Smart Watches: Fashion and Functionality
For Show 86, we discuss new smartwatches, including the Pebble Smartwatch - Why every smartphone user needs to wear a stylish smartphone accessory.
Listen to FrequencyCast Show 86 - Smart Watches Explored |
Would you wear a smart watch?
2013 could be the year of the smart watch. here's outr first look at the tech, and our thoughts on the Pebble Smartwatch:
Transcript Continues: Podcast Awards and BBC News 25 Theme
Pete:
There you go - a little peep behind the curtain of what goes on at FrequencyCast, and how these things are all put together. On the subject of watches, I want to talk about our final item for this show, which is smart watches. Have you heard a lots about this in the news of late?
Kelly:
Yes, I have.
Pete:
Can you remember who's about to bring some of these things out, apart from Apple, of course?
Kelly:
LG and Google are about to launch new smart watches.
Pete:
But the one you watch you may not be aware of is called the Pebble - have you come across the Pebble yet?
Kelly:
I have never heard of the Pebble.
Pete:
Out next month, it's being put together as part of a Kickstarter campaign. This thing has raised ten million via Kickstarter, and next month the first of these are going to be rolling out. I'm hoping we get to some of these at Gadget Show Live.
Kelly:
That sounds absolutely fantastic, to get that much back in.
Pete:
Basically, they run on Android and iOS phones. You put it on your watch, and it wireless Bluetooth links to your phone, so you can have your phone in your pocket, or in your case, in your handbag, and on the screen it uses the same technology as a Kindle for the screen and the e-ink, to link wirelessly to your phone. How cool is that?
Kelly:
I don't know - I'm not a fan of smart watches.
Pete:
It doesn't look too bulky, does it? - certainly compared with some of the mobile phone watches, like the SWAT watch that our Carl carries around.
Kelly:
It looks very lightweight. You could wear it on a daily basis quite easily.
Pebble Kickstarter Video
Pete:
And what are some of the examples of what we've just seen it doing in the video clip?
Kelly:
Well, it flags up messages that come via your smartphone. It lets you know who's calling. You can control music via your iPhone, or - can you do it via iPod?
Pete:
Yeah, it's an iPod Touch, or an Android phone, or an Apple iPhone, yeah.
Kelly:
It's also quite good for people who exercise, so you can time yourself doing different laps. It also has a bike computer.
Pete:
And that's just using the GPS on the phone, so it's all basically using the phone's functionality, but Bluetoothed to your watch. Now, I'm going to get one. I think that is an awesome little bit of technology. You're less convinced, but I'm going to go for it.
Kelly:
I don't feel that it's necessary.
Pete:
The pros are, incoming caller ID, email, Facebook, SMS, iMessage, calendar alert, Twitter, weather announcements, and it looks like a watch, customisable screen for your watch, so it's quite impressive. The only real downside to this, is the battery life, so you need to charge it once a week, which for a watch, is quite a lot, isn't it?
Kelly:
Well it is, but then not so much for a phone.
Pete:
The other downside to this is, it does take between 5 and 10% of your battery life, because you do need Bluetooth on the whole time, and I don't know about you, but my smartphone needs a charge every day.
Kelly:
Yeah, mine needs a charge every day, and I couldn't afford to lose that really during the day, while I'm working.
Pete:
Nonetheless, if you're interested, this could be the one to watch. It's certainly going to be cheaper than the Apple, the LG and the Google watch. Current estimates for about £100 in the UK, and you can pre-order now, and they should be out next month.
Kelly:
Well, I think that's a more than reasonable price for everything that it actually does.
Pete:
It's not far off my birthday. If you want to put that on the list for me, that would be great.
Kelly:
Yeah, good luck!
Pete:
Thank you very much. Well, that's it for the interaction part of this show. For transcripts, longer versions of what we've covered in today's show, and all the video links we've talked about, go to the show notes. The address, Kelly, is:
Kelly:
www.frequencycast.co.uk.
Listen to FrequencyCast Show 86 - Smart Watches Explored |
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