![]() ![]() #Digital clock docklet software1 ROM pack contained Microsoft BASIC which is the foundation software of the then fledgling Bill Gates company. #Digital clock docklet PcIt also included removable ROM packs or cartridges that contained early PC programs. As mentioned before, it has a spool-fed printer for memo or data that you need on paper, literally. The UC-2200 keyboard has the same functionalities with a few extras. How cool is a built-in printer? Source: Gtello You can save up to 2 memos of 1000 characters each, hence the UC-2000 model name. But when coupled with the UC-2100 keyboard, it becomes the “Wrist Information System” that can store memos, keep your appointments scheduled, and act like a calculator. The watch tells the time and date, can function as a stopwatch, and also as an alarm clock like most other digital watches of its time. Need something with a little more power? There is also the UC-2200 dock which came with a spool-fed printer, just in case you needed something printed while on the go. The watch serves as the monitor for this computer. In fact it looks comically large if worn like this, but making the keyboard any smaller would have made it very hard to type on. The keyboard is small enough to fit in the pocket, but not small enough that you can wear it on your wrist together with a watch. The on and off switch is also located at the front. On the left side is a square cutout where the watch sits and communicates with the keyboard through electromagnets. ![]() It’s a QWERTY keyboard with extra buttons to change the language and access its different functions. When the watch is mounted on the dock, it becomes this completely geeky looking machine which would have been the pièce de résistance in a tech collector’s display. Then there’s the UC-2100 keyboard which turned the watch into an actual computer. It looks incredibly similar to the smartwatches of today. There are four buttons in its lower area colored orange on the outer ends and grey in the middle, replacing the crown as the adjustment mechanism. The Seiko UC-2000 face is an LCD dot matrix display with a black bezel while the body is a metallic grey, matching the stainless steel bracelet. Source: WorthPointįor the 80s, it looks quite futuristic. Let’s look at the watch first.Ī working unit, decades after release. The product came in 2 parts: the watch and the keyboard dock. It sold well for the first few months, but 2 years later and the UC-2000 was already in the bargain bin, with entire watch + dock bundles selling for 1/3rd of its original price. Since you can’t bring your computer with you, this device can be your mini-computer for the day while you’re out and about, which can connect and transmit data to your home computer. Seiko marketed it to people who already owned computers. The Seiko smart watch was undoubtedly state of the art technology when it was released, but was there even a demand for such a device? This is how we got to the Seiko UC-2000: a watch with data entry, translation, and calculation functions that you can wear on your wrist. On the other hand, Eastern companies, particularly Japanese ones, focused on making computers smaller and lighter while sacrificing functionality. This is how you got massive computers - it didn’t matter how big a computer became as long as it was more powerful than the last. But what can it do and how did it come to be? Read on to find out.ĭuring the dawn of the computing age, western companies focused on making their hardware more powerful and more complex. It looks like a computer and almost worked like one too, although it can’t technically be called a computer until you dock it on an external keyboard that adds actual computer-like functionalities.įor the gamers reading, this watch is obviously incapable of running Crysis. As you would expect, it was a novel device that was released for $300, or almost $700 adjusted for inflation. Well, it’s real, and it is exactly what Seiko created back in the day and was known as the UC-2000 - a “personal information processor” that you can wear on your wrist. ![]() That sounds like something straight out of a scifi film since the 80s is not exactly known for great advances in personal computing. ![]()
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