For quite some time now I have been covering the antics of
Google as they produce their new Glass technology, and although I didn’t pick
up a developer copy due to the heavy price tag, I will be one of the first to
grab the consumer model assuming that the price comes down in the way that was
promised by Google.
It seems that no one yet has announced a real competitor to
Google Glass and although it’s likely that other companies are just simply
keeping tight lips on those projects, we have recently seen something happen in
the world of tech that I almost didn’t see coming:
Smartwatches.
Google is currently paving the way into a new generation of technology
in which our everyday-use devices will be blended into our fashion and worn on
our bodies. When Google announced Glass, the whole world stirred with the
potential of the next sci-fi tech to become a reality.
The result is this: several companies, including Samsung and
Qualcomm, have jumped on the bandwagon with something called a smartwatch.
These things are essentially glorified Bluetooth receivers; they read your text
messages, show you missed calls and in some cases they can even scan QR codes.
That sounds pretty cool, Especially if the price is right.
However, because of the timing and the looming arrival of Glass, I’m concerned
about the longevity of such a device. Let me explain.
Glass has been in development for some time now, and has a
slew of developers working on apps for it. Furthermore, it has the ability to
do virtually everything the Galaxy gear and other smartwatches can do, plus a
few other cool tricks. It can take pictures and video, provide you with traffic
updates, give you the weather and much more. In fact, the potential of the
Glass system is virtually limitless, and it’s quite clear that Google is taking
their time to make sure that they get it right.
So the question I have is this: why did all of these
companies decide, just now, to release these smartwatches when a better, and
most likely more well-thought-out, technology is knowingly on the horizon?
That’s not a rhetorical question. I genuinely don’t
understand.
I wholeheartedly believe that Glass will kill the
smartwatch; they will become inconvenient and a waste of money as soon as Glass
is released. Why? Well, who wants their text message popping up on their phone,
in their glasses and on their watch? It’s too many places. Furthermore, even a
deal for some kind of integration between the two would be relatively silly.
You could potentially use a smartwatch as a control for Glass I suppose, but
then you would have to look at it, and wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of it?
As of right now, I see the smartwatch kind of like a
mini-DVD. It seems like a good idea until you realize that DVD’s just work
better, and mini-DVD’s don’t really revolutionize anything.
Picture source: Droid-life.com
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