Overview
The Fossil (Abacus) Wrist PDA (a member of Fossil's Tech Watch series) is an awesome little gadget. It's a PalmOS device in a wristwatch form-factor. I've never seen anything like it before, and I sincerely hope that its growing popularity will encourage the development of more wearable computers that (like it) are practical and affordable.
This page is not about the MSN Wrist NET watch. No comment. A certain Redmond-based company is (frightfully) on the right track generally with their idea, but thankfully haven't taken over the world with it just yet.
Reviews
If you punch in some combination of fossil, abacus, or wristpda into google, you'll find nothing but reviews. I'll refrain from endorsing any by linking to them directly.
My personal opinion is that it's an amazing device. Unlike my old Handspring, I actually use it. Mostly, this is because I always have it with me since it's not a nuisance to carry (since it's on my arm). I can get about 2 days of battery out of it (I charge it overnight on alternating nights). It's a bit bulky for a watch, but I'm used to carrying around lots of hardware, so I don't mind. The screen is a bit small and (without the backlight) is only suited for reasonably bright, direct light. I still find that a small price to pay for the remarkable convenience it offers.
As for connectivity, I'm basically satisfied. It charges and hotsyncs through a USB cable (recent models have a USB mini-B port on the side). It has an infrared port on the top. It's amusingly very geeky-looking to zap things over to other abacus-wearers this way. It has no wifi or bluetooth capability (no room in the watch, I imagine, not to mention a battery-hog). I occasionally find myself wishing it did, but since everything is so small, I really wouldn't want to do much more than casually check my e-mail using it anyway.
Models / Hardware
There seem to be a rather large number of models, most of which are internally pretty much the same. It seems the original name was "Fossil WristPDA," and then the name "Abacus" crept in, but that has since been dropped in recent models. Like a lot of manufacturers, Fossil is annoyingly not making it easy to keep track of models through well-published model numbers.
All models come with a novel USB cable (USB A male to USB mini-B male) that injects 5v from an included AC adapter (to be able to charge when the connected computer is turned off). Actually, it can be charged anywhere power from a USB connector can be had. Since AC-outlet or car cigarette-lighter USB power sources exist, this is actually very convenient... I charge my watch on my nightstand from an AC outlet without a computer nearby.
The watch is, unsurprisingly, not water-proof or even water-resistant. It might be called weakly splash-resistant. Obviously, you can get water on the housing or a few drops on the surface of the LCD, but otherwise, treat it like the Palm device it is and don't wash your hands too vigorously while wearing it.
Fossil has taken the (economically wise) strategy of not selling any accessories or replacement parts. If anyone knows of an aftermarket source for the charging cable, styli, etc., please let me know.
Software
The Wrist PDA can run any PalmOS application compatible with the OS version it's running that I've cared to try. A number of applications exist that have been specifically written for the watch.
Special features / idiosyncrasies:
WARNING: This CD contains copyrighted software that may only be legal for use if you are the legal owner of a WristPDA. This is posted in case you lost your CD or purchased a used WristPDA without the software.
As documentation for these watches is found, it will be placed here. Since watches within a series are nearly identical, Fossil seems to only have bothered printing one manual for each series (conveniently neglecting to mention model numbers anywhere within the manual).
Below are links to documentation known to be associated with the given model (or series). Please contact me if you find documentation not listed here.
Linux Compatibility
As long as your kernel recognizes the USB ID of your Wrist PDA, it will act like any other PalmOS device when using the USB Visor Driver. You should be able to sync with it using pilot-link and the like. A number of programs offering the Palm Desktop environment exist. Search around Linux Palm communities for that.
It appears that the USB ID was only added in some version of linux kernel 2.6 (at least 2.6.14, maybe earlier). Since I'm one of the lazy ones still using version 2.4 on a lot of my systems, here's a little patch that adds the USB ID: for 2.4.32.
Getting one
Both the availability and price of the Wrist PDA have had a strange history. I understand that it was originally distributed exclusively through TigerDirect, originally at $250 and then dropping as low as $20 as the inventory was cleared out. Since then, it seems to be most available from Amazon.com. Depending on the model, prices for new-in-box watches seem to vary from $30 to $80.
Amazon.com links:
Relevant Links
Standard Disclaimer
I have no affiliation with Fossil, Palm, Google, Amazon.com, Cyberguys, Freshmeat, etc. All trademarks are the property of their owners, etc, etc. Use this information at your own risk, etc, etc. Graphics stolen from online retailers.
