¿Quién inventó el smartwatchbr

¿Quién inventó el smartwatch?

El smartwatch es un dispositivo wearable que se ha convertido en un accesorio imprescindible para muchas personas en todo el mundo. Se trata de un reloj inteligente que, además de ofrecer la función básica de mostrar la hora, cuenta con otras características muy útiles como el control del ritmo cardiaco, la monitorización del sueño o el acceso a las notificaciones del teléfono.

Aunque el concepto de smartwatch no es nuevo, ya que se remonta a la década de 1970, fue en 2012 cuando se popularizó gracias al lanzamiento del primer dispositivo de este tipo: el Pebble. Este reloj conectado tuvo un éxito inmediato y logró recaudar 10 millones de dólares en su campaña de crowdfunding, siendo el proyecto más exitoso de Kickstarter hasta la fecha.

A partir de entonces, el mercado de los smartwatches no ha parado de crecer y cada vez hay más modelos disponibles para todos los gustos y presupuestos. Los principales fabricantes de tecnología, como Apple, Samsung o Huawei, ya tienen sus propios modelos y cada vez son más los usuarios que deciden incorporar este dispositivo a sus vidas.

Pero ¿quién inventó el smartwatch? Aunque Pebble fue el primer reloj inteligente en llegar al mercado, no fue el primero en ser concebido. De hecho, el primer prototipo de lo que hoy conocemos como smartwatch data de 1968 y fue creado por el ingeniero electrical Dick Tracy. Sin embargo, no fue hasta la década de 1970 cuando se empezaron a desarrollar los primeros prototipos reales de este dispositivo.

Uno de los primeros en experimentar con esta tecnología fue Xerox, que en 1977 presentó un prototipo llamado ALTAIR 8800. Se trataba de un reloj digital capaz de realizar funciones básicas como mostrar la hora o la fecha, así como otras más avanzadas como calcular la ruta más corta entre dos puntos o controlar la temperatura ambiente.

Otro pionero en el desarrollo de este tipo de dispositivos fue Seiko, que en 1982 presentó el UC-2000. Este reloj era capable of real-time two-way communication and came with a detachable keyboard that allowed the user to send and receive text messages. It also had other features such as a calendar, an alarm clock, and a phone book.

However, it was not until the 1990s that the first true smartwatches began to emerge. In 1994, IBM released the Simon Personal Communicator, which was one of the first devices to combine the functions of a cell phone and a PDA. It had a color touchscreen display and came with basic apps such as a calendar, a to-do list, and a notepad.

Just one year later, Microsoft unveiled the SPOT watch which was based on the same technology as the Simon Personal Communicator. However, it was designed to be more affordable and accessible to a wider audience. It featured a monochrome display and offered users basic information such as weather forecasts and news headlines.

It was not until 2003 that the first smartwatch with color display was released. The Fossil Wrist PDA was developed in partnership with Microsoft and ran on the Windows CE operating system. It featured many of the same features as the Simon Personal Communicator but also included some new ones such as an MP3 player and a camera.

The Fossil Wrist PDA was followed by a number of other smartwatches from different manufacturers in the early 2000s but it wasn’t until 2007 that the category really took off. That’s when Apple released the first iPhone which popularized the concept of apps and paved the way for the development of more sophisticated smartwatches.

In 2013, Samsung released the Galaxy Gear which was one of the first smartwatches to run on Android. It featured a 1.63-inch color display and came with basic apps such as a camera, a music player, and a voice recorder. However, it was not well received by consumers and was criticized for its high price tag and lack of functionality.

The following year, LG released the G Watch which was also based on Android Wear. It featured a 1.65-inch IPS LCD display and offered users access to Google Now and other Google services. However, it too failed to impress consumers and was quickly overshadowed by the release of the Apple Watch in 2015.

The Apple Watch was announced in September 2014 and released just six months later in April 2015. It quickly become the best-selling smartwatch on the market and cemented Apple’s position as the leading manufacturer in this category. It has since been updated several times and there are now several different models available with different features and price points.

Since then, the smartwatch market has continued to grow at an impressive rate with new models being released regularly by both established brands and start-ups alike. With so many different options now available, there’s sure to be a smartwatch out there for everyone regardless of their budget or needs.