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Smartwatches & Radio Shack

Ok, this week we are a bit off topic, but with Apple’s big news on Monday, with the Apple iWatch, I must ask this question, why do we need a smart watch? It will be out of date in a year.

For the last 10 years we have been developing technology to get the watch off our wrist, and into our pocket. I have several devices at hand, my PC, Tablet, and Phone that tell the time.  My phone does everything that watch will do, and with the Apple watch you need an Apple iPhone 5s, not just any iPhone will do, and Android won’t work with it, so I am out of luck. Samsung has had smartwatches out for a year already, and I still have yet to get one.

I am utterly amazed at all my techy friends buzzing about Apple’s announcement, what will it look like? What will the unboxing experience be like? And what about the customer experience? Will you be able to pre-order it? I know they are said to have 5 million on hand already at announcement.  At a cost of $350.00 for the sportsmen to $10,000.00 for the Gold Edition, why would you spend anything over 20 bucks for a watch?

My concern here is the distraction feature, while you are driving. I travel allot, and during my travels I see people texting while driving, swerving all over the road, looking at the phone on the dash, and not seeing the bicycle  ahead. Can you imagine the even worse driving habits if you are looking at your watch when a call comes in, or trying to text from it while driving? Laugh you may, but seriously, why do we need a smartwatch. I think we have reached our Zenith at Technology. We have done it all, from self-driving cars, to cell phones. I think we have reached the end. Technology has no “Wow” factor anymore. When was the last time you were honestly amazed at technology, and the advancements made?

Trying to justify spending $350.00 on a wrist mounted cell phone, Bluetooth, camera, radio thingy is hard even for me. I am an early adopter, and anything new I usually have to have the first edition…But this one I am on the fence.  And now the Shack, Radio Shack is gone, it is an End of an Era, something I grew up with as a kid, and technology for me was found inside a Radio Shack. My first transistor AM Radio was bought at Radio Shack. As I grew up, anything techy was got at the Shack. There was no Walmart, or BestBuy. No Sam’s club, no Amazon.

I still have my first Alien Invaders hand held game, a Space invaders knock off, sold at Radio Shack exclusively. It takes 4 “C” batteries, and still works. My first science kit was bought at the shack. I bought Police Scanners, CB Radios, Walkie Talkies, Metal Detectors, Calculators , Diamond Needles for my Turntable, My first 8-track tape player, my first Sony Walkman, all gotten at the Shack. Up until last week, most of my obscure PC parts, were found in the back shelves of the Oshkosh & Fond du lac Radio shacks, technology that is 20 plus years old, still in the original package. They even sold watches; I thought it was the coolest thing ever to have a digital watch with the red segment numbers.  Now 35 years later I need a smart watch? I worry that this trend will revive the Betamax tapes. Remember, Blu-ray won over HD-DVD. I have a HD-DVD and nothing to play it on.

Thanks for reading, and keep your PC secure and your family safer.  Remember at Hunt Technology, you always get Quality Service & Individual Attention you deserve.

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