Category: Technology News

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.

Google wireless services will be exclusively for Nexus 6

The company is expected to begin with these services on a small scale within the month of March.

The small sized Google wireless services are expected to begin before this month comes to a close, but it has also been revealed that, at least at the beginning, the only mobile devices that will be compatible with it will be the company’s own Nexus 6 smartphone.

The company has officially confirmed that it is looking into this type of offering of a wireless service.

Confirmation of the Google wireless plans came from Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president of Android, Chrome, and Google Apps. He stated that they are focused on bringing connectivity together with both hardware and software. In Barcelona, at the Mobile World Congress, Pichai’s keynote speech explained that “I think we’re at the stage where we need to think of hardware, software, and connectivity together.”

The first mention of the Google wireless business was made back in January and it should link smartphones to WiFi cellular.

Google Wireless - ExclusiveThe service will be based on connecting the Nexus 6 mobile devices to a WiFi cellular network. While the internet giant did say that it intends to add the service availability to a broader spectrum of different mobile devices in the future, the launch of the wireless plans will be exclusively for the smartphone that is manufactured by its Motorola Mobility.

Although it is believed that this mobile technology service will become available before the end of this month, it will be available in early April, at the latest. That said, the company is very well known for waiting until the last moment before they make any true announcements with regards to their products. As they have already made it clear that this one is on the way, it may be safe to assume that Google doesn’t expect it to be very long, at all, before it will be putting getting things started.

It has yet to be explained exactly why it has decided to choose only Nexus 6 for the launch of the Google wireless service. That said, it is only that specific model of the smartphone that will be compatible. Not even the Nexus 5, which had been created by LG, will be able to connect, at first launch.