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.
posted by Shanmuganathan Sivaraj at
3:56 PM
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