Yesterday we devoted most of our coverage to previewing the multitude of devices that Huawei had on display at AfricaCom 2015; including hotly anticipated gear such as the MediaPad M2 and Huawei Watch.
However, Huawei wasn‘t the only company making a strong display; today, we‘re looking at devices from French manufacturer, Alcatel.
Where a majority of smartwatches this year have focused on transitioning from a “˜connect device‘ in appearance to a luxury accessory in feel ““ such as the Huawei Watch, TAG Heuer Connected Watch, or even the 2nd gen Moto 360 ““ Alcatel have done the reverse: brought smartwatch functionality into as rugged a form factor as possible.
It‘s at this point, then, that we meet Alcatel‘s OneTouch GO smartwatch. Announced earlier this year by the French company, the GO watch is all of three very specific things; cheap, colorful and durable.
The GO Watch doesn‘t win many points in the beauty department, and nor is it really trying to; the GO Watch is the closest thing we‘ve yet seen to smartwatches cannibalizing fitness tracker territory; think the Withings Activite Steel, with less beauty but far more smarts.
The GO Watch somewhat resembles the Casio G-Shock; another wearable looking to perform a similar function. The GO Watch brings support for notifications, 2-5 days of battery life, and support for both Android and iOS.
The GO Watch fits snugly on the wrist, and the bright white model we got to try on was somewhat stark. The focus with the GO Watch is, however, on customizable covers to offer a more colorful approach.
While there‘s no word on local pricing or availability as yet, the expectation following the sale of the GO Watch overseas is that the device will be bundled with smartphones for a figure around the $300 USD dollar mark.
Stay tuned for more device previews from AfricaCom, as well as local availability and pricing news.
