phone is ever actually sold at that price. I'd say that Sony's color watch or Pebble's e-paper alternative are better picks, if only because you know what you're getting.

Source: Touch Of Modern

Tags:on sale smartwatch touch of modern watch