iWatch: Is it time for wearable computers?

[Jazzy]

There’s nothing the internet likes more than rumours about Apple products – apart, possibly, from cute cats. In the last few days, it is the former that has preoccupied countless netizens.



Specifically, it was rumours about the possible appearance of an iWatch from the Cupertino tech giant. The frenzy of speculation was sparked by a piece written by interface expert and ex-Apple employee Bruce Tognazzini, who argued that a watch would “fill a gaping hole in the Apple ecosystem” and herald a new phase in how we interact with technology.



The article offered no proof that Apple was working on a watch – or that the device that was rapidly christened an iWatch was even a timekeeper (could iWatch be the name of the long awaited TV from Apple?). But the story – true or not – offers a fascinating insight into the rapidly emerging field of wearable computing.



For Tognazzini – the designer behind the Apple Mac’s original user interface – what’s at stake is computing that is able to treat you, for the first time, as a human being. Today, smartphones know roughly where we’re standing, the logins for a selection of our online profiles, and hold a selection of apps and files. Tomorrow, wearable computing might know everything from your altitude and posture to your pulse, blood type, height, weight, and daily routines, right down to the way you take coffee from different stores.

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Question: We have gradually accepted more and more intrusive forms of technology. Is the smart watch the next logical step?

 

[Evil Eye]

Many people already use their phones as watches anyway... The only thing different about this is the strap.

 

[Jazzy]

Ugly and very bulky. I would never wear something like this.