Smartwatch

A few years ago, people, especially tech observers, were writing off watches. Fewer people were wearing them to tell time, relying instead on their smartphones. Now, the wheel turns full circle. Watches are back in fashion. And the very names that made smartphones cool - as well as a number of others - are getting into the smartwatch business. 

Take the Pebble smartwatch Kickstarter campaign. In 2012, a group of engineers launched a campaign for a smartwatch. It would connect to your phone and alert you about incoming calls, text messages, emails, tweets - all the stuff that appears on the homescreen of your phone. The watch also promised an SDK, allowing third-party developers to create their own apps for the watch. 

The Pebble campaign met its $100,000 target in a matter of hours. By the time the campaign closed, it had raised more than $10 million, making it the most successful Kickstarter campaign ever. Clearly, there was a market for smartwatches , and both phone and watch manufacturers noticed. 

The tech sites and blogs are abuzz with the news of the Apple smartwatch, but at this point, the watch is still vapourware. But Samsung's Galaxy Gear watch is scheduled for release tomorrow. 

Toshiba released a prototype that would link to your phone as well as measure your heart rate. The Kreyos smartwatch allows for handsfree connection, powered by gestures and voice control, and it links to your phone. E4Worlds I3 watch has a touchscreen and a camera. 

The hand turns and the watch is cool again. 

Dive into 40 apps
The Sony smartwatch has a 1.3-inch OLED display. Its power button is in the place you would find the winding knob. The display resolution is 128x128, and it is capable of showing 65,536 colours. It is touch based, supporting 2-finger multi-touch . It uses Bluetooth to connect to the phone. There are 40 apps available, including Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and music. The watch has two view modes: full screen and widget. Sony says that the watch can handle 3 to 4 days of use before recharging. 

Get text, email alerts
The Casio product is more limited than the Sony and Samsung offerings. The latest model, GB-6900 B, can connect to the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. 

It uses Bluetooth 4, vibrates and displays call, text and email alerts. It can control smartphone music players, and has a battery life of 2 years. The Find-Me phone feature allows users to send a signal that makes a phone ring and buzz for 15 seconds, overriding phone settings.