Just as we'd heard, RIM decided to outsource the production of the planet's first BlackBerry watch, but that doesn't mean that devoted BB Messenger users won't be hankerin' for one. The inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry is being produced by Allerta, and now that it's official, we can safely say that it'll rely on Bluetooth in order to bring incoming emails, text messages and other alerts from your handset to your wrist (or your ankle, if you roll like that). As for specs, you're looking at a 1.3-inch OLED display, glass lens, full metal body, vibrating motor, microUSB port and a rechargeable battery that's good for around four days of "normal use." inPulse users will have to install a special BlackBerry application in order to pass along information, but those hoping to use their watch to actually send messages will be sorely disappointed. It's up for pre-order now at $149, and if all goes well, the first ones will ship out in February.

You might recall that RIM was rumored to be following down Sony Ericsson's path of branded Bluetooth watches to accompany its phones, and now, it looks like we might have the first real renderings of the final product before our eyes. This here wrist candy is possibly called the "inPulse" (not to be confused with Verizon's similarly-named prepaid offering), featuring an OLED display, real-time message preview, and presumably some sort of glanceable caller ID to make needlessly pulling your Tour out of its holster a thing of the past. Interestingly, it seems like the watch isn't being developed in-house -- instead, work has been farmed out to some company dedicated to the BlackBerry aftermarket with an official announcement expected "soon." As far as we know, Sony Ericsson's watches -- which arguably look nicer on account of their analog / digital hybrid design -- haven't been hot sellers, but who knows, maybe RIM's got some neat tricks up its sleeve with this one.

[Thanks, Evan]

Kempler & Strauss -- which pretty much came out of nowhere this week to announce a pair of 3G WinMo devices and a watchphone -- is pulling out all the stops here at CTIA to get its new products noticed, so everything they've got is on display and ready to use (or in some cases, wear). First up are the Billionair B6 and B7, full touch and portrait QWERTY WinMo devices respectively that currently run 6.1 -- but we're told that 6.5 upgrades will be available by the end of the year. Neither phone looks that awesome and feel generally cheap; the B6 borrows styling cues from the original HTC Touch, to boot, so there's an overal KIRFy feel to the thing. The skin they've dropped atop the operating system is pretty uninspiring, too -- though many WinMo skins look uninspiring when they're up against something thoroughly modern like a recent build of TouchFLO 3D. The phones' saving grace might be the fact that they're cheap -- sub-$300 -- and in the case of the B7, the combo portrait keyboard / QVGA touchscreen is still a nice, sadly too-rare combo.

Turning our attention to the more interesting device of the trio, the W is a watchphone that employs a pretty standard GUI we've seen on similar models, but this one employs perhaps the most livable styling that we've seen this side of an LG GD910, and it all comes at a small fraction of the price. The touchscreen doesn't come with a traditional stylus, per se, but instead you get a "communicator" accessory that functions as a combination stylus / Bluetooth handsfree / remote control -- pretty cool, although we'd feel pretty silly (and sad) if we misplaced it. At $200, we could almost justify buying one of these just for the sheer novelty of it -- just don't expect desktop-class browsing on that display, and you should be a happy camper.

We're tired of wasting time waiting for LG's GD910 watchphone to mosey on over to these shores and rob us blind, and now we've found a new, cheaper bauble to love: the Kempler & Strausse W PhoneWatch. The W, which K&S calls the "world's smallest full-function GSM tri-band cellphone watch," has a touchscreen interface, camera, microSD slot and even comes with a Bluetooth headset in the $200 package. Better yet, it's available now -- if you can track one down.

[Via Electronista]

We're not sure why we didn't hear more about this way back at RIM's WES conference way back in May, but it was apparently mentioned by VP Antoine Boucher at the time that they're working on a Bluetooth-enabled watch. Furthermore, it's said to be more advanced than the models Sony Ericsson has put forth so far, featuring streaming audio (3.5mm jack on the watch, perhaps?) and Twitter / Facebook updates in addition to the usual things like caller ID and text messages. Note that the image floating around today of this thing isn't real -- it's just a Sony Ericsson MBW-100 with a swapped logo -- so it remains to be seen what this magical wrist accessory will look like, assuming it's real and coming to retail. It seems Boucher also mentioned a high-end Bluetooth headset codenamed "Alpha 1" that'll allow you to stream music and get navigation directions through some sort of totally awesome silicone earpiece boasted to possibly be "the best solution on the market." It's pretty hard to pique a lot of interest these days with something as vanilla and ubiquitous as a headset, but at any rate, it's interesting to see the depth of RIM's apparent commitment to the accessory market right now.

[Via techfresh.net]

The LG wristphone has already experienced quite a bit of exposure ahead of its August UK release, but the diligent team at Orange just couldn't leave us without some extra titillation in the shape of a demo video. If you'll excuse the marketing inanity from the two reps, there's a pretty good exhibition of the GD910's video chat capabilities to be seen. Disappointingly, the audio sounds somewhat tinny, there was one glitch in the video stream, and a particularly uncharitable conclusion might be that LG is bringing 90s-era webcam technology to your 21st century wrist. Of course, this is still the phone to use for playing out latent James Bond fantasies, so we're willing to overlook a few foibles if LG is willing to price this device at a point somewhere south of "stratospheric." Mosey on past the break to see the long-awaited hand-mounted communicator in action.

[Via Slashgear]

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009:

• For some reason known only to Samsung, it seems the S9110 watchphone won't be coming to the UK any time soon. Of course, if you've got unlocked GSM 900 / 1800 units floating around France this month, it should be a simple matter to get 'em anywhere in Europe.
• LG's second quarter report revealed an astounding 32 percent jump in phone shipments quarter-over-quarter, setting an all-time best 29.82 million units. The company specifically calls out the next Black Label phone -- presumably the BL40 -- as one of the phones it's pinning its hopes and dreams on toward the end of the year. [Via mocoNews]
• iPhones can now be used to generate RSA SecurID tokens, which should make a great many enterprise iPhone users happier than pigs in poo.
• Google Maps 3.2 has been released for Windows Mobile and S60. The big feature here is layered data, meaning you can add and remove different bits of information (Latitude, traffic, and so on) one layer at a time.
• A picture atop Samsung USA's mobile site suggests a new QWERTY slider is destined for MetroPCS. It's labeled Messager, but looks nothing like the Messager we're acquainted with -- instead, it looks suspiciously like Bell's Vice. [Via Phone Scoop]

€450; that's what'll cost to take home the world's thinnest (11.98mm) touchscreen cellphone fashioned into an tempting wristwatch. Although details are few and we're relying upon machine translated text of the press release, we can tell you that Samsung's watchphone -- first seen as a prototype at CES -- brings a glass, scratch-proof touchscreen and stainless steel body that plays host to features such as Bluetooth 2.1, Outlook email sync, MP3 player, speakerphone, and voice recognition when it goes on sale this month in France. Hear that LG, Samsung just beat you to market by a calendar month.

[Thanks, Young]

Man, talk about a long time coming. The last time we saw a line of i:Virt watches from Citizen, it was a bright fall day in 2007, and obviously our style threshold was entirely different. Thankfully, the outfit's latest line of Bluetooth-enabled timepieces are far sexier, though we have to say -- the fact that they only support Softbank phones makes us shed a tear on the inside. As with most other BT watches, these too will display emails, alert you of incoming calls and even clue you in on the latest news (via RSS, we suspect). Both the TM84-0341V and TM84-0342V feature a stainless steel case and a life of around five days with a full charge; there's no mention of price, but frankly, we're too depressed to even find one. Poor us.

[Via Akihabara News]

Some luxury phones manage to pull off their lot in life with a sense of understated elegance; on the opposite end of the spectrum, there's this. The GoldVish Revolution looks every bit as gaudy as its predecessors, but throws in a mechanical watch for good measure -- something that's become strangely popular in this market segment lately. All told, you're looking at some 29 carats of diamonds and a whole bunch of 18k gold, but act fast: only 9 are being made, and something tells us there are more than nine weirdos in the world willing to pay the €369,000 (about $485,500) being asked.

[Via Phone Arena]

If this guy looks serious, it's because he is -- serious about bringing you some awesome watch phones. Canadian firm Neutrano is working with Chinese OEMs to import, tweak, and certify some of those watch phones that we've unfortunately been spending more time reading about than actually using -- and while they aren't going to appeal to everyone, the stainless steel version is the closest thing we've seen to something we'd consider wearing this side of an LG. Fans of chunky, stylish wristwatches should be able to pass it off as a fashion statement of sorts -- your friends don't even have to know it's a phone, really. When you get a call, the thing's got to come off your wrist and be held up to your ear unless you've got a Bluetooth headset ready to rock, but worry not: Neutrano's also showing a model of its Nutec WristFone that pops off at the base of the wristband so you don't need to unstrap it from your wrist. You pay for that convenience with some extra bulk (and we'd argue that this is the geekiest, ugliest model of the bunch), but we'll admit, it's pretty trick. Everything's controlled over touchscreen; you've got character recognition for entering text messages and a row of shortcuts silkscreened across the bottom of the display, and the detachable model also features an integrated keypad (think Casio calculator watch) to make entering phone numbers a little less painful. Neutrano is targeting June for these at a price somewhere between $300 and $400, and the company's president is still actively deciding on colors, band styles, and software features, so sound off in comments if you've got any hot ideas for 'em. Oh, and check some video of the phones in action after the break!

Remember Hyundai's MB-910 watch phone that we spotted around this time last month? How could you possibly forget, right? That masterpiece / atrocity is actually coming to market, and Mobile Gazette has it that the bugger will cost around £200 ($281) when it lands sometime in Q2. As for specs, we're told that it'll boast tri-band GSM connectivity, Bluetooth, a 176 x 132 resolution touchscreen, 128MB of storage, USB 2.0 and the obligatory time-telling mechanism for good measure. Too bad it's closer to "heinous" than "halfway decent."

[Via PMP Today]