A little bit ago I posted about Google Glass, the first real widespread form of wearable technology that's gained any significant buzz. Today I'm going to cover a new form of wearable technology, a piece that many already own. Smart watches may seem a bit funny to think about, having a smartphone equivalent on your wrist, but there are some huge strides being made in the market that will one day make smart watches a pretty hot product.
I'll start out with the current smart watches. In the category right now, Samsung is the leader (who would've guessed?). They have two smart watches out called the Pebble and the Gear. Both of these watches connect to the Samsung Note phone but the Pebble also connects to Apple and other Android devices. These watches basically link to your phone and will receive much the same information. For example, if you get a text these watches will notify you of it and let you read it. The Gear even allows you to respond through voice command but its not very good. Once again with the Gear you can also make calls and can operate apps, such as Snapchat Micro, which uses its tiny built in camera. Overall the Gear, though newer and somewhat more improved than the Pebble, has a ways to go before it would become a viable commodity to technology users. The second smart watch that's out and working well is the Sony Smart Watch II, obviously a very creative name. This watch performs in a mash-up of the Pebble and the Gear using a touch display but no real microphone or camera or anything.
After reviewing what's out there its time to go to the possibilities. The world's most valuable company, Apple, is rumored to be creating a smart watch as reported by patent watchers. This is an interesting concept because historically Apple has released the right product at the right time in the right way, meaning that this could be the beginning of the era of smart watches. Other companies such as Google will invariably develop smart watches in the future as well, and they offer to be pretty cool.
Smart watches also have the potential to replace phones. If the watch has all the features of a phone and is more durable and easier to access, why not just drop the bulky piece of metal and plastic that you carry in your pocket or hand everyday? Smart watches are, in my opinion, a technology on the horizon of mass use, and I have already promised (on video) that I will be one of the first buyers of Apple's smart watch when it comes out.
The Galaxy Gear
One of the Rumored Designs of the iWatch
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