Microsoft Apparently Developing Smartwatch

[jmacavali]

http://mashable.com/2013/04/17/tomtom-gps-watches/

If there's a place for this, why not let it also control my music (since I'll likely be listening to some while I run anyway) and at that point why not let it also show me alerts while I'm running.

 

[berry120]

I probably wouldn't get one, purely because I can't wear a normal watch without it irritating my skin and making it itch (but then again, that's a special case.)

Regardless though, I'm of the opinion that they're probably a fad that won't last. The sort of thing that gets the public "wow" factor isn't necessarily the sort of thing that proves practical in real world use. Ok, so I can see the potential advantage with doing something very quickly without getting your phone out, but when people carry their phone around with them anyway is it really something they'll use?

I'm often wrong with these things though - I didn't think tablets would take off! We shall see. If nothing else it's an interesting application of e-paper.

 

[ssc456]

It certainly isn't something that I could see appealing to me, but the big Tech giants usually don't all get it wrong.

I'm just not sure what a very very small screen can ever do anything for me when my phone is always handy?

Except a quick glace at the time (ironically) would I ever want to browse Facebook or twitter on my watch when my phone is never out of reach from me? I'm not so sure?

But hey ho, let's see how it goes over the next year or so.

 

[berry120]

...but the big Tech giants usually don't all get it wrong.

I'd disagree. Virtual reality worlds were a huge trend 10 or so years ago that many companies were investing in, they've all but tried out. Heck, around 20 years ago Microsoft didn't think the internet would really take off, and Google have hardly had brilliant success with things like Buzz, Wave and arguably even Google Plus.

Big companies can and do get it wrong frequently, they just usually have the marketing prowess to get most to ignore the mistakes.

 

[ssc456]

I'd disagree. Virtual reality worlds were a huge trend 10 or so years ago that many companies were investing in, they've all but tried out. Heck, around 20 years ago Microsoft didn't think the internet would really take off, and Google have hardly had brilliant success with things like Buzz, Wave and arguably even Google Plus.

Big companies can and do get it wrong frequently, they just usually have the marketing prowess to get most to ignore the mistakes.

if you read my post it's "...but the big Tech giants usually don't all get it wrong. ", implying there are quite a few different companies looking at smart watches which is true or largely rumoured to be true and my statement is lots of the tech giants going for 1 idea "usually" means it's not wrong.

That's not to say that there haven't been ideas that lot's of tech giants have gone for that was wrong so while it may be common for 1 company to get it wrong quite often several companies all going for the same wrong idea is rarer.

*Defence shields down . . . . .

 

[berry120]

if you read my post it's "...but the big Tech giants usually don't all get it wrong. ", implying there are quite a few different companies looking at smart watches which is true or largely rumoured to be true and my statement is lots of the tech giants going for 1 idea "usually" means it's not wrong.

That's not to say that there haven't been ideas that lot's of tech giants have gone for that was wrong so while it may be common for 1 company to get it wrong quite often several companies all going for the same wrong idea is rarer.

*Defence shields down . . . . .

Many examples of this as well - virtual reality was being seriously looked at by Microsoft, Sun, Oracle, Google and many others before it all fizzled out, pretty much all those same companies hailed video conferencing as replacing phones since the 90's, and HD DVD was backed by more companies than I could count at one stage...

I agree it makes it rarer, but it's still by no means unknown to happen.

 

[setishock]

What happened to the wrist watch cell phone? I'd have one of those.

 

[BK_123]

I'd disagree. Virtual reality worlds were a huge trend 10 or so years ago that many companies were investing in, they've all but tried out. Heck, around 20 years ago Microsoft didn't think the internet would really take off, and Google have hardly had brilliant success with things like Buzz, Wave and arguably even Google Plus.

Big companies can and do get it wrong frequently, they just usually have the marketing prowess to get most to ignore the mistakes.

I still think that there is potential for these virtual reality's, With all the new technologies its amazing what can be done. I was watching a YouTube video the over day the future, I can't remember the exact details but it a lady was going to hotel and person waiting new everything about her, what colours she liked, how liked the room set up, I thought it was all a bit creepy.

 

[setishock]

Holo Deck any one?

 

[berry120]

I still think that there is potential for these virtual reality's, With all the new technologies its amazing what can be done. I was watching a YouTube video the over day the future, I can't remember the exact details but it a lady was going to hotel and person waiting new everything about her, what colours she liked, how liked the room set up, I thought it was all a bit creepy.

Sure it's amazing what can be done on a technical level, but whether people actually want this technical advancement or not is another thing altogether, and it's that which determines the ultimate success of this technology. In this case it generally died out because as cool as it was, it didn't really offer any tangible benefit over doing things a "normal" way.

It may reinvigorate itself once again in the future, but I doubt it'll stick then either - it wasn't for a lack of technology it dropped off the radar, but a practical one instead that won't just resolve itself automatically as we have more powerful machines that can create more realistic worlds.