There are also many disadvantages to owning a smart watch. Since this emerging technology is so new there a very little things it can do at the moment. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is one of the first smart watch models available but one of the biggest issues is battery life. The main problem with battery life is how often you will have to take your smart watch off to charge. Also the screens will go to sleep to try and save battery so getting it to tell time is sometimes very awkward. “To conserve battery life, the Gear screen goes dark when not in use. It’s supposed to awaken when you lift your arm, but sometimes I had to shake my wrist vigorously to rouse it.”
Another disadvantage of owning a smart watch is there are a limited number of phones and tablets that are compatible with the smart watches out today. Certain smart watch companies design watches that will only synchronize to a certain model of phone or tablet, like Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, and that phone or tablet could often be very pricey. “The only phone it works with right now is the Android-based Note 3, which costs $300 on a two-year contract from AT&T and Verizon, $250 at Sprint and $708 contract free from T-Mobile.” (Jaroslovsky, 2013) Pebble is guaranteeing their smart watch model will be able to connect with most smart phones on the market today. That includes the iPhone, who have yet to have a compatible smart watch model but Apple is currently designing one.