Get Smartwatches

For tech companies, science fiction isn’t just a mental escape but a gold mine of potential products. The latest gadget being pushed toward the mainstream is the smartwatch, able to be linked with phones and tablets via Bluetooth. Sony was an early leader here and is already launching the second generation of its SmartWatch, SW2. The SW2 links with Android devices, allowing you to receive notifications from your phone from up to 10 meters away, but it lacks a microphone and speaker, so you can’t make calls. Samsung’s first smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Gear, does accept voice and touch-screen commands via Bluetooth, tethering with the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 mini-tablet. It also has a camera built into the strap. The software is proprietary, so no syncing with other brands. The Pebble smartwatch talks to iOS and Android devices, letting you answer the phone, receive notifications and control your music. There are also a growing number of Pebble-compatible apps at Google Play and other third-party stores. Finally, the Martian Watch looks classy with its traditional analog time piece and a discreet voice-activated notification screen; it syncs to iPhones and Android devices, and really plays well with Siri and Google Now. et