While interest in smartphones and tablets remains high among consumers, they are both well established devices everyone knows about, has used, and probably owns. But in terms of “what’s next?” gadgets, there seems to be one clear new category: wearable tech.
Google is offering us Google Glass in the not too distant future, while both Apple and Samsung are thought to be working on a smartwatch. But it turns out Google isn’t just focusing on high-tech eyewear, it is also working on its own smartwatch internally.
The watch, which will inevitably end up being called the Nexus smartwatch, is being worked on by Google’s Android team. That’s according to the Financial Times’ anonymous source who has apparently been briefed on the project.
The difficulty with making a watch smart, is the limited space you have available for components and a display. Go too big and no one is going to want to wear the thing on their wrist. And it’s for this reason Google may have an advantage over other smartwatches.
Apple and Samsung will no doubt link their smartwatches to iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. But Google can do the same as well as going one step further and linking it to Google Glass. With Glass also being limited in size and therefore features, the two could complement each other very well.
If you need more evidence that Google is at least thinking about a smartwatch, you only need look at the patent the company filed for in October 2011. Entitled “Smart-watch including flip up display,” It describes a smartwatch with two displays allowing you to interact with the device regardless of whether the top is flipped open or kept closed.
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