I have decided what I want for my birthday. This is on the assumption that everyone out there has taken my advice and finished their holiday gift shopping by now.
Forget smartphones, I want a smartwatch. I’mWatch, an Italian company, is now producing touchscreen watches with an Android operating system. They are still in a preorder stage and will not begin shipping until January 30th.
While they can’t do everything that a smartphone can do, they come pretty close. They have a Bluetooth connection and speakerphone and you can make phone calls, send text messages, read email and check facebook, twitter and weather forecasts. For an extra cost you can get i’music, and then you can download, organize and listen to music from your watch. It even tells time.
The watches are all of a similar design, and yet there’s a world of difference between the 249€ neon pink plastic face with the matching band, and the 11999€ white gold with diamonds. However, since I’m clearly dreaming here, I would choose the yellow gold face with the black band for 9999€. By far the most sophisticated in appearance, I expect that it will make me look very much like a female James Bond. Although I fear the impression may be closer to Inspector Gadget.
Considering how many things phones are used for these days, I see the appeal of a smartwatch. For years now I’ve been checking my email continuously as soon as I’m near a computer, sometimes barely noticing that I’m doing it, the same way that I automatically look at my watch to check the time, even if I don’t have any reason for knowing it. And I don’t even have a smartphone. Those with are constantly pulling it out and putting it away, as every email, text message, facebook post and tweet pops up on the screen.
A smartwatch would allow us to keep that awareness of our communications without interrupting whatever we’re doing at the time. This could save email-addicts from rudeness as a quick glance at their wrist would be all that was needed, instead of interrupting a conversation to pull out a mobile device. Of course, it could work the opposite way and increase the rudeness of looking at your watch while in a boring conversation or a lengthy speech.
If I can safely judge from last year’s birthday presents, I shouldn’t expect to be getting one of these watches. So if you do get one, please fill us all in on the experience. I would especially like to know if you can pull off James Bond.
