We thought it was over, that we had won; we were wrong, they were just hiding. The over-sized calculator watches that nearly took over in the 1980s have returned… and they have evolved.
– Not actually a quote from any B-grade movie we could find, but I am open to the SyFy channel optioning it… have your people call my people.
There has been a recent surge in the concept of a high-end smart-watch; connected, interactive, infinitely programmable and definately not ugly. It may or may not be an idea whose time has come, but the technophiles of the world certainly seem to want it. When the “Pebble” smart-watch announced an online fundraising campaign to raise $100,000 they became a media sensation, forcing the campaign to close after raising more than $10 million.
The headline feature of the smart-watch is the ability to develop applications that can either operate on their own or through a connection to a smartphone. Weather apps, caller ID, Twitter clients, calendars (synchronized, of course) are only the beginning of the potential.
There are several smart-watches in development now, each with their own take on the features so many of us want; some of them will succeed and some may disappear before ever becoming commercially available. There are three obvious hurdles for all of these: battery life, connectivity and size (specifically, thickness). None of these smart-watches actually connect to the Internet on their own but mirror data from a connected device (usually via Bluetooth), so connectivity is only a problem as it relates to power consumption. Size is only partially a concern, as it really comes down to a matter of personal taste (“I cannot wear this, it’s just too thick”). Which leaves battery life as the penultimate issue for these strap-on cybernetics. All but one of our examples utilizes a built-in rechargeable battery and claim between two and seven days of power per charge.
Pebble smart-watch
The Pebble is currently the media darling, riding the wave of a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign (now closed). The Pebble might run away with our “best in show”, but they still need to deliver a final product.
- Pebble (getpebble.com)
- Retail Price $150.00 USD
- Availability*: Estimated September 2012
- Battery: Built-in rechargeable battery (via USB) with an estimated 7+ days per charge (standby without Bluetooth connection).
- Size: 50mm long x 30mm wide — it seems the thickness of the Pebble is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the free world, we might assume that it will be similar to the competitors listed here, but…
Wimm One smart-watch
Featuring the only real advantage that any gadget needs, the Wimm One is available for purchase now. Very similar in features to the Pebble, with a much more “watch sized” face. Also unique to the Wimm is the removable watch unit, which can be swapped between the watchband and a belt clip or a bicycle attachment.
- Wimm One (www.wimm.com)
- Retail Price: $199.95 USD
- Availability*: Now (as “Developer Preview Kit”), Retail Estimated: late 2012
- Battery: Built-in rechargeable battery (via USB) with an estimated 7+ days per charge (standby without Bluetooth connection).
- Size: 32mm long x 36mm wide x 12.5mm thick (the team at Wimm Labs promises us that the retail product will be thinner than the developer model described here.)
i'mWatch smart-watch
When we met at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012, the I’mWatch seemed ready to explode with it’s Italian design and polished operating system (read the post here). Since then, there have been several delays breaking promises for delivery. Recently, those who pre-ordered were given an opportunity to request a refund or wait for shipments to begin on July 15th (with completion before mid-September).
- I’mWatch (www.imwatch.it)
- Retail Price: $349.00 USD
- Availability*: Estimated September 2012
- Battery: Built-in rechargeable battery (via USB) with an estimated 48 hours per charge.
- Size: 52.6mm long x 40mm wide x 10mm thick
Taking a different approach to the smart-watch / smartphone combination, the Cookoo and MetaWatch use dedicated icons on the watch face to report alerts from your smartphone (i.e. when you have received a text message or a Facebook alert) – this, of course, limits the functionality of any applications that might be developed.
Cookoo smart-watch
Setting the Cookoo from the competition is a standard battery, which should last up to a year due to the simplified features.
- Cookoo (www.cookoowatch.com)
- Retail Price: $99.95 USD
- Availability*: Estimated November 2012
- Battery: The connected system uses a standard button-cell battery, with an estimated life of up to a year. The analog movement uses a separate watch battery that lasts for up to 3 years.
- Size: 44mm diameter x 16.3mm thick
MetaWatch smart-watch
MetaWatch is the forerunner of this particular generation, having shipped thousands of their first generation smart-watches (beginning in September 2011). The newly announced generation is based on the same hardware; only the radio and firmware has been upgraded to Bluetooth 4.0.
- MetaWatch (www.metawatch.org)
- Retail Price: $199.00 USD
- Availability*: Now (as “Wearable Developer System”), Retail Estimated: date unreleased.
- Battery: Built-in rechargeable battery with an estimated 4-5 days per charge.
- Size: 42mm long x 38mm wide x 10mm thick
* All “estimated” availability dates reflect the best public information available at time of publication.
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