Fremont, Calif. — Asus rolled out its first smart watch for the U.S. market through the Google Play store and Best Buy.com, but the $199 watch is already out of stock.
The Zen Watch, which runs the Android Wear OS and pairs with Android 4.3+ smartphones, features stitched-leather strap, stainless-steel case, 1.2GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 4GB memory, 1.63-inch 320 by 320 278 PPI touchscreen, curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Bluetooth 4.0, a built-in microphone and IP55 water-resistance rating.
Integrated sensors track heart rate, step counts and relaxation levels.
The watch displays incoming call information, messages, notifications and other information. With the built-in mic, users can dial by voice and respond to texts, instant messages, and email by voice. Users can also ask questions by voice and get answers, such as the weather forecast or driving directions.
From an Asus app running on a smartphone, users can select from more than 100 watch faces.
The watch also offers these features:
–Watch unlock lets users unlock a phone or tablet by touching the watch face.
–Remote camera displays a smartphone’s camera viewfinder on the watch and remotely triggers the camera shutter, letting the user compose a selfie group shot. The feature also lets users snap photos while holding the smartphone above their head.
–Cover to mute lets wearers mute an incoming call or silence an alarm by placing a hand over watch face.
–Find My Phone helps wearers find their phone by ringing it remotely, and users can find the watch by making the watch vibrate and flash.
–Presentation control enables the watch to be used as a remote control to move between slides on a computer presentation.
The watch also has wearable-optimized versions of Asus ZenUI apps, such as What’s Next and Do It Later. What’s Next is a schedule manager that displays the next important task or appointment, including time and location changes and cancellations. It also displays weather updates and birthday and anniversary reminders. Do It Later reminds wearers of items on their to-do list at just the right time.
