Alcatel Wave

LAS VEGAS—I didn't expect a cute smartwatch from Alcatel.

But there it was, at the CTIA Super Mobility Week show in Las Vegas: the Alcatel Wave. Alcatel's surprising smartwatch accessory looks like a shrunk-down Moto 360, with the same almost-round LCD face. Unlike the Moto 360, though, it's actually the size of a watch - 1.6 inches in diameter compared to the 360's 1.9 inches. Yes, that quarter of an inch makes a difference. The watch will also run four days on a charge, Alcatel says.

How is this possible? The Wave is running much simpler software than Android Wear watches, and it isn't extensible. It has a heart rate sensor, NFC, and an accelerometer, as well as a 1.22-inch, 240-by-204 display. The model Alcatel showed me was just a model - it wouldn't run - but they said it displays notifications and operates e-health apps. It's a lot more like Sony's smartwatch than like the Galaxy Gear or Android Wear, in other words. It'll be available by the end of the year; Alcatel didn't announce a price.

It looks like smartwatches have to go in two directions right now: less functional, but much more attractive, or big and clunky, but more powerful. Will Apple break that dichotomy? We'll really have to see later today.

Like an E-Reader For Your Phone
Alcatel also showed me the "E-Card," a little accessory about the size of your palm with an e-ink screen, which pairs via Bluetooth to an Android phone running a custom application.

The E-Card works a lot like the Yotaphone's second screen - the Yotaphone being the most-talked-about phone at CES and Mobile World Congress this year. You "throw" things from your phone to the little e-ink tablet. You can throw books (and change pages using arrow buttons on the tiny tablet), throw your calendar (to keep it), throw a map, throw a boarding pass, throw a train schedule, throw a picture. The idea is to use it to store some information you may need to be persistent as you fool around with various apps on your phone. I would totally use it when getting on planes, because I always lose my boarding pass while I'm fiddling with Feedly in the TSA line.

The E-Card doesn't have a price yet, and it'll be available by the end of the year.