Samsung has recently unveiled their new Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Simply linking to your phone over Bluetooth, the smartwatch allows you to take calls, send texts, and perform numerous other tasks from the comfort of your own wrist. The first ads for this device are actually pretty cool. They play upon nostalgia with such “innovative icons” as Maxwell Smart, Captain Kirk, and Michael Knight  (that’s right, the Hoff was once cool back in the day).  The message is simple: the future, high-tech gadgets we fantasized about years ago are finally a reality.

 

Once I stopped thinking about the cool images of childhood past and started thinking about the actual gadget, my attitude took a bit of a turn.  Is this smartwatch really a step forward in technology?  Is it really “innovative”?  Or is it just another technological reminder of how lazy our society has become?  Seriously…we are all walking around with cool computers small enough to fit in our pocket.  Are we now too lazy to take it out to answer the phone??  Each morning, I need to find my keys, phone, and wallet before heading out the door.  The last thing I need is to add “watch” to the list (not a very attractive watch, either).  What’s next?!?  Is Swatch going to reintroduce their Swatch Guards from the ‘80s?

I began thinking again of those commercial images and I came to a conclusion.  The watch wasn’t the futuristic gizmo I was dreaming of.  I wanted the REAL unthinkable devices.  I wanted the teleportation device Kirk spoke to Scotty about via the watch (“Beam me up, Scotty!!”).  I wanted KITT, not Michael Knight’s watch.  When are these things going to become available?!?  OK…I guess talking cars that can drive on their own are being perfected as I speak, but will they be cool like KITT was?

I’ve never been one to jump on a new device right away.  I always wait for the prices to come down or hear how the reviews are.  Plus, I don’t wear a watch.  These two points lead me to wonder if this new smartwatch will revolutionize the way we live our lives or become the “Segway” of smartphone technology.  Only time will tell.

In the meantime, if they can come out with a shoe that can take calls…we’ll be on to something. 😉

Dale Viger
Just Media, Inc.