INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fossil Q watch line is an interesting foray by a traditional fashion watchmaker into the wearable world
Their latest additions to the line, the Fossil Q Venture HR and Fossil Q Explorist HR, add a great deal of Android Wear functionality to a
watch that is reminiscent of Fossil earlier, simpler watches
In other words, these are some nice, low-cost smartwatches for the fitness fan.
The original Q watches included a clever hybrid model with
analog face and step counter
As the company expanded into wearables, however, they went the Android Wear route and created a number of lower-powered touchscreen watches
Now, thanks to a new chipset, Fossil is able to add a great deal more functionality in a nice package
The Venture and the Explorist adds untethered GPS, NFC, heart rate and 24-hour battery life
It also includes an altimeter and gyroscope sensor.
The new watches start at $255 and run the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, an
optimized chipset for fitness watches.
The watch comes in multiple styles and with multiple bands and features 36 faces, including health
and fitness-focused faces for the physically ambitious
The watch also allows you to pay with Google Pay — Apple Pay isn''t supported — and you can store content on the watch for runs or
It also tracks swims and is waterproof
The Venture and Explorist are 40mm and 45mm, respectively, and the straps are interchangeable
While they&re no $10,000 Swiss masterpiece, these things look — and work — pretty good.
