Microsoft Smart Watch???

The Pebble smart watch gave the wearable computing world legitimacy a year ago. Now, Pebble is introducing Pebble Steal, a more expensive and metallic version of their popular high tech watch.

Other competitors are beginning to litter the landscape of "wearables," while the big companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft are no where to be seen (although rumors are everywhere).

In my opinion, Microsoft has the most to gain from entering this market. As the third largest operating system in the world, Windows Phone 8 would benefit from a larger ecosystem of technology products to bolster its usefulness. Plus the user interface is perfect for a watch! Square tiles on a square screen is like putting a round peg in a round hole. It just makes sense.

And here's a crazy idea.  Microsoft should leverage Skype by incorporating a front facing camera on its watch. If I could talk and video chat people from my wrist, I would be blown away. We are so close to making this type of communication a reality, I just hope Apple doesn't think of it first.

Getting back to the bigger picture. What about exclusivity? Samsung is the first massive company to attempt tying its smart watch to a very specific set of devices, Samsung Galaxy phones. Maybe Apple, Google and Microsoft are waiting to see the results of this strategy before excluding other operating systems from their smart watches. Maybe the future of wearable tech is a sad fragmentation where an investment in the watch you really want means getting a phone you detest. And maybe third party smart watch makers will take full advantage of the exclusivity of the big companies.

Pebble watches work with any Apple or Android smartphone (although many are reporting Samsung Galaxy devices do not play well with Pebble software). And the upcoming Kreyos Meteor smart watch is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

And then there is Sony. Their smart watch is compatible with all Android phones, when the physical design could easily have allowed for an exclusive pairing with the Xperia Z lineup. In the case of Sony, the marketing strategy was probably to give them the largest consumer market possible, given their smartphone lineup is not terribly popular, at least in the United States. On a side note, Sony's emphasis on waterproof mobile devices can be a differentiating factor to help the Xperia lineup stand out.

This all boils down to money. Can companion devices to smartphones be the next money making initiative? Or do smart watches need to replace our phones completely to have any widely popular utility? I think the Pebble Steal and Galaxy Gear will show the importance of style and appearance in this new wearable landscape.  The perfect watch for me would look like the Pebble Steal with the Galaxy Gear screen and the Pebble battery life.

www.gizmag.com

I hope Microsoft is listening to all my rock solid advice. In their case, exclusivity to Windows Phone devices makes a lot of sense. If the device has killer specifications and features, there are many people who would join the Windows Phone camp. Maybe I'm being biased because I have a Lumia 1520. But I have had long stints with iOS, Android and Windows Phone and I truly believe the differences between operating systems are minimal for the average user (physical design is another story).

Come on Microsoft! Keep me invested in your platform!