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Sunday, March 17, 2013

The wristwatch phone isn't a new idea… but is it the right time for the Apple iWatch?

Mark Bridge writes:

Apple is rumoured to be planning a wearable mobile device: the iWatch. Whether it’s an iPhone accessory or a stand-alone mobile phone… or a figment of overactive imaginations… remains to be seen, although press reports suggest it could be launched by the end of 2013.

However, the idea of a wearable communications device certainly isn’t new. Fictional detective Dick Tracy was wearing an equally fictional two-way wrist radio in 1946, yet it took another 50 years before the wrist phone entered mass production. Samsung’s SPH-WP10 hit the shops stateside a decade and a half ago, following the appearance of calculator watches in the 1970s and the programmable digital watches of the 80s. It was soon joined by the Fossil Wrist PDA, which ran the Palm OS, but neither the Wrist PDA nor the WP10 was a truly ‘smart’ watchphone.

Next came the Bluetooth-enabled watches of Sony Ericsson and others. These provided Caller ID and text message notification, enabling users to keep their phones in their pockets until they needed to make a call.

Then in 2009, LG revealed its GD910 3G-enabled watch phone with the ability to make video calls - while Hyundai chose a very similar model name for its MB-910, which had an internet browser.

Sony Ericsson’s LiveView in 2010 worked with Android-powered smartphones to bring a variety of smartphone features to your wrist. It’s since transformed into the Sony SmartWatch and has been joined by rivals including Pebble - described as an e-paper watch for iPhone and Android - and the i’m Watch, which as well as offering on-screen notifications can also be used to make and receive calls via Bluetooth.

Today, searching eBay for ‘watch phone’ offers hundreds of results with many devices priced at under £50. Yet the watchphone has failed to become anything like as popular as the smartphone or even the non-smart ‘feature phone’.

The big question is whether the Apple iWatch will become a must-have accessory for anyone who uses an iPhone - or whether it’ll be a superfluous fashion bangle for smartphone users. After all, now that everyone’s smartphone is also a timepiece, that’s arguably what the wristwatch has become!

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Author: The Fonecast
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1 comments on article "The wristwatch phone isn't a new idea… but is it the right time for the Apple iWatch?"

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James Rosewell

3/24/2013 9:12 AM

I predicate that Apple will not release an iWatch before Samsung or another. Why? Because they have too much to loss and not enough to gain. They didn't invent the MP3 player, original Apple stores sold Diamond Rios. They didn't invent the phone, or the PC, they made them awesomely better. And that's what will happen with the iWatch. They'll improve on others 2nd generation products. If they go first and there's even something slightly wrong about it, whether it's functional, or simply having enough stock, the criticism will undermine the share price even more than current speculation. For those reason they won't go first. Samsung (or LG, Pantech, HTC, another) will as they've a business model and brand that supports more experimental products. I'm sure inside Apple there are many such products being tried and evaluated to ensure they can move quickly when the time is right. It's all good PR distraction at the moment.

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Opinion Articles

SpinVox visit offers a few clues about the technology

Mark Bridge writes:

So, dear reader, let’s start at the beginning. Once upon a time, a mere five years ago, there was SpinVox. A company created with help from entrepreneur Christina Domecq – whose surname offers a clue to her family’s background – and Daniel Doulton, the man behind the Psion series 5. (Sherry and portable computers; two of my favourite products. But I digress).

The company’s promise was simple: to turn voicemail messages into SMS text messages.

Author: The Fonecast
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That just about covers it

Mark Bridge writes:

In my last article I looked forward to a world of cyborgs… but feared that decent battery life could stifle my dreams. And this week I’m on a similar theme, despairing that the UK’s mobile coverage problems probably won’t be solved before the Silver Jubilee of Vodafone and Cellnet’s networks.

To illustrate my worries, let me tell you a story.

Author: The Fonecast
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What price for a hands-free conversation?

Iain Graham writes:

When you get up tomorrow morning and get in the car, why don't you screw up three £20 notes and lob 'em out of the window?!  Oh, and whilst you are at it, take out your driving licence, and put three points in the penalties column!!

Why would you do that, I hear you ask?

Author: The Fonecast
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The Singularity is… errm… on its way, I think

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m an optimist. I’m not quite sure why I’m wired that way but I’m perfectly happy with it. Much as you’d expect, I suppose. And although I tend not to tap-dance in the gutter when it’s raining, I firmly believe that life is like a musical.

That’s probably why I’m such a fan of what’s become known as ‘the Singularity’; a point when technology and evolution are expected to combine. As computers become smarter, so they’ll be able to build smarter computers themselves – and before you know it they’ll be repairing people and improving the design. If all goes well I’ll look like a combination of Robocop and Jude Law.

“Fascinating”, I hear you say. “Bring on the medical nanobots. But what’s all this got to do with mobile phones?”

Author: The Fonecast
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Web Browser vs. Application Stores

James Rosewell writes:

Anyone involved in the mobile industry will have hardly failed to notice the hype surrounding mobile application stores led by Apple. Application stores provide a really simple way for consumers to install applications on their mobile phones. They’re so simple I heard Iain Graham had used one the other week!

However they don’t solve the fundamental problem of handset compatibility.

Author: The Fonecast
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