wristwatches

Microsoft is reportedly exploring the idea of joining what promises to be a crowded smartwatch market.

The tech titan has asked suppliers in Asia to ship components for a potential touch-enabled watch device, executives at the suppliers told The Wall Street Journal. One executive told the Journal that he had met with Microsoft's research and development team in Redmond, Wash., but it's unclear whether Microsoft will commit to producing such a device.

CNET has contacted Microsoft for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Microsoft has dabbled in the sector before, marketing devices running its … Read more

Apple isn't the only company itching to get its hands on the wristwatch market. A Samsung executive tells Bloomberg that it too has been working on wearable devices that act like smartphones.

"We've been preparing the watch product for so long," Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business, said during an interview with Bloomberg in Seoul. "We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them."

Lee offered no specifics when it came to features, … Read more

I'm not sure, but I think I saw one of these for sale in Mos Eisley.

If you thought RJ-Romain Jerome's DeLorean watch was a nice if pricey testament to your retro cred, its new Spacecraft timepiece is another sleek throwback, but for more than double the price.

The luxury brand announced a limited set of 99 of these old-school science fiction timepieces, each priced at $33,400. How many Galactic Standard Credits is that?

In looks and function, this "pilot's watch" is a bit like one of those puzzling Tokyoflash Kisai pieces, but it'… Read more

As the Apple "iWatch" rumor mill gets wound up, a new report holds that Apple already has a team of 100 people working on the rumored smart wristwatch, including some prominent Apple employees.

Following a spate of reports that Apple is developing an iOS-based wristwatch, unnamed sources tell Bloomberg that the team working on just such a device has grown over the past year and includes employees from its marketing, software, and hardware units who had previously worked on the iPhone and iPad.

Key members of the team are said to include James Foster, Apple's senior director … Read more

Like hands on a clock, rumors that Apple is developing a Dick Tracy-like wristwatch have come around again.

The New York Times reports today that Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like iOS devices that sport curved glass. The advantage of the "iWatch," as some have labeled it, is said to be in the company's expertise with curved glass.

The smart wristwatch notion isn't exactly groundbreaking: a lot of smartwatches, fitness bands, or some hybrid of the two, were talked up last month at CES. Some of those devices include the long-awaited Pebble wristwatch, which made its debut … Read more

If you've ever lost track of your child or an elderly relative, it's hard to forget the panic of not knowing where he or she is. This GPS watch is designed to help prevent your loved ones from going missing.

Besides telling the time, the Leo wristwatch from Guardian Lion Wireless is also a phone, GPS locator, and 911 panic button. It can be used as a tracking device to find your wayward child or older relative with dementia.

As an option, the titanium strap can be locked. It has a tamper alert, so you'll know if anyone tries to take the watch off. A criminal would need bolt cutters to remove it. … Read more

It feels almost quaint in this era of the smartphone (aka the new pocket watch) to see a company producing a wristwatch that's nothing more (or less) than a wristwatch.

Companies including Sony are producing smart watches, adding texts, tweets, e-mails, and the like to the information you can wear on your wrist. And with products like the Pebble appearing, it may be only a matter of time before the smart watch truly takes hold.

But there is something classic and clean about the simple wristwatch. It tells the time and that's it. That's a lot, however. The wristwatch provides us with a little ritual -- however quick and commonplace -- in which we pay our respects to the passing of time, with no other distractions.… Read more

Any man can wear an iPod Nano on his wrist or sport a Phosphor mechanical crystal watch. It takes a special (and rich) geek to flash the new Dent Denison gentleman's wristwatch. From the same clockmaker that brought you Big Ben's Great Clock, comes this $40,000 timepiece. That's not a typo. The Denison is all handmade, comes in an 18-carat-gold case, and takes six months to manufacture. So you'll need to be patient, as well as wealthy.

There are all sorts of sexy specs that come along with this watch. Rake your eyes across the ivory dial. Luxuriate in the sense sensation of the hand-stitched alligator strap with gold buckle. Turn your mind to the internal self-winding movement. Pop open the back and admire the elaborate engraving. Tell time with the hand-applied Breguet Arabic numerals. (It's OK. I had to google "Breguet," too.)… Read more

We're not really sure what truths the "Truth About Roswell" watch conveys, but they appear to have something to do with the legendary discovery in that small New Mexico town of what some insisted were remnants of a UFO. Look closely, after all, and the watch face resembles a mini archaeology site with its cute little alien-ey skeletons and artifacts (gears? screws?) popping up from a cratered dirt-like surface.

This limited-edition (nine in all) timepiece is another in Geneva-based Romain Jerome's series of Moon Dust-DNA watches, which honor the space race with lunar dials based on … Read more