First it was smartphones, then tablets. Now the new device that major tech companies (like Apple, Samsung, and now reportedly Google) are working is the smart watch.
A new report from the Financial Times claims Google's Android team will be working on the smartwatch. It only makes sense that Google would go ahead with plans to build a smart watch because it is widely believed that Apple is already testing out what many are calling "iWatch" and Samsung recently confirmed that it was working on its own smart watch and hoping to beat Apple to market with the device.
Google is already hard at work on another wearable computing product, Google Glass. Many believe that consumers would be more inclined to purchase a smart watch rather than its wearable Google Glass in terms of pricing and functionality. It remains to be seen if people will actually walk around in public wearing Google Glass; a Google smart watch should see a much higher adoption rate. The smart watch is expected to be run Android, just like Apple's iWatch is expected to run iOS. Samsung appears to be running a proprietary OS on its smart watch based on leaked pictures.
There is even more evidence that Google is planning on joining the smart watch party: Google filed a patent in October 2012 for a smart watch including a flip-up display. In the patent filing Google describes the device:
"A smart-watch can include a wristband, a base, and a flip up portion. The base can be coupled to the wristband and include a housing, a processor, a wireless transceiver, and a tactile user interface. The wireless transceiver can be configured to connect to a wireless network. The tactile user interface can be configured to provide interaction between a user and the smart-watch. The flip up portion can be displaceable between an open position exposing the base and a closed position concealing the base. Further, the flip up portion can include: a top display exposed when the flip up portion is in the closed position and an inside display opposite the top display. The inside display can be concealed when the flip up portion is in the closed position and be exposed when the flip up portion is in the open position."
It looks like 2013 is shaping up to be the year of the smart watch and the biggest players in the tech world will be tempting us with their offerings.