Last updated on July 22, 2020
The surprise smartwatch announcement of early September was not the broadly anticipated and, well, just broad Samsung Galaxy Gear, but Qualcomm’s Toq watch. In fact, Qualcomm even introduced accessories for it before its release — a charging case and a set of stereo Bluetooth headsets recreating a personal area network like the kind we saw with the Motorola MOTOACTV.
There’s much that remains to be seen of Toq in terms of its final feature set beyond its signature Mirasol display. But Qualcomm has gotten off to a good start with the short device name. Of course, it evokes “tock,” which is fitting for what you’d expect from a device rooted in time display. Qualcomm also managed to work in the distinctive Scrabble-prized “Q” that begins its corporate name. But it even worked in a secondary pun on “talk,” which is appropriate for a communications product.
While the company emphasizes that Toq is an example of the kinds of products it wants to primarily build with partners, it’s not a complete stranger to its own consumer devices of late. Its Snaptracs group was behind the Tagg pet tracker. (While it sold off its majority stake, it’s still an investor.) That product requires a subscription, which is always tough at retail. But at least from the name, it’s off to a great start with its smartwatch.