The Cogito Watch, A First Look At The Connected Smartwatch At CES 2014

If you followed any coverage of CES 2014, you would have heard that there was an incredible wave of wearable technologies at this year’s show, in particular in the fitness area as well as wrist-worn devices that begin to replicate the abilities of a smartphone. There will be continuing discussions and arguments as to whether this level of usability and connectedness is even required for wearable device, smartwatches and fitness devices alike, however the Cogito Watch is a device that goes back to the bare basics of what is required for a notification device. Much like the new Martian Notifier, the Cogito only notifies the user of a select few notifications that would ideally be the most useful throughout the day.

In fact, I wouldn’t even call the Cogito Watch a smartwatch, as such, because it is much more a ‘connected’ watch as all it does is give you notifications from your phone. The Cogito Original is able to show you call, message, email, battery, alarm and calendar notifications and additionally can also show you the caller ID or who is messaging you when you receive the notification. It’s all very simple, but it’s just enough to make your life easier without making your watch into a cacophony of technological exploits.

The Cogito Watch will be available in two variants, the aforementioned Cogito Original and a second, more fashionable offering, the Cogito Pop. The Cogito Pop comes in much more appealing colour schemes to younger audiences and is smaller, making it a more viable option for ladies to get in on the smartwatch action. Unlike the Original, however, the Pop is only able to show 4 notification types and cannot show the IDs of people calling or messaging.

Both Cogito Watches also come with the ability to be submerged at 100m under water as well as a one year battery life. Yes, you did read that correctly: one year. As Cogito is such a simple device, it uses a standard watch battery to get power and as such outlasts any other smartwatch or connected watch on the market at the moment. And the price? The Cogito Original retails for $179.95 and the Cogito Pop goes for $129.95, both available for preorder now from the Cogito website.

I know I’m pretty convinced that this is one of the best wearables I saw at CES 2014, and I know our resident Mandroid loves it as well, but what do you think? Let us know if you would get one of these Cogito Watches.

Gallery of photos