Every minute, our computers are closer to us.
At first they were only in company data centers. Then came the PC table, one meter from us. After the notebook, closer. After the phone in our pockets. And now? Computers wrists?
Exactly. Apparently after a silent agreement, the technology industry decided that 2013 will be the year of smart wristwatch (smartwatch).
The basic idea makes sense. Have a smartphone. Would not it be cool if he communicated with his best smartphone watch via a wireless network?
Imagine: the clock could vibrate or emit a sound when you receive a call, email or message. It's the end of the old excuse "sorry not call you back, my phone was in the bag." It is also the end of the search for the phone in inconvenient moments (at the wheel, for example).
These watches can also cause the phone to make a sound when it lost at home. It is much easier than using services that are mobile, like Find My iPhone.
They can also serve as a "collar". If you forget your phone at the restaurant, the watch vibrates to remind you to come back to pick up the device.
I tested the Meta Watch ($ 180), the Cookoo (US $ 130), the Casio G-Shock GB-6900 ($ 180) and I'm Watch ($ 350 in Brazil for R $ 679). Even Apple was supposed to be studying the creation of an iWatch.
The designs are varied. Some have touchscreens. Others look like ordinary analog clocks. Others are basically nano iPods with a bracelet. Some require daily recharging, others use ordinary watch batteries.
But they have some characteristics in common. First, these watches are thick and big guys, good qualities in a good soup, maybe, but not in human wrists.
Second, they communicate with your smartphone via Bluetooth. You have to synchronize the watch with your phone on the first day of use, and when you turn off Airplane Mode and back to the normal cell use. Most clocks use a smartphone application to accomplish this task.
Most of these watches uses Bluetooth 4.0, which means that its operation consumes little cell battery, maybe 5% or 10%. But this value is only smartphones that also have Bluetooth 4.0, as the iPhone 4S and 5.
His pulse is ready? So let the analysis.
Casio G-SHOCK GB-6900 ($ 180)
This watch is very reminiscent of other models of Casio: popular, masculine, rugged and waterproof.
But that vibrates and beeps when you receive e-mails or calls on the iPhone (support for Android on the way), but unfortunately does not support SMS messages. There is also no caller ID, the tiny screen tells only that a connection is active. For e-mail, the sender's address rolls slowly across the screen. Can you eliminate these warning messages with two rings on the watch screen. It is the only gesture supported by the screen.
The bluetooth smart watch also automatically changes the time zone when traveling, in sync with your smartphone.
The functions are limited, but the clock works well and does not consume battery. A battery lasts two years. The clock has four buttons, typical of digital watches, such as timer and function button.
Cookoo Watch ($ 130)
The round design and the analog hands are elegant. Only the thickness of the watch (two centimeters) shows that it is not a Swatch model.
There screen. Instead, a few discreet icons light up on the back of the clock to indicate events such as calls, calendar reminders and posts from Facebook (email and SMS messages will arrive soon, according to the manufacturer). If you want to know who is behind the messages or their contents, you have to use your smartphone.
The Cookoo also provides warning of low battery of the smartphone. The watch can also be used as trigger the smartphone camera, a handy feature for self-portraits. There's even a weird feature to inform your site to your Facebook friends.
The nine months battery lasts and the price is reasonable. But the clock has many problems and lack in resources.
meta Watch
Text and images are displayed on silver colored background, which makes reading difficult in some situations. The setup instructions on the iPhone are incredibly complex. The watch receives alerts SMS messages and calls, but e-mail, calendar, posts from Facebook, tweets and alarms are still being implemented by the manufacturer.
The clock does not have an instruction manual and even the online help page details the functions of the six clock buttons.
This is bad because the Meta Watch is up a promising product. Frame model ($ 200) has a thickness similar to a common clock (the Strata model, $ 180, has quality stuff a little lower). The battery lasts two to five days.
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