i'm Watch: The Incoming Wave of Revolutionary Smartwatches

On September 1st, 2010, Apple announced its 6th generation iPod Nano. The device currently features a music player, iPod + Fitness, FM radio, clock faces, and more. Even though the iPod Nano with its wristband could be labeled a smartwatch, it doesn't accommodate any app store, phone, email service, phone books, and the rest of typical smartphone features. Although people don't expect a watch to perform all these services since the screen would generally be too cluttered, companies do have the technology to make such a product.

One of the first companies to take on the idea of designing and selling smart watches is the Italian company i'm. As you would expect, i'm did appear at CES 2012 with its new product. The reason why i'm decided to utilize Android was most likely because Android is generally more flexible on third-party platforms, unlike Apple which limits its software to its own devices. Let's take a look at some of i'm Watch's primary features.

Phone, SMS, & Email Services
The watch's ability to receive calls, SMS, and email services is astonishing, since it's quite complicated to fit Wi-Fi and/or 3G compatibility into such a minuscule device. Phone calls can be answered through typical earphones which contain a microphone. The present problem of designing a watch with internet connection isn't the only one when it comes to designing a smartwatch, but the ability to type using an on-screen keyboard would get pretty frustrating. There aren't any details on how i'm will approach this problem, although I can speculate the use of speech recognition on the device.

The Screen
At CES 2012, Nokia introduced its new Lumia 800, one of the first few phones to feature a curved screen. The i'm watch will also feature a 1.5'' screen with dimensions of 240 x 240 pixels.

Music & Applications
The title of "smartwatch" wouldn't exist if there was no app store or music-playing ability. The Android device will run Android's market and will most likely allow music in the renowned mp3 format. Not only that, i'm is introducing its own app and music stores which are compatible with the watch's mobile interface; the music interface is known as i'music, while the app store is known as i'market. The names copy from Apple's idea of the minuscule i before each product's name.

Overall, smartwatch technology has been advancing ever since the 6th generation iPod Nano. i'm Watch isn't alone, the Sony SmartWatch is also following the same line of features. The new line of smartwatches is a promising one, since it allows for interesting new features and improved portability.