By Smart watches seem to be the next evolution in mobile technology, as well as wearables period. With the likes of Sony and Motorola already seeding the market with watches, as well as Apple, Samsung and Google believed to be working on them, it isn’t all that hard to believe that 2014 will be filled to the brim with digital timepieces. Add in all the successful smart watch Kickstarters we’ve seen to date (such as Pebble and the AGENT smart watch), and you have an entirely new category of tech for these companies to battle for.
Now, another big player in the mobile space seems to be toying with the idea of smart watches. Qualcomm has filed a name trademark for a device named “Qualcomm TOQ,” which is described as a “Personal communication hub in the form of a wristwatch; portable electronic devices for transmitting and reviewing text, data, image, and audio files; hands free devices for mobile phones; battery chargers.”
The patent application, filed June 26th, doesn’t give us much more info than that. Qualcomm rarely, if ever, comes to market with devices that are sold directly to consumers, instead opting to make devices as a reference platform for vendors and developers. This patent could signal that the company wishes to begin making embedded silicon for such devices and will shop those chipsets inside actual smart watches to companies looking for a viable solution.
It’ll be interesting to see what Qualcomm ends up crafting. If their reference platforms for phones and tablets are anything to go by, they will spec this thing out to the max and push the boundaries of what a wristwatch can do. Just this weekend, resident enthusiast Raveesh Bhalla detailed what his ideal smart watch would be like, including things like vibration motors, voice control and color displays. While we can’t say whether or not Qualcomm is looking to implement any of that, history suggests we shouldn’t put it past them.
We need a Nexus watch…
That’s a really pretty photoshop. I’d probably still never buy a smart watch though. There’s something mesmerizing about having a mechanical watch tick time away.
I want that. (that Nexus mockup)
I predict the smart watch fad will be a total failure. That right, you heard it hear first everyone. Some random guy on the internet said so and so it shall be.
I love that watch design…
Just about every smartwatch design I have seen has looked totally hideous but this right here I would wear in a heartbeat if the actual end product look like this does.
IKR!? Oh my gosh. It’s amazing.
The mock-up looks really beautiful. I will probably get a Nexus or some other Android smart watch if it’s very light and truly useful.
I think the watch should at least have the following features besides being able to tell time:
1. Display and handle phone calls
2. Send text messages
3. Work as GPS
4. Read and compose email (will be truly hard on such a tiny screen)
5. Show weather
6. Work as a radio, and lots more
Somebody better release one before crapple or I’m going to be pissed
They already did.
Just HAND over that Nexus Smart watch right now. Someone needs to make that and sell it too me so I can buy it and be happy.
Biggest thing I worry about future smartwatches is the battery life. If you’re going to have a beautiful display thats always on, on your wrist, the battery life will probably suck.. even if its slightly dimmed when not in use. I agree with everyone else, that mockup looks downright sexy.