1/19/2021
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`Citizen to commercialize IBM’s wristwatch computer | EE Times
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`Citizen to commercialize IBM’s wristwatch computer
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`By Paul Kallender 10.11.2001
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`TOKYO (cid:0) Citizen Watch Co. will work with IBM Research to commercialize IBM's wristwatch PC, a first
`step in the development of wearable computers, the companies said Thursday (Oct. 11).
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`IBM's Watchpad prototype weighs 43 grams and includes a 32-bit microprocessor backed by 8 Mbytes
`of DRAM and 16 Mbytes of flash. The unit runs on standard lithium ion watch batteries or AA batteries.
`
`Yuzo Shirazaki, director of Citizen's watch movement division, said the Watchpad platform will enable
`new human-machine applications. The watch features a 320 x 240-dot monochrome VGA display,
`Bluetooth wireless connectivity, an IrDA wireless link, plus speaker, microphone and fingerprint-sensor
`functions.
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`Watchpad wearers could use the unit's Bluetooth functions to remotely control other devices, such as a
`PC during presentations, for example, Shirazaki said. The fingerprint sensor function could be used to
`identify the watch's owner, replacing the need for a password, he said.
`
`Shirazaki called the arrangement with IBM a big step forward for Citizen, which wants to leverage IBM's
`integration, software and networking expertise to transform standard watches into wearable PDA
`alternatives.
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`“Our first priority is to make an information tool that is wearable and we believe with IBM we have made
`a huge advance. We wanted to do something much more than make watches,” he told reporters.
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`The two companies started collaborating last summer. IBM agreed to the deal because it fits with the
`company's strategy of developing pervasive computing, said Yoichi Takao, director of IBM Research's
`Tokyo Research Lab.
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`“This project is about developing pervasive computing for the post-PC era,” Takao said. “We needed to
`create a new form factor. This is not only a consumer product, this is an embedded technology.”
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`The Watchpad prototype uses Linux version 2.4 as its operating system, Microwindows as its graphic
`user interface, and an IBM Bluetooth software stack. The watch consumes “several milliwatts” in normal
`operation and less than a milliwatt in standby mode, but “Bluetooth guzzles power,” Takao said, or about
`100 milliwatts when in use.
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`IBM wants to push ahead with the Linux OS as the base for a next-generation network populated by
`Watchpad's commercialized successors, as well as more traditional servers, PCs and PDAs, said Takao.
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`Citizen to commercialize IBM’s wristwatch computer | EE Times
`1/19/2021
`“Linux does not require a license fee, so it is cheap. Linux has the top programmers and is an extremely
`reliable and secure OS,” he said.
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`Watchpad does not yet have Internet connectivity.
`
`IBM is considering weather to break out the watch's source code to make it an open platform.
`Executives from both companies declined to say how soon a consumer product could hit the market or
`what features it would have.
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