Tag: smart watch

Are manufacturers of smartwatches over thinking their products?

Pebble believes that some of the current wearables that are being released have been overcomplicated.

It is starting to become difficult to find a smartphone or electronics manufacturer that has not either released, unveiled, or at least considered the creation of its own smartwatches, but at the same time, these devices have yet to truly take off.

Many in the industry believe that the rollout of the Apple Watch will bring these wearables into the mainstream.

However, one of the most established brands of smartwatches has now stated that it feels that many of the companies that have attempted to create their own gadgets have actually over thought what the devices should be. Primarily, the difference between a standard wristwatch and the upgraded wearable technology is that it offers a range of additional features aside from telling the time and date, and perhaps even adding a stopwatch or alarm clock option. They tend to bring the user notifications for incoming calls and texts and have controls for music playback, for example.

But as the market for smartwatches becomes increasingly crowded, brands are working hard to stand out.

smartwatches OverthinkingThis has caused them to add broad spectrums of new features and options that may or may not be all that appealing to the user. According to Pebble, many of the additional features that are being incorporated into the devices in the name of differentiating them from one another have actually been overcomplicating things. Speaking of the wearable technology devices that have been launched by Samsung and Apple, Monica Isla, a Pebble spokesperson, said that “I think they overthink what people are going to do with them.”

Isla later went on to say that “We don’t lose sight that it’s a watch. I think a lot of people lose the fact that it’s a watch. It’s not a phone. It’s not a gadget. It’s a watch and time is what matters to people.”

Clearly, it is Pebble’s opinion that smartwatches are great to act as wristwatches that also have additional bonus features such as alerts and notifications, but when all is said and done, the more complex tasks can simply be done on a smartphone, where they will be more convenient and efficient, anyway.

New wearable technology and smartphone unveiled at HTC

The announcement of these new mobile devices was made in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress.

HTC has now announced that it will be releasing a new version of its HTC One flagship smartphone, in addition to revealing that it will be entering into two brand new categories, which are wearable technology and virtual reality.

The company had been rumored to be developing wearables for the past few years, and now the news is official.

The first wearable technology from HTC will be wrist worn. It is meant to be a fitness tracker that is geared specifically toward serious athletes and not necessarily the average person with a lifestyle that is only slightly more active than being sedentary. These wearables will be called the HTC Grip, and it will be possible to sync them with both Android based smartphones and iOS devices.

The HTC Grip took more time to bring the company into wearable technology than had been anticipated.

The reason, according to officials from the company, was that it did not feel that it had adequate in-house expertise for creating the software, infrastructure, and app for health and fitness wearables. Therefore, it partnered up with Under Armour in January, in order to be able to come up with a line of gadgets that would function with the UA Record fitness mobile app from that company.

While the Grip is the first piece of wearable tech that is being launched by the company, it was also made clear that this would not be the last. It is going to become available to consumers this spring, and it will have a price tag of $199. It will contain a GPS tracker, which is unlike most other fitness tracker devices, but it will make it an appealing option for cyclists and runners who would prefer not to have to bring their smartphones with them when they work out.

This wearable technology is also water resistant, so that it can withstand rain and sweat (and even showering), though the company does not recommend that it be worn while going swimming, when it would actually be submerged in water.