Dear Ms. Smartphone: I have never worn a phone watch, and am old enough to remember when Dick Tracy, the comic strip detective did have one. I see lots of folks my age wearing these watches and I am wondering if there are useful things to do with them or it just for style? My kids got me one for Christmas but I have the option to return it. J. McQueen, Tiburon
Dear J. McQueen: So apropos that you remember Dick Tracy and his wrist gadget, rather than another pop-hero, Agent Maxwell Smart. Smart had to use footware, namely his covert shoe-phone for conversations!
I do worry, if people chose the wristwatch, that it could be a constant source of distraction. It’s said that people will glance at their check their wrist about 60 to 80 times a day.
That said, your kids are on to something healthy!
HEALTH AND ELDERS:
There is lots of interest in the watch among older people. Business Insider did an informal survey and found that fifty-six percent of their panel over 73 years of age and 48 percent of Baby Boomers said they plan to buy an (Apple) watch. Why? The watch hooks them up with FDA approved health features like an electrocardiogram (EKG) app, fall detection, diabetes monitoring, and the like.
Apple sold an estimated 33 million units of these watches in 2019 and one of the interesting trends is that so many older people are interested and more than half of the owners of the watch are women. This is unheard of in the geeky-gadget world.
NAVIGATING THE WATCH:
From a transportation perspective, the watch may help you take ‘bigger footsteps’. You can use it to set a walking goal each day, and count your footsteps. One very useful application is to get directions and navigation.
In a different blog, I wrote about using devices with voice commands (like a pinkie ring) to have seamless, integrated travel trips. Hopefully you could use voice commands to navigate when you need directions, just like using WAZE in the car. And, it’s entirely feasible to use that watch to book a ride, pay the fare, get walking directions, and send updates to the people you are meeting up with. It will just take some time to learn all the steps (!), as well as putting a credit card on file.
GATEWAYS TO….?
These digital watches are said to be a “gateway product” to the future. If you chose to enter just be sure that when you wear it on your wrist, you wrestle with data sharing and privacy.