Watches — The Next Device To Get Telephony Capability

The smartwatch race is on!

Factoid: the maximum use of a mobile phone is to check the time.

The above fact is perhaps a clear indication that the watches would be the next device category to be affected by the growth of the mobile devices (we have already seen GPS manufacturers being affected significantly by the commonplace integration of GPS into most smartphones).

As the war on who will launch the next smartwatch with telephony capability heats up, Apple has filed for a patent in Japan for its “iWatch” (as people are assuming it’ll be called).

One of the first watch-phones to come out was from Samsung — Samsung SPH-WP10 in 1999.

Many manufacturers have since forayed into combining watches with mobile telephony capability:

LG (LG GD910)

Hyundai MB-910

Sony Smartphone watch

Sony has launched a waterproof watch, which will act as peripheral device connecting to a phone via Bluetooth.

Despite quite a few manufacturers having attempted creating a product like a smartwatch, none of them have been able to create something truly disruptive or even anything that people’s attention or stoked their imagination.

Now with biggies like Apple and Samsung seemingly working to launch their own attempts at truly smart, good-looking and wearable watches, the interest in smartwatches has seen a resurgence.

Both these manufacturing majors have taken off their gloves and are clearly competing to launch their our attempts at usable and attractive smartwatches, in the coming year.

Apple is rumored to be aggressively developing one, while Samsung has had one in the pipeline for about a year now.

With the companies now filing patents for curved screens, flexible screens, curved batteries, to name a few — it seems assured that the race for the smartwatch is on the clock.

Watch this space to stay abreast with news, launches and reviews on Smartwatches.

Originally published at Chip-Monks.