MWC 2014: Huawei MediaPad and Ascend hands-on

Huawei TalkBand B1 hands-on

Wearables are a hot ticket here at the MWC and Huawei brought its own - a smartwatch with a twist. The TalkBand B1 gets its name from being a Bluetooth headset that can be set into a rubber strap to be worn as a smartwatch.

The Huawei TalkBand B1 is a Bluetooth headset/smartwatch hybrid

It features a 1.4" curved display and measures a little under 15mm thick. You can pair it with your phone - or MediaPad X1 tablet - over NFC, then Bluetooth 4.0 LE takes over to handle the audio.

Using the Huawei TalkBand B1

The TalkBand B1 justifies its sporty looks with IP57 certification, which should make it water-resistant enough for everyday use. Built-in step and calorie counters will help you train, with a sleep-quality indicator to help you rest.

A watch and a step counter

Of course, it does voice calls too as a regular Bluetooth headset when paired with a phone.

The battery capacity is relatively low - 90mAh - but the device is power-efficient enough to last six days on a charge. What we found strange is that the battery can take up to two hours to charge.

The pogo pins for charging • the clasp hides a microUSB plug

Speaking of charging, that's done with the wrist band, which features a USB port and connects to the TalkBand unit with pogo pins. The clasp on the band could have been better though - it comes off too easily and is hard to put back.

The TalkBand B1 will cost €100 upon launch - it will be out in China next month, with new locations to follow (including Western Europe and Japan) in Q2.