Would You Believe?

Who didn't like Get Smart? Who didn't want to be Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, fighting the forces of KAOS with all that technology built by the mad scientists from Control? Who thought that any of it would come true? Maybe Mel Brookes was a technology innovator disguised as a comedy genius. After all how far away are we from talking into our watches? How far away are we from carrying around music in a special gadget in our pocket? How far away are we from having a camera and voice recorder hidden in everyday objects?

Not far at all, in fact all are present and working in some form or another from MP3 players to smart phones and beyond. Apart from being a very smart comedy, Get Smart used imagination and foresight to play around with everyday objects and project them 50 years into the future. It was a time when we could still imagine what might be or what could be and nothing seemed too far fetched, although the "cheese sandwich phone" and the "tomahawk phone" and not to mention the "shoe phone" from the early episodes are still to take off.

So it is with interest that I see the latest smart watch by Meta Watch looking to reinvigorate the arm band scene. Under 30 and you are likely not to wear a watch but get all your information from your mobile phone. The issue is, that quite often it's hidden in your bag or briefcase and as you fumble through your possessions the ringing stops. Or you really really want to look at a message during a meeting or conversation but can't make the obvious movement of reaching into your pocket or bag and turning on your phone to view it. As the smart phones get smarter, they seem to be putting on a bit of weight around the middle and that's another reason to consider the smart watch.

It's always handy dangling there at the end of your wrist and if you can do everything the same as a smart phone, then it becomes a consideration and if you really do need more, then combine it with a tablet in your bag. Rolex, Tag and Omega all subscribe to the old adage of "you don't buy a watch to tell the time" focusing on the brand equity of having one of their products on your wrist. The Meta Watch subscribes to the same adage but for reasons that include carrying around your music, photos, a camera and a myriad of apps to make your life easier.

I'm surprised that Apple hasn't fully utilised their Nano with the touch screen, making it smaller and putting it on a wrist band. It already does a power of work with music and photos, so why not adapt the iPad thinking and fill it with suitable apps? Regardless of what the new smart watches will look like, they will need to have smooth touch screen technology and no one does that better than the team at Apple.

Think about the possibilities, you could carry around a full payment facility and impress your secret agent friends by waving your wrist over the NFC device and paying for the coffees whenever you hunker down under that cone of silence. You could take those secretive photos and record spy goings on. All the while bopping along to your favourite tunes. Who needs to tell the time?

Max never had it so good.