NFC Watch coming to market in 2012??
Posted by Seth Planck
September 12th, 2011 at 11:59 AM Filed Under Latest News, Press Release
NFC Watch coming to market in 2012? Bizarre press release leaves us in the dark, but with plenty of stories
Winwatch is an RFID and NFC watch maker headquartered in Switzerland with a presence in China also. Here at NFC Rumors we see a lot of press releases hit our inbox, but today we saw one that just plain left us wondering what was going on. Until today we hadn’t heard of Winwatch or their NFC watch products and we are still a little confused as to what the company is actually selling, but it nonetheless sounds interesting. The press release doesn’t really give us a lot of information other than you can pre-order an NFC watch that connects to your NFC phone with a tap. There is apparently also a growing number of apps that the NFC watch supports and once NFC apps are loaded on your NFC phone the watch will somehow interact with the phone.
The company describes its NFC watch as being fashioned in a diving watch style, although it is unclear whether the NFC watch is actually waterproof. The company encourages people to pre-order the watch, but upon visiting the website that is not given in the press release we could find nowhere to actually see the watch, let alone pre-order it. What puzzles us even more is that the NFC watch works with Android or Symbian devices, so we are not sure whether that means that there will be multiple versions of the watch or if one device does it all which strikes us as unlikely. Our favorite phrase in the NFC watch press release below is “you are the storyteller!” In fact, we like “you are the story teller!” so much we are thinking about making it the NFC Rumors site slogan. NFC Rumors says, you too can tell super lucky shiny happy fancy stories with your friends and their dogs and their submarines. We challenge you to come up with more obscure phrases to describe the NFC watch in the comments.
NFC Watch description / specifications?
NFC watch PVD black case, green nylon strap or NFC watch brushed steel case, black nylon strap:
MOVEMENT: Automatic (self-winding)
CASE DIAMETER: 39.9 mm without crown
CASE THICKNESS: 12.9 mm
DIAL: Black dial
CASE MATERIAL: PVD black or brushed stainless steel
BAND MATERIAL: green nylon strap or black nylon strap
COVER GLASS: scratch proof mineral glass
BACK COVER: brushed stainless steel
EMBEDDED NFC IC INSIDE: NXP MIFARE 13.56MHZ
“We ship anywhere in the world!” the company says about its NFC watch in its press release.
From what we can tell from Winwatch’s website they have been in business since 2004 and are interested in collecting patents and licensing out their technology to others. We have reached out to the company for a little more information, but if we were to guess, this press release (which you can read below) is simply a way of establishing all encompassing patents and showing that it has been released to the press. Another thing that put us on alert was that the company is based is a town called Conthey in Switzerland, just a language thing we are sure.We would love to be wrong and if the company gets back to us with actual product specifications, photographs and some details about this NFC watch, we will be the first to let you know the scoop.
Contactless Near Field Communication NFC Luxury Watch for Mobile App Developers and NFC Pioneers
NewswireToday – Sion, Valais, Switzerland, 09/12/2011 – Pre-Order NFC diving watch for mobile app developers, nfc pioneers & trendsetters: no-brand beta version diver watch, low priced to discover Near Field Communication NFC inside luxury watch, to work with or just for fun!.
Announcement: Premium Swiss made luxury watches with NFC technology inside coming soon in 2012!
A suptle touch of e-luxury by a simple, tap’. Try out this new kind of luxury watch – it will interact with any NFC enabled mobile phone. A growing number of NFC apps, ready to be uploaded to your phone. Simplify your life! Be a pioneer, lead the way and show the others how easy it’s done:
1.Pre-Order watch. 2.Upload NFC app(s)• of your choice to phone, or try something new – create app(s), design your very own digital brand watch by personalizing on your phone… 3. Experience the uniqueness of wearing an exclusive NFC watch and share with friends – you are the storyteller!
Please observe a close reading/writing distance between your NFC wristwatch and the NFC enabled phone of ca. 0-2cm.
*AndroidMarket NFC (Google) market.android.com/.
*Ovi Store NFC (Nokia) store.ovi.com/.
Cool stuff! Mobile Apps enrich finest mechanical & automated watch making + patented SWISS NFC-technology inside, not visible to the naked eye!
Prelaunch NFC watch for app developers, pioneers & trendsetters: no-brand, beta’ version diver watch, low priced to discover Near Field Communication NFC inside luxury watch, to work with or just for fun.
NFC watch PVD black case, green nylon strap or NFC watch brushed steel case, black nylon strap:
MOVEMENT: Automatic (self-winding)
CASE DIAMETER: 39.9 mm without crown
CASE THICKNESS: 12.9 mm
DIAL: Black dial
CASE MATERIAL: PVD black or brushed stainless steel
BAND MATERIAL: green nylon strap or black nylon strap
COVER GLASS: scratch proof mineral glass
BACK COVER: brushed stainless steel
EMBEDDED NFC IC INSIDE: NXP MIFARE 13.56MHZ
We ship anywhere in the world!
Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch. NFC technology is being added to a growing number of mobile handsets to enable mobile payments, as well as many other applications. NFC expands eCommerce opportunities. NFC can share a contact, photo, song, application, or video or pair Bluetooth or Wifi devices. The 140 NFC Forum members include Google, Nokia, Samsung, HTC, NEC, RIM, Motorola, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, Toshiba, Sony Ericsson, Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Intel, TI, NXP, etc.
source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication
Legal Notice: This product is protected by Swiss and international copyright and intellectual property laws. NFC and/or any other RFID technology inside this watch or in any other luxury watch in the low, medium and high price range, is protected by exclusive patent and design rights in Switzerland, Europe, China, HongKong and in other countries.
This product is produced and sold under license under patent numbers:
WO 2005064421A1, US 2006140058A1, WO 2006072187A3, CH692069C1, CH-689360 A5, CH-694111 A5, CH-130578, EP-1679562 B1, DE-602005001685 T2, EP-1597636 B1, DE-602004004087 T2, EP-1892651 B1, HK1120901B, CN-Patent-ZL200480042847.0, HK1099375B, EP-228695 B1, EP11002331, CH701919A2 CH-700537A2 and equivalent patents and patent applications in other countries.
END Winwatch NFC watch press release