Image via Kickstarter.com
There is no doubt that smart phones are everywhere. Chances are that you own a smart phone or at the very least you’ve had a go of one. With the constant developments taking place in this market it is interesting to think about what might be coming next. And from a little bit of research it appears that it might be taking a step in very different direction. Watches.
You remember watches! Casio classics to G-shock and all that is in-between, they used to strap on to your wrist before we all started checking our phones. Well watches are being brought into the 21st century – smart phone style.
This idea is not particularly new, with Bill Gates introducing Spot (smart personal object technology) back in 2004. It is generally agreed that he came out with this too early and it never really took off. But there is a resurgence in the market with Pebble. Pebble is a watch that can connect to your iPhone or Android through wireless and allows you to run apps on it. The company originally made a watch for Blackberry in 2009, but it is thought that the new offering’s iPhone compatibility is what allowed the company to raise $8 million through kickstarter. Check out the video below to see what the pebble is all about.
It does look fairly awesome but I keep getting this nagging feeling that I have seen this all before. I remember having a bike computer that could tell me speed and distance in the mid 90′s, and watches that could control the TV. It feels like an update rather than anything ground breaking.
Pebble aren’t the only ones to think that this is the way forward. Here are some other watches that do more than tell time:
Wimm is a module that can become a watch.
And this one appears to be an Android watch phone
I don’t mean to come across as dismissive about these internet capable watches, but I feel that this is just combining two old ideas and coming out with a usable, more attractive product. It doesn’t scream “innovation!”.
I think the main problem that the watch will face is getting people to use it. Smart phones are pretty much ingrained into everyday life and to break that up will be very difficult. If they want to succeed they’ll need to find a use that complements the devices in our pockets, and that might be tricky given the small screen form factor.
Do you think that the smart watches will take off? What would you like to see the smart watches be able to do? Let us know in the comments section below.
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