The Fossil Q Venture and Q Explorist smartwatches went on an early sale several days ago despite the fact that the two Android Wear devices were slated for an official release on September 24. Both eBags and Fossil itself are already retailing the watches, suggesting that their immediate commercial availability wasn’t a mistake and was likely a coordinated effort, though the Richardson, Texas-based consumer electronics manufacturer has yet to comment on the matter in any capacity. The price tags attached to all models are in line with what Fossil previously announced; the smartwatches with leather straps start at $255, whereas the devices with metal ones will set you back $275. Certain models are also eligible for a 20 percent discount on eBags if you use the promo code “TRAVEL” during checkout.
According to recent reports, some Fossil stores already started selling the Q Venture and Q Explorist in early September, albeit their availability wasn’t highly advertised. Refer to the links below to see whether the two devices are already up for sale in your territory and note that eBags ships to most countries around the world. Fossil’s recent commercial performance has been declining, with the company’s shares taking a significant hit following the publication of its consolidated financial report for the second quarter of the year. The early release of the Q Venture and Q Explorist may not be directly related to that trend, though the firm is certainly hoping that its latest devices will help it bounce back from its recent issues and do better in the second half of the year.
The watches themselves are meant to provide a significant upgrade over Fossil’s traditional Android Wear formula, boasting fully circular AMOLED panels and being powered by the Qualcomm-made Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC, in addition to featuring 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal flash memory. Apart from being the first pair of smartwatches from Fossil that ditch the flat tire aesthetic, the Q Venture and Q Explorist are also its thinnest devices to date, being only 11.3mm thick. Both products run Android Wear 2.0 out of the box and will presumably be updated with newer versions of Google’s proprietary operating system for the next few years.
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