One of the most interesting things to happen as far as technology news is concerned is the resurgence of interest in watches which benefit from the latest technological advances. If you are someone who is interested in cool watches and the advanced things you can do with them, then this is something you will want to watch out for. Samsung, for one, has come out with its Galaxy Gear. The interesting thing about this particular timepiece is that it leverages existing Android operating system software, as well that of some of the smartphones in Samsung’s lineup, in its attempt to offer consumers something different. It remains to be seen though whether this particular idea will catch on. Samsung could throw in all number of things in order to push the Gear more aggressively to consumers. It has been offering bundles where the Gear comes with another Samsung smartphone. It could theoretically offer such things as free shipping electronics promos, or other freebies, and more, in order to increase demand. The central question remains though. Is this type of watch something that people would be interested in?
After all, manufacturers have been stuffing more and more technology into watches for some time now. Even decades ago, you had watches that came with built in calculators. There were watches which could transform into robot toys. There were also watches which could measure your heartbeat and other vital statistics. Of course, the number of additional features is accelerated by the fact that there are many more ways to create a connected watch, whether it connects to other devices or to the internet. Parts and components continue to get smaller so that it is possible to stuff a lot of functionality into a watch the size of the Galaxy Gear. Also, manufacturers are looking for other device platforms on which they can make additional sales to their consumers. After the phone came the tablet and perhaps after the tablet they envision smart watches.
There is even talk of more cool watches to come. Google is said to be working on its own version of the smart watch. Apple is also allegedly involved or interested in this particular market segment. Since Google and Apple both have software systems which allow you to interact with a device using voice, this seems to be a good fit for a watch, since the small screen is not very well suited for a keyboard. And there are also more independent efforts, such as the Pebble which came to life on Kickstarter. Again though, it remains to be seen whether the demand is there, or whether any of these companies will be able to develop a killer app that makes the smart watch compelling. After all, even if companies offer promos and freebies such as free shipping electronics deals, discounts or sales or something else, if people don’t feel like they really need a smart watch, then these devices will not yet be able to take off, or perhaps these watches will sell, but not in the numbers that these companies envision.
