Announcing Meta Watch, Ltd.!
Meta Watch Acquired by Execs from Watch & Mobile Industries
DALLAS and ESPOO, Finland, Sept. 12, 2011 / -- Meta Watch™ Ltd. announced today that a team of investors led by Juha Pinomaa, former President of Suunto and a former Nokia executive, acquired the Meta Watch branded connected watch business and related IPR assets from Fossil, Inc. Joining Pinomaa as investors and key managers are Bill Geiser and David Rosales, who previously led Fossil's Watch Technology Division.
"Over the next 10 years billions of people will carry smart phones changing how consumers live and creating new opportunities and markets for connected watches and other wearable devices. Acquiring Meta Watch not only gives us a head start in this emerging growth market, it brings us the industry's most experienced management team who have been designing and shipping connected watches since 2006," said Juha Pinomaa, Chairman of Meta Watch.
"We are very excited about the opportunities ahead, as initial shipments of the Meta Watch development system are now underway. Our unequalled experience in this new category will allow thousands of mobile application developers to quickly and easily extend applications to the wrist, helping consumers to stay connected and to stay in style when they are really mobile and on the go," said Bill Geiser, CEO of Meta Watch.
Meta Watch will be based in Dallas, TX. The company will also open an R&D center in Espoo, Finland to capitalize on the rich history of Finland-based innovation in wrist-top computing and mobile devices.
Pricing, availability, and more
- Availability date: September, 2011
- Unit Cost Meta Watch Development System: USD $200
- Regions shipped to: US & Europe.
- Where to buy: https://estore.ti.com/
- Available Styles: Analog Digital or Digital
- Latest information: www.metawatch.org
About Meta Watch
Meta Watch is a privately-held design and technology development company focusing on reinventing the watch as a stylish and relevant mobile accessory. The Meta Watch platforms enable developers to quickly and easily extend the interfaces of devices and applications to the wrist. Target markets and applications include: messaging, alerts, and notifications; social networking service updates; turn-by-turn directions; LBS notifications, sports performance feedback; music controls and more. Meta Watch is based in Dallas, Texas and has a R&D facility in Espoo, Finland.
Trademarks
Meta Watch is a trademark of Meta Watch Ltd.
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12
09:48am09.12.2011
Antti K
Congratulations to the new owners.
Please consider adding a wealth of sensors, esp. wearable personal ones.
If you do this, you will be the king of wearable computing, AND you can interface with phones, without competing with them.
- HRV for sports & health enthusiasts (look into HeartMath research on this)
- GSK for execs & health enthusiasts (great for stress and health management)
The future is about not only who offers the best API & tools, but a platform on which to build.
Give devs sensors and they will amaze you with the apps they build.
10:19am09.12.2011
nils.f
Congratulations!
I especiallyt like the expressed openness in design and software.
All the best
nils
12:09pm09.12.2011
Matt
Sometimes I wish I had taken computer programming instead of music and sports classes so I could contribute to this type of movement. Alas, I will pray that developers make some good stuff for Windows Phone 7.
06:27am09.13.2011
Cowpatch
is there a facebook page for this?
11:42am09.13.2011
Sean O Sullivan
Congrats to the team - this is GREAT news!! Look forward to seeing you thrive, and to working with your products.
A question: I just received my shiny new Metawatch. I had a few issues with the Android app behaviour. I wanted to check the fora to discuss with someone. I registered, and I can view posts - but - I can't create any posts anywhere in the fora. Is this pilot error on my part, or am I missing something?
Cheers, Sean
07:59am09.14.2011
bill
Amit K - thanks for stopping by and we appreciate the suggestion about sensors. This is an interesting topic and quite challenging, too. The challenge is to balance more function against a backdrop of minimizing size, cost, and power consumption.
Where we can add a sensor - such as in our current models which come equipped with an accelerometer and an ambient light sensor - we will. In certain cases, however, sensors are too large or bulky or power consuming; so, our approach is to connect over Bluetooth with an external device, such as your smart phone, which contains the same sensors.
08:03am09.14.2011
bill
Matt - we've just started exploring WP7...stay tuned.
Cowpatch -https://www.facebook.com/MetaWatch
Amit - TI's eStore should be back in business around Sept 26
Sean - the forum should be up and running.....thanks!
11:15am09.16.2011
jedibeeftrix
Congrats to the new Metawatch company, looking forward to seeing it working on an Nokia Meego/Harmattan N9.
06:00pm09.16.2011
tpbauer
Or how about a facebook app?
08:14am09.18.2011
Gadgety
Congratulations! Focus and dedication will bring you a long way.
I've been using the Fossil developed SonyEricsson MBW-150 bluetooth watch for the past 4 years or so, and it is an addictive experience. One concern I have is the Microsoft WP7, Nokia's future, has not released a bluetooth HID profile. Hopefully your tech center in Espoo can have some influence on Nokia and enable a unique liasion, offering competitive advantage for both companies.
I second the suggestion for Heartrate and other sensors in relation to working out, and building an entire system around the watch. I would prefer interacting with the phone through watch at the gym, track or in the woods.
Finally, make your analog/digital watch with six buttons, as three is too limiting.
02:21am10.02.2011
Randall "Texrat" Arnold
THIS is cool stuff! I'm really excited at what you folks are doing and look forward to getting one of these nifty items!
06:58am10.03.2011
Ab Zu
This is nice... But there are a lot of watches that appeared already with a lot of nice functions... If you want to innovate in the world of watches, you must bring all the functions of these nice old wristwatches to a single watch that would would make your wristwatch beyond cool... Guys like me who have poor vision would like wristwatche with a large display so that we can see the time better. Add the functionality of a MP3 and MP4 player then we get both Music and Video which is nothing new in a wristwatch but if the screen is big like a wide screen that fits in the wrist is a very cool idea.. Add a camera then we get a nice gadget with a video chat capability and an instant Camera.. Add Radio/Web TV Functionality that would make it a nicer gadget... For sports enthusiats, a GPS and heart beat monitor is a nice thing to have as well in a wristwatch. A universal remote control that can do both infrared and rf signal is a cool thing in a wristwatch. A blutooth mass storage backup device like a thumb drive is a plus in a wrist watch. So we won't be able to misplace a thumb drive ever again. Add the functionality of Apps so we can play video games and other cool stuff from the web. Add solar cells so we can forget about charging the wristwatch or changing the battery. Keep it thin. Make it function like a celphone in a wristwatch then you get a wickedly cool wristwatch that you wanted to keep in your wrist at all times. Last but not the least, it should keep track of time globally lest you forget like in the movies.
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