There's product development and then there's product development

As technology gets smarter and smarter there are casualties along the way, for example digital cameras soon brought about the demise of roll film and consequently of the Agfa corporation who didn’t think quickly enough about product development.

Mobile phones are doing the same thing, their cameras are getting so good and accessible that most of us capture the moment using them instead of our cameras – which are somewhere in a drawer waiting for the next holiday probably.

We’re certainly increasingly using them to access the Internet instead of turning on the PC in the office/spare bedroom. We may no longer have landlines…

But the sector which I imagine has already lost ground is the Watch industry.  Whilst lecturing at Winchester University to Events Management students I was shocked to see how very few were actually wearing watches (maybe 10%).  Why would they need to – when their mobile phones are immediately adjacent at all times?

Which brings me to ponder on a recently launched watch – the “I’m watch” an Italian designed timepiece billed as “the world’s first real smart watch”.  It is undoubtedly clever, it can bring the functionalities of your smartphone onto your wrist by connecting to your phone via Bluetooth or wi fi hotspots.

But this sort of feels like a lot of clever things that were featured on an old TV programme called “Tomorrows World” and which never actually took off.

It says “Receive and read your texts directly on your watch.  Think later how to reply.  What?! OK, there’s no keyboard. But really think later how to reply? Some days I’m so busy I barely remember to reply to e-mails I've opened 5 minutes previously- am I really going to remember something I read a couple of hours ago?

To reject a call you apparently just shake your wrist – I can already see problems here.  “Hello hello, No, get down Fido…hello?”  “Hello hello – bloody wasps …hello?”

My other problem is that someone looking at their watch whilst you're talking to them has always been interpreted as them being fed up and wanting to go NOW.  It’s going to be a bit off-putting meeting an I’m watch wearer isn’t it? I mean you're certainly going to lose your stride...

And would you really be that far away from your phone anyway? The upcoming generations seem to have them grafted onto the palm of their hand – where they can see the time – which is why you don’t want a watch…

Finally it’s not small – it’s not pretty, its certainly not jewellery which might presently be the saving grace of a watch. It’s actually like having …err…a miniature mobile phone strapped to your wrist.

Is it me?  It will probably be the next big thing.  If you love techno toys you’ll probably want one immediately. Oh well – here’s the link www.imsmart.com

Thanks for the pic to Mrs Logic on Flickr.com