Wall Street Journal Claims Google Now Smartwatch Close to Mass Production Already

[dgstorm]

Above is a Google smart-watch concept render found here.​

For a while now smart-connected wearable computers have been garnering a great deal of media attention. Between the Google Glass project and the various smart-watches from Sony and Samsung, it is a burgeoning new market barely out of its infancy. Of course, if this new market is to grow and thrive, then new products must continuously push the envelope. If this latest report from the Wall Street Journal is any indication, we may see the next phase of the wearable computer rollout come very soon. Supposedly, Google is already nearing mass production on a new Google Now smart-watch. In fact, if the timeline they are suggesting is as accurate as their rumor, then we might see a Google Now connected smart-watch revealed in the first quarter of 2014.

According to the WSJ report, Google is working hard to address the two primary concerns/complaints with a wearable smart-watch, usefulness and battery life. Google is planning to address these issues head on by imbuing their smart-watch with far greater functionality and a deeper integration with Google Now services. Additionally, they have focused a great deal of development on increasing power efficiency for the device so that it can last several days on a charge. Here's a quote with more details,

The new device, which will run on Android, will be integrated with Google Now, the company's intelligent personal assistant that can answer questions, make recommendations and predict what information users need based on what they are doing, a person familiar with the situation said. Google has also been working to reduce power consumption on the smartwatch so it won't require frequent battery charges, the person said.

The smartwatch will be able to communicate with other devices such as a smartphone, and draw information such as travel schedules from a user's email through Google Now, the person said. The device could be ready for mass production within months, the person said.

Whether Google's smart-watch can fire on all cylinders and deliver a compelling experience will have to be judged once it really does come to market. Regardless, it certainly looks like the ball is rolling on the evolution of wearable computing devices, despite not taking off the way smartphones and tablets have.

 

[Tom T]

What's most interesting to me is how the popularity of watches has declined significantly for years and many people seem to offer the smartphone as the reason they no longer wear a watch. Now these smartphone developed are going to try and get people enthusiastic about watches again. I realize these new watches do so much more than tell time but If people are convinced they are willing to make the extra effort to check the time on their phone rather than glance at their wrist how do you convince enough people that opening your phone is now inconvenient.

 

[Tom T]

I guess I should mention that personally as soon as I get the 4.3 upgrade on my Galaxy Note 2 I am going to seriously consider the Galaxy Gear.

 

[Tom T]

As an update I ordered the Samsung Galaxy Gear today and oddly with free shipping it will be here tomorrow. My Galaxy Note 2 isn't scheduled to receive the 4.3 update until November 29th so I won't get full functionality until then. I actually went to Bestbuy and played with it for a while before deciding to give it a try. One of the things that sold me on it was that the S Voice feature actually works. Not that it took much, as gadgets go this is one of the coolest.
I had been considering a Pebble for quite some time but I could never convince myself it could be useful rather than just cool.