Fossil reveals an old school watch with a smartwatch heart

So far, the makers of the wearable computer have been companies that generally make computers, phones, and other similar gadgets for a living, but a new wearable is on its way from a company known for making watches.

In fact, next year’s smartwatches won’t just come from the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG or Sony, because Fossil appears to be entering the fray, announcing not just a smartwatch, but a regular watch with the sort of smarts people expect out of a fitness band.

That’s the idea with the Fossil Q, with three devices being made for the line-up, consisting of a bracelet-style activity band, a mechanical watch with smart integration under the hood, and a proper smartwatch will be on Android Wear.

Fossil isn’t say too much about the smartwatch at this moment, but it is showing off its activity band and mechanical-yet-slightly-smart-watch, revealing both in pictures.

fossil-smart-watch-2015-04

First, there’s the bracelet style, which Fossil is calling the “Q Dreamer” and “Q Reveler” models. Both genders are targeted for this one, with a small metallic tracker that sits on a bracelet or band on your arm, sending the information to your phone in much the same way as a Fitbit or Jawbone device.

Available for around $125 USD, these are basically the babies of the range.

fossil-smart-watch-2015-02

The mechanical watch is the gadget that really has our attention, though, with Fossil working with Intel to craft a real watch with a degree of smarts under the hood, making this compatible with Android and iOS.

Called the “Q Grant”, pricing on this one is around the $175 to 195 USD mark, which would make it between $250 and $300 locally.

Finally, there’s the “Q Founder”, and this is the one Fossil isn’t showing much of, providing an Intel-powered Android Wear device that will essentially let the Fossil brand show what it can do in the smartwatch world.

fossil-smart-watch-2015-03

Fossil says all of these devices will be able to talk to standard activity trackers like Jawbone Up, Google Fit Health, and Under Armour’s UA Record using the Fossil Q app, while notifications from your smartphone should also be sent to the watch.

We’ll admit that we’re definitely intrigued by the prospect of a regular watch with smart innards as it could be a great bridge for people who want a smart device but prefer analogue watches. Further, we suspect the battery life would be better than existing smartwatches given it wouldn’t need a screen.

Unfortunately, availability in our end of the world is a little murky at the moment, because while Fossil in America is talking up a holiday season release for the US, representatives for the local arm of Fossil would only tell GadgetGuy that it was “looking to launch our wearable technology at the end of next year”.

That means Australia will likely be left out unless it decides to fast track the smartwatches, and we’re not sure of the likelihood of that.