Posted on 07/14/2014 7:32:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In the past week, I’ve been called “Inspector Gadget” twice, had a near-calamitous accident involving spray-on sunblock, and felt my arm vibrate so often I started treating it as a phantom limb.
All because I’m part of the latest tech trend, a bona fide phenomenon in Silicon Valley that is inspiring the kind of pants-wetting excitement usually reserved for new iPhones and Grand Theft Auto games. I’m talking about smartwatches—the tech world’s quixotic attempt to mount minicomputers on your wrist. I’ve been wearing two smartwatches for several days apiece, and so far, it’s been an enlightening experience. Though not necessarily a hopeful one.
First, some context: Viewed from a certain distance, today’s tech industry resembles a group of aging, hyperambitious tycoons not entirely sure where to direct their massive piles of cash. Google, once a mere search engine, has decided it wants to invest in same-day-delivery trucks and connected home appliances. Amazon, which used to be content with e-commerce, is making phones and experimental drones. Facebook recently spent $2 billion on a maker of virtual-reality headsets. And Apple is trying to fix health-care data while it works on the iPhone 6. The competition between tech companies has never been more fierce, but the players themselves seem to be peering at the future through very different sets of binoculars.
And then there’s the smartwatch—the gadget nearly every big tech company is betting on in unison. Google’s new operating system for watches, Android Wear, was the star of this year’s developer conference.
(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...
I don’t even have a smartphone and I don’t see the need of one.
+++++
I can change that idea in a heartbeat with a simple question:
How do you browse FR when you are having lunch at Del Taco?
I had a Blackberry for about two years before giving it up about three years ago. The problem? The smart phone got dumb. The very excellent encyclopedia, weather forcasts, games, dictionary and news got dumbed down. Instead it became advertising, lousier services, and more geared to contacting people constantly. It's gotten so the phones control the people
Life is much better without a "smart" phone. I have a $10/month cell phone (minutes extra) which shows the time.
As far as these new devices? People will embrace them. The human drones will love whatever it is advertisers tell them they're supposed to "have to have".
Mygosh, and wearing the thing? Can you imagine how great that'll be for monitoring everything you can imagine about people?
I can sea it now. A phone call: "Prentisia, come in to the health drop-in center for medication. Your blood pressure is too high". Etc
Not really, they're fashion accessories, mainly for women. Guys not so much but for women they are an important statement.
I have no idea whether this will catch on or not. My record on tech predictions is poor. I’m the guy who thought putting a camera on a phone was the dumbest idea ever. Now I use mine all the time.
But I do have a notion of what the eventual system will look like.
1. Core “smartphone.” Most if not all data and data processing will take place in the phone. You always have it with you so you’ve always got what you need.
2. Smartwatch or something similar to control the phone without having to dig it out of your pocket or off your belt for most uses.
3. Bluetooth ear thingie.
4. Possible Google Glass type device.
5. “Dumb” tablet to make it easier to work than on your phone’s smaller screen.
6. Laptop or equivalent to do actual work.
Some of these may be combined or deleted. But I’ll be surprised if we don’t wind up with a similar system over the next 10 years. Thereafter, of course, advances will involve direct neural connection.
But you should always remember my tech prediction record. :)
Same here,,,,I got a Gshock for Christmas and I have a Seiko that needs a battery. But the Seiko has a gas filled case and it needs to go back to the factory. last time it cost me 100 dollars.
Read (well, actually listened to) a book recently. Written in 1999 and was trying to predict the future, especially in tech, 15 to 20 years out.
Got some things right and some wrong.
Absolutely nailed the smartphone phenomenon. But they thought it would be your watch that would fill this role. :)
Back in the early 1990s I traveled regularly to NYC for business. I used to buy those $20 fake Rolex watches from street vendors. They worked as well as any cheap Timex and were good for pissing off people who were wearing real $10,000 Rolex watches.
I don’t see how one could live without wearing a watch. And right behind that, not having a knife on them at all times.
I’m waiting for one with a cloaking device that will make me invisible.....
I hated the trend 10-15 years ago when cell phones were getting smaller and smaller. It got to where I could could barely make out the screen let alone use the buttons.
To me and my middle aged eyes, the best thing about smart phones is that they have been getting bigger every year. My current phone is an HTC One M(8). I will consider trading it in when they come out with a model that is thinner, lighter and has a bigger screen. I will never trade it in for anything with a smaller screen.
I have a samsung smart watch. I’m not an early adopter of new technology in general. However, with a parent in the last months of her life, I had to be near my mobile phone for text updates/emergencies 24/7, so my husband bought me one for Christmas. It’s been incredibly helpful.
Being female, clothing with pockets is not standard like it is with males. I’d set my phone down and spend 10 minutes trying to find it. Now I can have my phone in my purse all day and just glance at my wrist when it buzzes to read a text. I don’t have to carry my phone from room to room at home or carry it in my hand when I’m out.
I can reply by voice on my wrist (if I’m home. If I did that in public I’d look like a moron. It’s ok to look like a moron at home.) If I get a call, I can answer if on my wrist (at home) or dig for my phone in my purse and answer it. Or ignore it. And best of all, if I can’t find my phone, I can make the watch signal the phone to ring - even if the phone’s ringer is off. It has a camera, a pedometer, a timer for my kid’s games, and will pop up calendar reminders if you sync it with your phone calendar.
Oh, it also tells the time and temp.
All good points. Would, however, be at least equally well-handled by a Glass or equivalent.
The issue with mobile devices has always been input/output. The larger the device the easier input/output is. But the less mobile it is.
Somebody who finds a way to make input/output easier while also being more portable is going to make a LOT of money.
Save it for later!.......................
15 years ago I got a Citizen Eco Drive Solar powered watch. I have bathed and swam with it, and it still works and keeps time and I have never, NEVER, replaced the battery or taken it to the shop.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.