Uh Oh. Apple’s scheduled release of the Apple Smartwatch might already be in trouble. Neptune is now taking pre-orders and reservations for their highly anticipated Neptune Duo Smart Watch & Pocket Screen ($800). The Duo is made up of the Neptune Hub wearable and a pocket screen. The Hub is a stand alone unit that does everything your phone does including making calls, texting, fitness tracking, apps, and much more.
The pocket screen is basically a dumb input device. Think of it as a keyboard or display that adds to the functionality of the Hub. The screens are completely interchangeable so if you forget yours at home you can borrow someone else’s screen. None of your personal info is kept in the pocket screen. Another great detail is that you can use the screen as an external battery pack for the Hub. Using both together you’ll get up to 3 days of usage on a single charge.
As far as technical specs, the Neptune Hub features a powerful quad-core processor, support for 3G/4G, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. It will also run on the latest and greatest OS from Android which is currently Lollipop. The pocket screen is a 5 inch display with a 1280×720 resolution, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, plus assorted sensors and audio components.
Now all that being said, the main reason why I wear a Garmin Vivosmart ($170) is because I don’t take my watches or fitness bands off. I wear them 24/7 and they must be water-resistant enough to handle a shower and a dip in the pool. The Apple Smartwatch lacks this feature and I do not see any water-resistance ratings for this product either. Just one thing to keep in mind.
The Neptune Duo will be released later this year, so you can simply reserve one now and pay the retail price when it comes out or you can pledge a dollar amount now and receive up to $300 off of retail.
