GemWhere-3Right now we are all being inundated with more and more smart watches. Just yesterday we reported that Samsung is working on a stand alone smart watch capable of working without being tethered to a phone. But as many have pointed out it could be too late in the cycle of already released Galaxy Gear and Gear watch products for Samsung to say “hey here’s the watch we meant to release”.

There are a handful of smartwatches out there that have 3g connectivity but still lack the functionality to become products used every day.

It may still be early in the life of smart watches but the products on the market right now seem to be filled with features that make them look hip, cool and flashy rather than functional. I’ve had a Pebble watch since their first go-round on Kickstarter, but unless I’m headed to a tech event it typically lives in a drawer. Of course Pebble, is the most popular smart watch out there to date.

A software engineer, Steve Chen, who spent most of his career at Sun MicroSystems is out to release a smartwatch that is designed for functionality and to deliver a birds eye view, on the users wrist, of what’s important to them most, when they need it most.

The GemWhere Smart Watch is a new smartwatch currently being funded on Kickstarter. Chen has traded the bells and whistles meant to look cool, with the functionality that makes the watch even cooler. The focus of the GemWhere Smart Watch is delivering the key information you need, right when you need it.

Sure the GemWhere Smart Watch does apps, Twitter, tells time, shows text messages and most of the core functionality of smart watches, but where it excels is in the delivery of information, or gems.

Message delivery happens in a “daily briefing” style way with the news that matters most to you. This is all managed using proprietary software and built on the Android platform. But unlike other Android powered smart watches, GemWhere will also work with iOS devices and even better, it can stand alone as well. The news is and information is delivered via the watches screen or through the watches spoken voice. Chen likens the Gemwhere smartwatch to having a tablet on your wrist.

The GemWhere smartwatch has your typical bluetooth capability but takes things a step further with a 3G radio and a SIM card slot. Everything on the watch can function totally independently of a smart phone.

Chen has simplified the smartwatch experience, “I have always believed that computers should help simplify people’s lives, not complicating them.  That’s why I developed the software that powers the GemWhere smart voice watch.” he says on the Kickstarter page. 

The technical specs on the GemWhere smartwatch show just how Chen has thought of everything that needs to go into a functional device, rather than a smart piece of fashion jewelry.

  • CPU                Cortex A9 Dual Core, 1.0 GHz
  • Sim Card         Singe SIM Card Single Standby
  • Band               GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
  • ROM                4 GB
  • RAM                512 MB
  • Card Ext.         TF card up to 16 GB
  • Screen Size     1.54″
  • Battery             700mAh, Lithium-ion polymer
  • G-sensor          Built-in
  • WiFi                  802.11 b/g/n
  • GPS                  Built-in
  • Bluetooth          v4.0, copatible with v3.0 2.1 2.0 1.2 1.1
  • USB                  USB2.0, Micro USB 5 pin
  • Camera             5.0 MP front camera
  • Certification      CE/RoHS

Check out the video below and pre-order yours now here at Kickstarter