Can You Use a Smartwatch With an Ipod Touch?
With confirmation from a visitor exec that Samsung will formally unveil its Galaxy Gear smartwatch in just a few days time, the tech globe is whipping itself into a fervor at the idea of what the Due south Korean electronics giant volition unveil.
Likewise, Apple's much-rumored and never-spotted 'iWatch' has been reported to exist unveiled as soon equally later this year but there's no guarantee that it really volition be. Then let'south take a look at some of the smartwatches you tin can already purchase, some trying to break into the market and some that are simply rumors right now.
iWatch
The Apple iWatch is ane of the virtually rumored products in Apple'southward recent history. However, despite all the reports of its development, we even so know very little virtually what it could look like and exact functionality that could be on lath. Obviously, we'd expect it to be able to take care of most of the usual second-screen companion features nosotros'd want in a smart sentry (notifications, calls, texts, email etc.) but what it will do to go in a higher place and beyond other devices on the marketplace already is yet to be seen.
Even the name itself could cause a bit of a problem, as iWatch is already a registered trademark for not-Apple endemic companies in the United kingdom and US. That said, Apple tree has already trademarked the iWatch name in several other countries.
Apple'south unlikely to be the merely big name manufacturer planning a smartwatch and reports that LG and Motorola volition exist planning new models have also done the rounds in recent months.
Now leaving rumorville
With one giant (and a couple of smaller) unicorns on the horizon taken intendance of, information technology's fourth dimension to take a look at efforts from other camps, like the Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects of the earth. Some y'all'll know, some yous may non. Some got funding, and some did not. Simply they all accept one thing in common: they all desire to make watches a whole lot smarter.
Before we look at the hopefuls (or shortly to be incumbents) of the smartwatch market, we'll take a quick wait at what'southward on offering from the bigger players in the market today.
Milky way Gear
Similar Apple tree, Samsung is said to be getting into the smartwatch space in the future. In fact, thevery near hereafter,co-ordinate to a company exec who let slip that the Milky way Gear volition be given its formal introduction on September 4 at the IFA conference in Berlin.
With only a few days to go until the show kicks off, it won't be long before we have the full details, but it's rumored to have a 2.5-inch colour display with a 320 x 320 pixel resolution. It's also said to have a i.5GHz processor, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.0 for connecting to a smartphone.
Interestingly, current rumors suggest that the Gear won't use a flexible brandish (as had been previously suggested) and will in fact utilize Samsung'southward own app shop to get apps onto the device rather than the standard Google Play store.
Sony Smartwatch 2
While others companies are mostly gearing up to offer their first generation of smartwatch, the confusingly named Smartwatch 2 from Sony will actually exist its 3rd effort and will allow all the things yous'd wait of a large brand smartwatch, such as the ability to navigate to a destination, brand or receive a telephone call, send messages, check email, and all the other things you'd commonly pull your phone out of your pocket for.
With a 1.6 inch, 220 x 176 pixels color display, NFC, lots of familiar Android apps, and no need for the Android smartphone you pair to be a Sony one.
Pricing is currently unknown, just it's due to hit shelves worldwide from next month.
➤ Sony
i'm Watch | Price today $299 (listed $399)
The 'i'k Watch' comes from an Italian visitor, which means you lot can look it to offering a little more than in terms of refinement and design chops than some of the other smartwatches on this listing. However, its attractive hardware and UI design go beyond just good looks to offer all the sort of functionality yous could desire from a second-screen smartwatch.
Every bit there's no on-board processing, the i'g Watch connects to your compatible smartphone iOS four+, Android 4.0+ and BlackBerry ten – although this loses SMS functionality) via Bluetooth to practice things like handle calls, texts and e-mail and to get its connectedness to the Cyberspace.
Core specs include a 1.54-inch color TFT brandish with a 240 x 240 pixel resolution and 4GB of on-board storage. This generous hardware does come at a cost though, the i'm Sentry weighs around 170 grams.
As information technology connects to different mobile platforms, the company has created its own app store with "hundreds" of especially built apps ready to be downloaded and put through their paces on the watch.
If Italian design is more your speed, the i'm Watch tin can exist snapped up today for $299, although it's listed RRP is $100 more than that.
➤ I'm Lookout
Pebble | Price today – $150
The Pebble is one of the virtually well-known smartwatches to have the crowdfunding route, and the fact that it blew through its initial Kickstarter goal of $100,000 to attain an amazing $10.ii million, the first meg of which took but 28 hours to attain, accounts in part for why it is so well-known..
Pebble is a smartwatch that will piece of work happily with an Android or iOS-based device (iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, 5 or any iPod Affect with iOS 5 or iOS half-dozen. iOS 5 and iPhone 3GS users volition accept restricted feature sets. Android devices running Os 2.3 and up) and allows the user to customize the interface, for instance, by downloading unlike watch faces. Naturally, it allows you to control certain telephone functions too, such as showing incoming caller ID, providing access to electronic mail, displaying SMS message and some social networking functionality.
With Pebble'southward site showing 85,000 Pebbles sold/pre-ordered to date, it's conspicuously the Kickstarter smartwatch projection that others promise to emulate.
➤ Kickstarter (Pebble)
Omate TrueSmart | Price today – $199
The Omate TrueSmart is, every bit it'southward name alludes to, a piddling different from some of the other smartwatches in this listing as information technology is a fully standalone smartwatch that doesn't rely on Bluetooth pairing to a telephone to provide the smart functionality.
Its feature list is no less essential, however. Voice calls, text messaging, social media updates, sports/tracking apps, use as an SOS device, GPS navigation, gesture control, voice control, vocalism-to-text, weather, music player, world clock functions, agenda alarms, vox notes – all the things you'd expect to discover on a device running Android 4.2.
With an on-board processor and other essential hardware – even including a microSIM slot – the Omate really should go above and beyond existence a mere companion smartwatch when it hits the streets.
Oh, did we mention it'southward also IP67 rated for ingress resistance, which means it's officially protected from grit and capable of withstanding water immersion betwixt 15 cm and i meter for up to thirty minutes. Certainly long enough for the average shower.
However, too every bit working as a standalone Android smartwatch, it tin can also pair via Bluetooth with other smartphones to act as a second screen.
The Kickstarter project still has another 24 days to run (at the time of writing) but has breezed past its initial $100,000 goal. Information technology currently stands at around $380,000 with a stretch goal of $500,000 in place to give all Omate TrueSmart devices a scratch-resistant sapphire crystall drinking glass display. Early on backers managed to snap one up for $179 and the get-go units are expected to send in Nov. A developer edition (that ships rooted) is available for the same $199 and will transport from October.
➤ Kickstarter (Omate)
HOT Watch | Cost today $159
The HOT Lookout man, like others hither, can pair with nearly any smartphone via Bluetooth to conduct out bones functionality like calls (including private calls), speakerphone, downloading of contacts and caller ID, also every bit messaging features similar sending an SMS direct using its E-Ink display.
Pairing it with an Android or iOS device, however, adds actress functionality and app support for things like atmospheric condition, stocks, agenda, news, music control, phone finder, as well as lookout apps (pedometer, note capture, fall detection – which tin be used to send an automated text bulletin, reckoner) and alert/timer/stopwatch functionality. In that location's also plans for an SDK for custom apps.
It'll back up voice control as well and promises to achieve those 'private calls' past amplifying the audio from the speaker through your manus.
Currently continuing at a little under $540,000, the Kickstarter project has far exceeded its original $100,000 goal with 10 days left to go. The first units are expected to showtime shipping in December this year, and the lowest level still available to purchase at volition fix you dorsum $159.
➤ Kickstarter (PHTL|Hot Lookout man)
AGENT | Price today – $299
Called the Amanuensis and self-referentially dubbed "the globe's smartest sentinel", this smartwatch doesn't but want to be at the cut-border of technology, only also at the cutting border of style.
With an initial goal of just $100,000, the Amanuensis's Kickstarter campaign was succesfully funded back in June this year, reaching a bear on over $1m by the stop.
Where devices like the Omate TrueSmart have attracted a footling reservation from some people due to its slightly chunky nature, the Agent promises to be a more understated affair thanks to its partnership with House of Horology. However, that'south non to say that there's whatsoever less under the bonnet, in that location are in fact two processors, but it does crave pairing with a smartphone via Bluetooth for near operations.
While it offers a lot of similar functionality as others in this list, such as notifications, incoming phone call alerts, motion and lite sensors etc., it goes one footstep farther in trying to proceed the actual thing up and running by adding Qi standard wireless charging into the mix.
Brandish-wise information technology offers a 1.28-inch "Sharp Memory Brandish" which the company says combines the all-time aspects of Eastward-paper and LCD displays.
The Agent Kickstarter options are now closed, but you can annals for a pre-order due to arrive early adjacent yr and expected to cost $299.
➤ Kickstarter (Agent)
MetaWatch Strata | Price today – $179
The MetaWatch Strata is another companion device/second-screen app to pair with your smartphone via Bluetooth, and like many of the others here it offers back up for all sorts of advice needs, like messaging or calling. It'll too play nicely with the big social networks and uses a custom UI that past default shows a number of different notifications at in one case, which is handy.
The sentry itself isn't actually new per se, but the company looked to Kickstarter fund the cosmos of an iOS six (and Android) uniform version of the smartwatch.
The brandish itself is a 0.nine-inch (25mm-by-25mm) reflective mirror display (Polymer Network LCD technology), and around the edges of the watch are six hardware buttons for controlling things like music, device navigation and decision-making the calorie-free.
The company has also open sourced the project, allowing iOS developers to utilize its SDKs to create their ain apps.
With a paltry $100,000 target, it actually finished up earlier this month at around $310,000. If y'all want to reserve i now yous can do so for $179 earlier taxes or aircraft.
➤ Kickstarter (MetaWatch Strata)
Cookoo Smartwatch | Price today – $129
The Cookoo from ConnecteDevice is another Kickstarter-funded smartwatch that connects via Bluetooth to your smartphone. In this instance information technology likewise comes with its ain iOS app to provide functionality and management of the smartwatch features. Withal, it currently but compatible with iOS v.x or higher.
Setting out on Kickstarter looking to reach a $150,000 effigy back in June 2012, the Cookoo actually ended up attracting pledges totalling more than $305,000 in 45 days. Like others, information technology shows notifications of reminders, incoming calls, messages, emails and can also be used to find your phone if you've misplaced it. Equally an added bonus, it uses so little power that it has a claimed bombardment life of one year.
While it's currently restricted to being an iOS-only watch, at that place'south hope for future compatibility with other platforms similar Android and Windows Phone in the time to come, as they were a part of the visitor'due south original Kickstarter goals.
While early birds snapped up Cookoo (so-called because the creator was fascinated with Cuckoo clocks as a kid) smartwatch for $50 on Kickstarter, you'll now need to trounce out around $129 for your very own.
➤ Kickstarter (Cookoo)
Vachen Smartwatch | Price today – Unknown
The Vachen (pronounced VAR-CHEN) smartwatch successfully achieved its $100,000 funding goal back in May (beating it past an extra ten percent at $110,000) and was due to first shipping the get-go units last month. Information technology besides bills itself as a scout with smartphone functionality, rather than as a smartphone that can tell the time, significant it'll live or die past whether you like its arguably chunky looking advent.
Like one or two of the others, the Vachen runs its own version of Android on-board rather than just relying on hooking upwards to your phone via Bluetooth and likewise every bit providing the usual advice features, is trying to create an ecosystem for itself by offering mulitple different watchfaces (more than 100 already available) and planning an SDK for developers. Users will also shortly exist able to upload their own watch face designs, likewise.
Accounting for some of its solid appearance are the raw hardware specs of the device, which include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 1.5-inch, 240-past-240 pixel, unmarried bear upon, color display, accelerometer and a haptic vibrating motor.
While early backers could get in from $169, it'south unclear exactly whether or where whatever new orders are being taken for the side by side batch of Vachen smartwatches.
➤ Kickstarter (Vachen)
Androidly | Toll today – $219
The Androidly smartwatch is the showtime in this listing to be listed on Indiegogo and is also the largest, offering upwardly a ii-inch (320 x 240 pixels) capacitive touchscreen display.
That large screen means the overall size of the device is a not insubstantial 14mm thick and weighs in at 160 grams. However, on the plus side, information technology does hateful at that place's room for virtually everything y'all'd find in your smartphone, including WiFi, SD storage bill of fare (8GB included) support upwardly 16GB and a ii-megapixel camera.
Around the outside of the device there is as well a pair of hardware buttons on each side for controlling volume (on the left side) and a back and habitation push on the correct-hand side.
Whether or not the Androidly smartwatch appeals to you is likely to depend on whether you lot were looking for a replacement for your smartphone that yous could wear on your wrist, or whether y'all were looking for a 2nd-screen companion device. If information technology's the latter and you were simply looking for something that meant you didn't need to get your phone out of your purse to bank check for notifications, the overall size of Androidly might put you off.
With funding set to run for a farther 23 days, the projection has a goal of $100,00 still to reach, with only $ane,100 having been pledged and so far. Early birds wanting to arrive on the action can do and then for $219 without a headset or $229 with a headset.
➤ Indiegogo (Androidly)
Kreyos Meteor | Price today – $149.95
The Kreyos Meteor smartwatch is another in this list that has already garnered significant media attention for its multiplatform support for voice and gesture controls.
Rather than walk the on-board route, the Kreyos uses the Bluetooth pairing play a trick on to deliver much of its extended functionality and volition play happily with iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 devices. This means that information technology does things like allow you lot to make and receive calls, send emails and SMS messages and update social networks without touching a button (or the screen) and will also take care of all your action monitoring tasks thanks to things similar a built-in gyroscope and support for the ANT+ standard for supporting other hardware devices like heart monitors.
The funding period for the Kreyos on Indiegogo ended on Baronial 12 with more than 15 times the initial goal corporeality of $100,000. The first units are prepare to start shipping from Nov this year, merely if you missed the crowdfunding slots you'll have to lodge your pre-society via the Kreyos website for $149.95, you can also cull your color as well. After Nov 1 the price will go up to $169.95. All pre-orders through the website volition ship on a outset-come, beginning-served basis from January next year.
➤ Indiegogo (Kreyos)
Martian Smartwatch | Price today – From $249
Martian'southward smartwatch Kickstarter campaign is another that came during 2012, seeking to raise $200,0000 of backing in 45 days. It actually managed a non-insubstantial $220,000 putting it an extra 10 pct or so alee of its target.
The Martian smartwatch goes farther than others like the Cookoo smartwatch and allows full voice control of your telephone's features (including things similar saying "transport a text to" or "call habitation") via integration with Google's voice control on Android and Siri on iOS. Needless to say, it'll work happily while continued via Bluetooth to either platform and it really does put its chief focus on beingness able to practise things just via voice control.
Unlike some other Kickstarter projects, Martian prepare out to make more than one model of its smartwatch in order to try and maximise the appeal of the device, as a consequence you can choose between styles called 'G2G', 'Victory' and 'Passport'. And likewise unlike others, it actually includes an analogue lookout face. If you lot want to get your hands on a G2G model, information technology'll cost you $249 today, or either of the other models are available priced at $299.
➤ Kickstarter (Martian)
Neptune Pine | Price today – $335
The Neptune Pine is some other full smartphone replacement, rather than mere accompanying device. With a large 2.4-inch (320 ten 240 pixels) capacitive touchscreen brandish, Android 4.0 OS, five-megapixel rear-facing camera and ane.2GHz Snapdragon dual-core processor its spec list really does read more like a mid-range Android smartphone than most of the others hither.
As such, at that place's a microSIM slot for full quad-band connectivity and it comes in 16GB or 32GB storage options.
It'due south likewise one of the few in this list that will provide access to the Google Play app store and stands a chance of providing a halfway decent Web browsing experience.
Bachelor to pre-order now, the Neptune Pine is due to get-go aircraft in Dec this year.
➤ Neptune Pino
Hyetis Crossbow | Price today – £ane,200
While virtually of the smartwatches on this list have kept the cost down as low as possible, and sacrificed some hardware upgrades to practise so, the Crossbow from Hyetis takes the luxury approach. Besides dissimilar nigh others on this list, the crossbow includes a camera. In fact, information technology puts its emphasis on delivering a good camera experience via a 41-megapixel photographic camera sensor with optical zoom.
Simply information technology's called a smartwatch, not a, err, camerawatch, so expect it to claw upward to your telephone. The creators plan to support iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 via Bluetooth.
Its whopping price tag isn't just the result of the camera tech, the chassis itself is made from Form five titanium and is waterproof up to 250 metres.
Priced at £1,200 for early birds, the Crossbow is only actually bachelor from Hyetis' website and the first 500 are due to first aircraft from December.
➤ Hyetis Crossbow
The agony of defeat
While there might be a few differences betwixt the smartwatches above, they all have one other thing in common: they all got funded, or at least have not yet failed to be funded.
At present, allow's take a look at some of the efforts that didn't fare so well, which isn't to say that the creators accept given up – just that they didn't reach their targets.
Boddie
Boddie set out with high hopes and an center on raising $100,000 (that would seem to exist the magic effigy for many other smartwatch evolution efforts) but airtight up its Indiegogo campaign with but over $3,000 pledged after 25 days.
Not even its plain long-considered, if slightly long (at vii minutes), promo video was plenty to stir interest in taking Boddie to the side by side level. Nor was including a quote from Princess Leia on its Indiegogo page.
➤ Indiegogo (Boddie)
iStick Playtime
The iStick Playtime from Dew Motion is set out to be a trivial different to others every bit it has been designed not only to add extra functionality to your wrist, but also to endure the rigours of extreme sports or outdoor pursuits.
As a event it offers an E-Ink display and a promise of seven days battery life of a single charge. It also features a flexible strap and a uses a mini joystick to command the functioning of the device instead of hardware buttons or an expensive (and bombardment draining) touchscreen brandish.
However, before you get as well excited, the iStick Playtime vicious a long way short of its Indiegogo project goal of $250,000 and only ended upwardly with just under $xi,500 pledged. Yet, Dew Motion all the same has references to it all over its website, then is obviously hoping to still bring information technology to market at some signal.
➤Indiegogo (Dew Motion)
SmartFitty
SmartFitty originally fix out looking for $100,000 but raised just 10 percent of that corporeality during its Indiegogo campaign.
Similar many of the others, information technology promised the usual alerts and iMessage (iOS only, naturally) integration beyond Android and iOS and things like social media updates. But what fabricated it a little different was its focus on exercise.
Information technology tin can monitor how many steps yous've taken, how far you've gone, and how many calories you have burned. Not only that, but users can ready goals into the lookout man, and they are then notified when they have reached their goals.
Too every bit monitoring when you're active (steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned etc) information technology was also intended to monitor sleep patterns and cycles.
For a twist in the tale, despite only making $10,000 on Kickstarter, there was some talk of SmartKitty having secured private investment, so it could turn up 1 day still.
➤ SmartFitty
NanoSmart | Cost today – $100
The NanoSmart is another example of a company refusing to give up the dream. With an Indiegogo goal of $30,000, the NanoSmart failed to alienation the $3,000 mark. Undeterred, the Taiwanese manufacturer WiMe (pronounced 'Why me', honestly) went ahead and made them anyway.
Judging from the Indiegogo page it seems early $79 backers received their units, and if you're interested a quick scour of the Web should discover yous one for around $100.
➤ Indiegogo (WiMe)
Watchson
Watchson's Indiegogo campaign was looking for an even less ambitious corporeality of cash with a goal of merely $30,000, but raised simply $325 in the 45 days the projection was running. So again, the project folio is more of a concept and barely contains a single word, let alone a sentence. Nor is there a video.
While the price was depression, at but $xl, it probably didn't assistance that the smart watch wasn't and so smart either. The Indiegogo projection'south comments folio reveals that the Watchson wouldn't actually support apps as the plan was to use a uncomplicated 'if this then that' trigger for things like notifications, alerts and vibration.
➤ Watchson
One for the road…
That pretty much rounds off our look at some of the smartwatches that are out at that place today, but we'll leave you with one more than optimistic Indiegogo project that its creator admits currently only exists as an idea and is hoping to fix the trouble of ane-handed operation. Correct now, while in that location is a patent filing, there's isn't yet a proper name. With $0 pledged and $100,000 still to become in the side by side 11 days, information technology'll need to option up pace soon. It'll also need to convince the earth that ane-handed performance of a smartwatch is what information technology needs.
➤ Indiegogo
Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/15-smartwatches-you-should-know-about-and-5-that-missed-their-crowdfunding-goals
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