You may have heard about so called “Smart” Watches, and it’s likely that as the year progresses you’re going to end up hearing a lot more about them. All the big names in tech seem to be looking like they’re going to produce one and it looks like 2013 is year they’ll be coming in force.
With so many questions looming large, it's a good job that Agent Plummer is on hand to take a look at what exactly a smart watch is and if you believe the hype, where they are going to take us in the future…!
What is a Smart Watch?
At a basic level, a Smart Watch is a device kept on the wrist that runs a full operating system in order to provide a lot of extra functionality besides telling time. Whilst timekeeping will still be its primary function, a Smart Watch generally has the ability to connect wirelessly your smartphone and can give notifications about new messages, emails or phone calls. You may also be able to install apps to the device for doing things like playing music, keeping up with Facebook or performing functions on your mobile phone remotely without getting the device out your pocket. Handy stuff.
Doesn’t my phone already do most of this anyway?
This is perhaps the biggest hurdle for smart watches – do they have a reason to exist if you already have a device that does everything? If you own a smartphone, then you have device that does all the above, tells you the time, and much more, so why add a smart watch into the mix? Well firstly there is convenience. It’s much easier to simply look down at your wrist than it is to pull your phone out of your pocket or bag. When you get a text you can see who it’s from and what it is and then decide whether you need to get your phone out and reply. They can also bring a lot of added functionality too. Motorola’s Motoactv smart watch comes with features like a heart rate monitor, GPS mapping, Fitness Tracking and even a piece of golf course software that tells you all about the green you’re putting on!
Again, all of the above can most likely be accomplished simply by whipping out your smartphone, but having a dedicated device that’s a bit more accessible than your phone is certainly an advantage. And if you don’t own a smartphone, then something like the Motoactv that operates on its own is certainly a cheaper option than most high end phones.
So what’s out there already?
At the moment there are a few different companies offering various smart watches. Sony currently offer an Android powered SmartWatch™ which communicates wirelessly with your Android phone in order to feed you information about your texts, emails, social networks and will gently vibrate to let you know when a new notification comes in which in some cases is really handy as you may not always be able to hear or feel your phone ringing or vibrating. Our own Agent King won one of these from Sony, and particularly liked the ability to remotely control functions on his phone such as ending/answering calls from across the room!
As mentioned above, there is also the Motoactv which works particularly well if you're the active type as you can track movement, runs, and with the inbuilt heart monitor you can be sure that you’re not exerting yourself too much! Even devices such as Nike’s Fuelband , while not being full smart watch; certainly add a nice level of function to a device on your wrist.
What’s been stopping them taking over?
Devices like this tend be niche products. They get a certain fan base but never seem to hit big with the public. There may be a number of reasons why this has been the caseto date, but I think a major one is battery life. Ask yourself what’s the average battery life on a traditional quartz watch? Six months to a year? Perhaps two, maybe three years for high-end watches? Unfortunately, the average for a smart watch is a pitiful few days.
Now on a technical level this is completely understandable – rather than powering clockwork cogs and gears, we're powering processors, RAM and LED Touch Screen Displays, as well as wireless communications like BlueTooth and GPS. But, it is not in any way ideal. If you intend to replace your traditional watch with a Smart Watch, this is perhaps the biggest change you’ll have to get used to. Perhaps an easy method would be to simply charge it whenever you charge your phone, but this means two chargers, and making sure to remember to bring it with you if it's propriatory. This links back to an earlier point, if you already have a smartphone, then why make the extra effort?
Why do they matter now?
This year may be quite an exciting time for smart watches. One particularly awesome looking device that a lot of us are looking forward to is the Pebble watch. Funded by the Kickstarter project, the site is taking pre-orders now for anyone wanting to get one as soon as they come out. Rather than using a LED or LCD display the pebble uses E-Paper, the same technology as Amazon's Kindle, which should boost the battery life considerably and according to Pebble’s spec it should easily last seven or more days. Like most, it pairs up with your phone and can tell you about any new notifications. They are also highly customizable allowing you to change the watch display itself as well as a number of other customisable option to make your setup unique.
There are also a lot of rumours flying round the tech airwaves about some big, big names that may be producing smart watches very soon. Perhaps the biggest is Apple, who are highly rumoured to be currently working on a form of “iWatch” device with design master Sir Jony Ive heading up the project, rumoured to currently occupy over 100 employees! Being Apple, there are practically no details from the company themselves about the project, but it’s highly likely it will pair up with your iPhone or iPad, have a small multi-touch display and be capable of working with apps. What will it look like? Nobody knows, but there was a wristwatch strap available for the iPod Nano, so perhaps it will be similar.
Not to let Apple steal a lead, Samsung are also said to be working on a smart watch of their own, and a few days ago LG announced that they are going to be producing a device too. Of course Google are working on one aswell alongside their other exciting project - Google Glasses. It’s not known if this will be an evolution of the Motoactv device or whether it will be something brand new. Either way, 2013 is shaping up to be an exciting time for the smart watch category. While at the moment they are very much a niche product, let us not forget that so were tablets until just three years ago when the iPad was released, and now they are quickest growing market in the tech world.