Tech: Smartwatches - Is it a threat to smartphones?

With the recent news about the release of Samsung's own line of smartwatch called the Samsung Galaxy Gear, there were a lot of mixed emotions and reactions about it. Some say it's probably one of the greatest thing to happen since the dawn of super smartphones and some say it will just fade into the blackness like a lot of other "breakthroughs" that tried to go head to toe with the huge wave of smartphones and tablet production like a lot of PC company's efforts to sell Ultrabooks. But unlike Ultrabooks, these smartwatches could possibly pose a threat to the booming smartphone industry. But could it really? There can be multiple factors and I'll be stating a few.

Convenience
For more than a decade, man has been trying to reduce the giant breakthroughs of the past into their own pockets. Supercomputers became the modern PC, then came out the laptops, then the netbooks, and then it turned to tablets and smartphones which it may be painful to admit, can work double and more efficient than the older models of PC's. But with these smartwatches, not only were they able to pack so much into something so little, they even made it more convenient by shaping it into a form of a watch. Which I can say, is a bit more convenient to carry around than a bulky smartphone.

Functionality
As stated above, smartphones and tablets can now function more efficiently than computers of the past. So needless to say, everything you would ever need from a computer can now be within an easy reach. But can manufacturers pack in so much power into something that can be strapped into your wrist? Only time will tell. But for now I could only say they can just put in so much but may not give the overall functionality that smartphones and tablets possess nowadays.

Price Tag
Gadgets nowadays can be described in one statement: as they get smaller, they get more expensive. But some say the price does compensate for the convenience it provides, plus the power is uncanny. Take for example, Sony's Xperia Z, one of the highly regarded smartphone in the market today, costs at about $769 or roughly 34,000 in Philippine peso. And for some people (those who can really afford it), consider this price reasonable as the gadget's performance is top notch. The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, can be yours for the price of $299 or roughly 13,000 Philippine peso, the same price for a Dell tablet or an iPad mini. Can people pay for something more than 5 times smaller than an iPad mini? Only time will tell.

Verdict
There is no final verdict on this one my friends. As it is too early to judge the fate of smartwatches for now. Maybe people will bite into the convenience it brings, sacrificing a small portion for a greater purpose perhaps? But as I have said earlier, only time will tell. How about you guys? Are you ready for the smartwatch craze? If I were to ask, I'll wait just a little bit more, for smartwatches to turn out like these before I bite in: