"Fine Watch Craftsmanship" is how Asus describes its first wearable device, the ZenWatch WI500Q. The fact that it associates it with the Zen branding rather than the EEE family means that the Taiwanese company looks to position it as an upmarket product wrist device.
The ZenWatch WI500Q was launched earlier today at IFA and I got to briefly handle it during a restricted hands-on. Restricted as the watches on display were solidly fixed to their plastic stands, which means that we won't have wrist models for now.
Asus's device will compete with Samsung's newly announced Gear S as well as the original Galaxy Gear, Sony's SmartWatch 2, the Pebble and the Qualcomm Toq.
Tablet-like innards
At its heart is a Qualcomm processor, the APQ8026, otherwise known as the Snapdragon 400. It is a surprisingly powerful dual-core processor clocked at up to 1.7GHz, although I suspect it is significantly downclocked.
The rest of the specs sheet is not too shabby as well, with 512MB of RAM and 4GB on-board storage, we're looking at the same base components we'd see in an entry-level tablet but squeezed into a product, a fraction of its volume.
As for the display, it is a gorgeous, curved rectangular AMOLED one and measures 0.63-inch diagonally. Its resolution, 320 x 320 pixels, is much lower than the Gear S (which has a 360 x 480 resolution, albeit on a much bigger display).
The rest of the spec sheet reads as follows: Bluetooth, a 369mAh battery, 9-axis sensors plus a heart rate monitor and water resistant capabilities.
At 75g and measuring 39.8 x 50.6 x 7.9mm (1.57 x 2 x 0.3inch), it is reasonably small enough to be considered as a permanent replacement to your existing watch without being seen as out of place.
Posh but still too costly
My brief encounter leaves me quite positive about Asus first attempt at a watch. Other than the stitched-leather strap secured by a quick release clasp, the WI500Q has a metal body - and earthy colour tones - which reinforce its high-end nature.
Flicking the display up, down, left and right feels natural and Asus also added a few gestures of its own like a double tap and a palm cover.
Asus used a customised UI, the ZenUI as an overlay to Google's Android Wear, integrating a few other practical smart gestures like What's Next and Do it later (for Asus smartphone owners) and Remote Camera control, Watch Unlock, Presentation Control and Find my phone for all handsets.
There's also 100 different clock faces to choose from to make sure the watch is almost as unique as its owner. Asus is also one of the vendors to play the health card with a fully featured wellness manager that track a number of statistics like calories burned, steps clocked, activity duration, etc.
Early verdict
At 199 Euros (about £165, $260, AU$280), it will probably remain a niche product. I cannot help but think that the £100 barrier is the one to be broken. There's also another big unknown; what is the battery life of the WI500Q? Expect a combination of new products and deep discounts to make that market even more competitive over the next three months, in the build up to Christmas.
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