Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Not a Phone

            I’m a weird guy (anyone reading this knows this by now). And I’m into technology. But it has to be on my own terms. I tend to get a device and use it the way that it fits into my life. I don’t adapt my life for the sake of a technology, which is probably why I still have trouble with Twitter and Facebook. I’ve never had a particular need to share bits and pieces of my life that frequently.
            I was late coming to the smartphone party, and, to me, it’s less a phone and more of a portable computer. It just happens to have the ability to make phone calls and send text messages built into it. My most used apps: calendar, Wiktionary (because I don’t have a data plan), a note taking app (I’m still trying to find the right one), Audible, and Poweramp. I don’t surf the web on my phone if I can help it. I don’t type messages. I don’t skype or use social networking. I will check email, but almost never reply or send from the phone.
            So with the debut of these new smartwatches, I begin to wonder how they will fit into my use of smartphones. Most of the apps are geared towards texting, email, and social networking. I might be fine with reading email on the watch, or at least knowing who just emailed me because my pocket buzzed, but what else is there? For a device that nearly costs as much as a smartphone, what else can it do for me?
            I do have to admit that I like the looks of the Moto 360. Of course Pebble has a wonderful simplicity and pragmatic approach. And do I really need a smartwatch?
            Probably not.