Not that long ago #Apple entered into the smart watch ring with their iWatch. Since then I have taken an interest in assessing if it is the right time to get a smart watch or not. If Apple are getting involved, then you might assume that its time to get something you never knew you always needed.
I have looked at a lot of the devices currently out there. The Pebble, the Martian, the iWatch, the Galaxy Gear (various versions), the Sony Smart Watch and few others including some kickstart ones that have never met their goal (Kreyos) and a few of the other cheaper versions of smart watches…
I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing and decided that it is NOT the right time to purchase one. For a start, the industry doesnt really know what we want to do with it. You have email ability, text messages, health monitoring, calls, photography, all sorts being thrown on to the watches, with none of them really making too much sense.
I work in an office and have a very busy schedule. I was looking for a device that will allow me to see my next meeting, allow me to be alerted to anything important such as meeting changes and or allow my team to get hold of me if needed, like an IM pop up saying “need your help with this urgently” or similar. If it was water or splash proof, then excellent. If it came with a widget to allow me to count steps, see the weather and let me know how many calories I have burnt, fine, but not essential.
Do I need a camera, no. Do I need 1000 apps so I get the latest rainfall, nope. Do I need gadgets and gizmos a plenty… To be honest, no. I have a phone for that. And what my phone doesnt do, I will do on my iPad or Laptop.
The next thing that I think needs to be sorted with smart watches is connectivity. The first tranch of watches seems to be hooked to a phone. Via bluetooth normally. This is fine, but I would argue that if I have to been within 30 feet of my phone, then to be honest, I might as well put it in my pocket. For it to be helpful for me it should really have its own SIM (Galaxy Gear does do this actually) or it should be able to connect via WiFi or similar (battery issues then come in to play). Many people will argue that if you have another SIM in the watch, then how will the SMS alerting work across two cell phones. This is easily overcome and something like WhatsApp, FaceBook instant messaging and iMessage already get round this problem.
The phone is an interesting concept which is now moving into the wrist. Payments via the watch would be useful using NFC and allowing messaging, a calendar and removal of tethering from your phone are all required, in my view, before you should purchase one.
We are probably a year or two away from that (take the example of the people who bought the first iPad all those years ago – 2010 to be exact). The early adopters are often the ones who lose out.
Microsoft are yet to enter the arena and it will be interesting to see if they can get something sorted out which exceeds the Google and Apple devices already out there… I am waiting a year or two before jumping in. And this is coming from someone who is normally an early adopter.