LAS VEGAS (CNN/Money) - What time is it? And, oh yeah, while you're looking at your watch, could you check out the reviews for the new Thai restaurant down the street?

That might sound like a fanciful idea but it actually is close to becoming a reality. During the first half of 2002, watchmaker Fossil will begin shipping watches that are also personal digital assistants running on the Palm operating system. The watches, known as Wrist PDA with Palm OS (doesn't that just roll off the tongue?) will be sold under two brand names, the Fossil brand and a new Abacus brand.

Donald Brewer, vice president of technology for Fossil, says that the Abacus brand will be sold in tech-oriented stores like Circuit City (CC: Research, Estimates) and Best Buy (BBY: Research, Estimates), while the Fossil-branded PDA will be available in retailers that have high-end watches, such as department stores and jewelers.

The most expensive version of the watch will cost $299. That will have a metal band, Brewer says. Cheaper versions will either have leather or plastic bands. The watch will also come with a mini stylus that is built into the band...so you won't have to fumble with tiny buttons on the side of the watch to enter appointment data.

Will there be a market for such a device? Dick Tracy, after all, is just a fictional comic strip character. Brewer said he thinks the product should be a big hit with men especially, noting a study by Gartner that showed that two-thirds of men who own PDAs don't carry it with them, except when they are going to work. But a watch? Most people wear them all the time.

Fossil (FOSL: Research, Estimates) and Palm (PALM: Research, Estimates) aren't the only ones talking about PDA watches at Comdex. During his keynote address on Sunday night, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates unveiled prototypes of a variety of so-called smart devices, including a watch.

But that doesn't worry David Nagel, CEO of PalmSource, the operating system subsidiary of hardware company Palm. He notes that Microsoft had been touting Tablet PCs, notebook computers that you can write on, for the past three or four years at Comdex. They're finally available this year.