I thought watches had gone out of style. I have one that looks like a Rolex, but it’s not. It’s very nice, though, a Seiko that I bought about 20 years ago but haven’t worn for 10. I have another that was very expensive that I received as a gift, and I only wear that when I need to look professional or give an impression. In other words, rarely.

Now, however, ‘Smart Watches’ seem to be causing mass hysteria, with everyone wanting one and a bunch of talk about how great they’ll be.

There’s the rumored iWatch from Apple, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, Google’s AndroidWear, the Pebble, Sony’s cleverly-named SmartWatch, even things like the FitBit (which was recently recalled) and a host of others.

Now *that* would be nifty

I have to be honest, I’m surprised. Watches were, or at least I thought they were, going out of style. Especially the big gaudy ones, but all watches since we had smartphones we could use instead. It’s been debated on forums and in popular press, with that last link arguing we don’t need smart watches because we have regular watches, and while horologists might disagree, I guess the promise of even more immediate connectivity can’t be ignored. In fact, I noticed at Target it’s an entire section!

The big appeal is that these watches will update you if you get an email/facebook/text message, track your workouts, give biometric feedback, connect to services that can send and receive information…

But your phone does that already. I don’t know, I have been trying to wrap my head around the idea of these new smartwatches, and while the ones I’ve personally seen have been well-made and interesting, I just don’t see the need.