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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Why do I like the concept of Apple's iWatch?

The new speculation in the tech world is that Apple is working on some kind of a wrist watch like device. This morning on the radio, one of the CNET editors - Mollywood mentioned that she does not see much use for the product. I disagree.

Actually, I see some value in a product like that. Unlike many speculations, I do not see this as a standalone product, but more like an expensive accessory for an iOS device like iPhone or iPad. It will be cool if Apple could build a watch like device that runs iOS with Siri & bluetooth. Some of the uses on top of my head are -
  • Time automatically synced with NIST's atomic clock in Boulder, CO
  • Different clock styles with easily viewable display adjusting to time of the day.
  • Built in health monitor - blood pressure, pulse, heart rate etc.
  • Built in fitness apps - Pedometer, calorie burner etc.
  • Display incoming caller or phone number.
  • Siri - To perform actions on your iPhone or iPad.
  • Bluetooth - Imagine talking to your watch a la Secret Service style!
  • Reminders - vibrating watch is a much better than a vibrating cell phone on your desk or pocket.
  • Fashion accessory for women - They do not have to worry about carrying their phones with them all the time. 
I am sure there are lot more uses than the above list, but an important constraint will be the battery. Regular wrist watches run for years without changing the battery, but that might not be possible here. Also they have to think about heat dissipation as I do not want my wrist to feel hot after a long use.

Of course, most of the above could be achieved using the apps in my iPhone or iPad, but I need to execute those apps. In the watch, I would expect it to run automatically when you wear it.

Some of the above functionality already exists in watches or devices like Pebble, Nike FuelBand etc. But, Apple known for its innovation, could redefine a wrist watch into an fashionable and wearable device that could feed & store data in the cloud rather than a simple 6th generation iPod Nano with a strap.

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