The "smart watch" is expected to compete with other wearable gadgets such as "smart glasses," most notably Google Glass. Both devices are cutting-edge technologies that are meant to pair up with your current smartphones and mobile devices. However, both are currently just considered accessories to the mobile device, which still does the bulk of work for users. Still, there are a variety of smartwatches that have already been released. They look like normal watches used for time keeping except they feature a screen that has touch-screen features.

Some of the smartwatches available have microphones and speakers that can be used for making voice calls by talking into the watch. The Samsung Galaxy Gear even has a 1.9 megapixel camera. The watch also comes with replaceable wristbands. The hardware of the device is usually integrated in the bands. These watches also have features that allow gentle vibration for alerts and notifications.

The good thing about smartwatches is that they are placed on the wrist, making them look subtle and concealable. Google Glass by comparison easily gets attention and stares. Google Glass is advantageous because the device allows things to be done with the blink of an eye. On the other hand, the smart watch is perfect as a wrist-based fitness tracker. Other smartwatches also integrate with smartphone apps and can display them on the screen. Smartwatches also have music playback controls to allow you to play and pause or even adjust the volume from your wrist.   

When it comes to battery life, smart watches have huge advantage. They can go on for a long time even when charged for just a few minutes, but when using lots of features such as music and camera, it might be drained faster. However, these products are just in their beta stages. Once the final versions are released, more improvements are expected. When it comes to price, Pebble is the cheapest with its watch set at $150. Sony's SmartWatch is now priced at $200 while Samsung's Galaxy Gear is priced at $300. The Qualcomm Toq is $250.

Correction: this article originally listed a higher price for the Qualcomm Toq.