INBOX:WATCHES ARE pretty redundant things these days, aren't they? All they can do is tell the time, and when that is available from mobile phones, MP3 players, the radio, the TV and even some fridges, the wrist-watch really does need to find a new role in life. But a new approach to the watch's role might offer a glimpse of its future, writes Mike Butcher

However, let's discount the possibility of the humble wrist-watch morphing into an undersized laptop.

Chinese hardware manufacturer ChinaVasion has come up with a Frankenstein's monster of a watch. Selling at $185 (€140), it's a mini laptop on your wrist, combined with a mobile phone and a pop-out stylus for clicking on the tiny icons. As well as playing music and videos, it takes pictures and video and even has an SD card slot. And yes, it also tells the time. However, you'd be hard-pressed to lift your arm with this outsized hunk of metal on the end of it.

No, the wrist-watch needs to be smarter than that. We saw a glimpse of the future in 2004, when watch brand Fossil brought out the Abacus Wrist PDA with the Palm operating system built in. It had 4MB of memory, a grayscale screen, and PDA functions like an address book and a calendar. However, Fossil soon realised no one wanted a laptop on their wrist and instead paired the watch with the mobile phone.

Now, by linking the watch with the mobile via Bluetooth, you could see who was calling you without getting your phone out of your pocket. This was a much smarter way to think about the mobile - as a handy interface to the more complex gadgets you might have about your person.

Sony Ericsson liked the idea and ran with it. A couple of years ago, it started making the MBW-100, an expensive watch that played nice with their range of mobiles. The problem was, it just didn't sell in great numbers.

Put it down to old-fashioned psychology. Men would just reach into their pocket to get the mobile out. They didn't need a watch's help. But women, however, liked the idea. They didn't need to delve into a handbag to find that it was their ex-boyfriend if the watch told them first. There was just one snag - the device looked like a man's watch.

So now, Sony Ericsson and Fossil have come out with a range of Bluetooth watches designed for women. The new Bluetooth MBW-200 comes in three different designs. All will display the caller ID and vibrate when your phone rings or you receive an SMS. You can then reject or mute the call with a button on the watch or answer it as you wish.

But there's more. Since plenty of phones now hold music, this watch will change music tracks remotely as well. And the MBW-150 Classic is a sporty edition that will come out next year.

The MBW-200 collection features scratch-resistant mineral crystal glass with an anti-glare coating. The low-power OLED display is invisible when not in use but visible on a bright day. The Bluetooth feature inside the watch will need recharging once a week. Watch out for them being marketed by 19-year-old Slovakian tennis ace Dominika Cibulkova, or the 18-year-old Danish "Princess of Tennis" Caroline Wozniacki, or 19-year-old Hungarian superstar Agnes Szavay.

There's just one snag. Would you pay around €319.99 for a watch with this functionality? Perhaps. Me? I'll stick to using my phone.