If you’ve been paying attention to any of the previews leading up to CES 2014, you’ll no doubt have heard or read the words “wearable” and “smartwatch” at least three-dozen times. With Pebble looking to announce something big this CES and Intel to jump into the wearable arena as well, 2014 is going to be the year we see wearable technology, everywhere. Smartwatches had a slow yet steady start in 2013 and alongside the likes of Sony and Samsung, even Qualcomm released their own device. The Toq, which is more of a concept of how Mirasol would be great for wearable tech than anything else, launched just at the end of last year for a sizable $349.99. By now, we should all know that price has a whole lot to do with how successful as piece of technology is going to be and $350 for a smartwatch that is a niche product doesn’t sound too attractive.
In honor of CES 2014 (where Qualcomm will be speaking later today) they’ve cut the price of their smartwatch to $299 on both Amazon and their own website. That price still isn’t great but, it does bring it down to match the Galaxy Gear’s pricing, which can be had from Amazon for $299 as well. Certainly, the Galaxy Gear we reviewed seems a better bet for most folks but, Samsung’s smartwatch only works with a handful of Samsung devices. Meanwhile, Qualcomm’s Toq will work with any Android smartphone so long as it’s running Android 4.0.3 and above, which should cover most high-end (and mid-range) devices from the last couple years or so.
Smattwatches – and wearable tech overall – is sure to be big news at this year’s CES but, are people sold on the idea just yet? Perhaps not, this Editor has a Sony Smartwatch 2 on his wrist but, will admit to there being holes in the overall experience. If you had your eyes on the Mirasol-touting Toq from Qualcomm, now’s as good a time as any to pick one up.