Author: David Zak Publication Time: 2011-09-18 08:31:32 Views: 103
The Meta Watch, once a series under the Fossil watch brand, has now become an independent company. This is good news for enthusiasts of "smartwatches."
Technology always finds a way to make you aware of small inconveniences in your life. For example, reaching into your pocket. Your smartphone has become the core of your life, solving and eliminating many previous small troubles such as not being able to access the internet at any time, asking passersby for directions, planning ahead, or mentally keeping track of events. However, there's one inconvenience that smartphones haven't solved—constantly having to reach into your pocket to pull it out. Now, enter the world of "smartwatches."
It was reported that some investors acquired the Meta Smartwatch from the Fossil watch brand. Prior to this, the Meta watch brand had made some progress and showcased a new product in March. But due to several delays and component defects, the originally scheduled summer release date was eventually canceled. Apparently, some investors led by Juha Pinomaa, the former executive vice president of Nokia, believed they could do better. Last week, they announced the acquisition of the Meta Watch from the Fossil watch brand and will operate it as an independent entity. The company is located in Dallas, Texas, with a research and development department in Lappeenranta, Finland.
This is good news for all those who hate rummaging through their pockets. If done well, smartwatches will save us a lot of time. Everyone who has worn this smartwatch says it's very useful. Basically, a smartwatch can connect to your smartphone and detect its activity—receiving emails, text messages, etc.—and display this content on the watch face. How many times has your phone notified you of a received text message that didn’t need an immediate reply? A good smartwatch allows you to glance at your wrist and effortlessly make decisions.
Many critics also believe that the Meta Watch has the potential to be the first major smartphone brand among competitors. Kevin C. Tofel of GigaOm is highly enthusiastic about smartwatches, saying, "In the past six years, I've used many smartwatches. Simply put, few have performed as well as the Meta Watch I saw in June. The Meta Watch excels in wireless network connectivity, can run for a long time on a single charge, and lets you see the most useful information at a glance rather than trying to cram a lot of information onto a small watch face."
Smartwatches are useful in many situations. When I go running, I don’t bring my iPhone, but I might bring a watch and an iPod Shuffle—a smartwatch could combine them both. Moreover, if future smartwatches have NFC payment mechanisms, as suggested by Forbes magazine, we could easily leave the house and go to the supermarket to buy some wine without having to search for our wallets beforehand.
This is a promising electronic era—enough to attract companies like LG, Samsung, and Texas Instruments to get involved. However, the Meta Watch appears to be better than other smartwatches, giving us more reason to feel happy about the recent news. The company has stated that this week it will launch the $200 smartwatch in the U.S. and Europe.
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