A watch is a thing of beauty: the gears, the precision, the intricacy. It's a technological marvel that's both practical and stylish, and in many ways a precursor of today's mobile technologies.
But here's the thing: I no longer wear a watch. Like lots of other people, I use my phone for timekeeping. Even when I go for a run, I now carry my iPhone, which is able to track my distance, my pace, and even generate a map of where I've run. I'd pretty much thought my watch-wearing days were over.
That may change, for me and many others, with the advent of the smart watch.
The term smart watch nudged its way into the popular lexicon this week after the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple may be developing what the Journal labeled a "watch-like device." No one really knows just what this device would be -- or even if it will be -- but presumably it would use the same general interface as the iPhone and connect to other Apple devices.
But Apple didn't invent the smart watch, just as it didn't invent the digital music player or the personal computer. Smart watches exist now, and you don't have to wait for an Apple iWatch to buy one. And if they're probably still best for tech-obsessed early adopters, they provide a glimpse into a looming era of wearable computing — glasses with web-surfing screens, gizmos to track our sleep, and other gadgets to let us access the internet's global storehouse of images, videos and knowledge at any moment.
One smart watch, the Pebble, connects with the iPhone and Android phones to let you view text messages, weather info, e-mail and social media updates on the phone's screen. The Pebble buzzes whenever there's a notification; you just glance at your watch rather than scrambling to grab your phone. The Pebble costs $150, and with its black-and-white LCD screen, you're able to choose from a number of different digitally generated watch faces.
Whether you want a watch buzzing you with tweets is another matter. "The upside is obvious: only reaching for your phone when it's something important means you reach for your phone much less often," noted a reviewer at the Verge. "The downside is that it's harder to simply ignore your phone and let messages stack up while you focus on something else."
Other options include the Sony SmartWatch ($130), for Android phones, and the MetaWatch ($179 to $299), for Android and iPhone. As with the Pebble, you can use these to check text messages, e-mails and the weather, and perform other tasks typically reserved for smart phones.
Should you rush out and buy one? Not yet. The smart watch is still a work in progress, but it's one that's likely to advance rapidly.
Just imagine what will be possible in the smart watch future, especially if the watch offers voice capabilities. You could be wearing your iWatch, read an e-mail on its screen, and dictate your response. You could ask it to add an appointment to your calendar. Book a restaurant reservation. Pay for your coffee when you walk into a cafe.
Certainly any iWatch will need to allow you to customize what you see on it, and whether things pop up on the screen, buzz you or remain hidden. I may not want to see news headlines or tweets on my watch, but plenty of people will. And if it means I'm able to leave my iPhone in my pocket -- or, better yet, a bag or backpack? I'll buy one.
I'm sure millions of others will, too.
Apple reinvented the phone. Next up? Maybe it'll be the watch, with a gizmo that's stylish and usable, as any watch should be.
Allan Hoffman can be reached via his website, allanhoffman.com.