magine if you didn't need to pull out your phone every time you wanted to check notifications or to see what the weather forecast was like. More often than not, we end up disrupting conversations with friends and family by constantly delving into our pockets to catch a glimpse of our smartphones every few minutes. The answer to this problem, many believe is a 'smart watch'— a regular wrist watch that combines features of a smartphone on a tiny device. Presently, there are a limited number of companies that produce smart watches, most popular among which are Sony and Pebble.

Now, an Indian start up has come up with a smart watch called Androidly that they believe is better than those available in the market. "In smart watches, there are a couple of big corporations such as Sony with their Live View device, and Motorola with MotoACTV. The smaller players include Pebble, I'm Watch, Meta Watch, etc. All of these watches only have a certain limited number of features. Most common are displaying your social network feeds, some display Caller ID, and all display the time. One or two brands have their own app stores, where they have one to twenty applications available, but that's the limit", said Apurva Sukant one of the partners in the company. Androidly, on the other hand uses technology optimally and allows the smart watch to do all that a smartphone can do. "We essentially combined a phone, camera, GPS, and an array of sensors to a computer. Then we miniaturise such a computing device to the size of a conventional wristwatch. One needn't pick any other device up, as the watch will always be strapped onto the wrist and available for use anytime, anywhere." added Sukant.

{ An Indian start-up has come up with a smart watch called Androidly that they believe is better than those available in the market.

What seems, however to be missing in the smart watch market is the lack of a clear advantage of a smart watch over a smartphone. For this to happen one needs to be sure that the watch is not just a miniature phone, rather is optimal in its own size and usage. "We have optimised the Android Operating System, for the smaller 2 inch screen of the watch, and for optimally using the processing power and sensors available to it on the watch. Currently, the Androidly Smart Watch is the world's smallest fully featured Android device and we take great pride in the fact", said Ankit Pradhan another member of Team Androidly.Image 2nd

Speaking about the genesis of the idea for a smart watch, Sukant recounted — "The idea was thought up over a dinner between the team. Pavneet's (another member of our team) hand was dripping with curry, and retrieving the phone from his pocket, to check his email seemed impossible. We broke into a casual discussion later, about why, with the current state of technology reading an email or sending an SMS couldn't just be a finger touch away at all times. Why does technology come in the shape of various gizmos which need to be picked up and put down? Why could we not have a personalized computer on us at all times without it being heavy or uncomfortable?"

As it stands currently, the device has a 416 MHz Processor, 256 MB RAM, 8 GB Storage and access to over 500,000 applications on Google Play Store. The user can connect with WiFi for high speed internet access, use the SIM card for EDGE connectivity, or use the Bluetooth to use and control all his other connected devices and create a true Personal Area Network around him. The watch will be priced at USD 299-349 when it is put up for regular sale soon.