Smart watches: business tool or geeky toy?

• Author: Gray, Bruce A.
• Position: Gadget review

For those of us old enough to remember Dick Tracy comics and cartoons, the introduction of the smartwatch is like that fantasy come true. His watch, which doubled as a videophone and gadget controller, was what made him high-tech in his day. Many of us wanted a watch like that, but it was too far-fetched to imagine.

Fast forward to 2011. A company called Pebble was born and after a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $ 10 million, the Pebble Watch was introduced in 2013. Since then, Samsung, Motorola and Apple have all entered the game with offerings to tempt us into reliving our childhood.

Last fall my wife and children came to me with the annual request of what I wanted for Christmas. I'm at a point where, other than some of my tech toys, there's not a whole lot of stuff I really want, so this question is always difficult to answer. I had been following the smartwatch market and thought it would be fun to have one. But it was clearly little more than a toy and, in my mind, a rather frivolous purchase.

However, to appease the question, I came up with a very short list of things I'd enjoy having and included a smartwatch, specifically, a Pebble Steel.

Variety, Functionality & Pricing

What I learned from my research is that there are more models to choose from than I imagined. The Pebble has about six different models, Apple has about 40, Motorola about three (with a variety of customizing options) and Samsung has three (also with a variety of customizing options).

Functionality varied by model and manufacturer. Pebble and Motorola watches are compatible with Apple and Android phones, while Apple is only compatible with Apple phones and Samsung only with Android phones.

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All of the phones have basic notification capabilities showing when email, text messages and phone calls are received. They all also have a fitness app available. And all but the Pebble have built-in microphones that allow you to chat on your phone using your watch.

As far as other apps, Apple arguably has the broadest range available, but all of the watches have a variety of apps spanning the range from entertainment to news to e-commerce to the ability to remotely control lights, thermostats and some of your phone's functions. All of the watches also provide controls over the music app on your phone.

Early entries into the market reminded me a little of the brightly colored, plastic watches popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s...