Smart watches the new smartphone?

Technology has evolved radically over the last 30 odd years.

In 1979 the portable music world was revolutionised with the invention of the Walkman, five years later the device was superseded by the release of the Discman.

And in 1997 the first MP3 hit shelves, with Apple releasing its ground-breaking iPod in 2001.

Since the noughties, technology development has picked up the pace, with tablets, smartphones and laptops flooding the market.

With such innovative modern designs, it is difficult to see how technology can be advanced further. However, a watch could become the next must-have product, if reports are anything to go by.

While smartphones are an all-in-one tool, capable of almost everything a computer can do, some companies have identified a market for hi-tech watches, Fairfax media reported.

The new product, being explored by Sony, Nike and Apple just to name a few, boasts a number of fancy functions - connecting to smartphones to provide snippets of information.

Extending much further than just a simple time telling capability, Sony's Smartwatch, released this year, displays Twitter posts and other bits of information on its two inch screen - extracting the material from a smartphone.

"The wrist becomes a remote screen where you now have the ability to control your phone with a number of different applications," Sony product marketing manager Stephen Sneeden explained about the innovative new product.

"By virtue of the intelligence of the smartphone, it's going to help redefine what goes on your wrist."

And while there are a number of different smart watches on the market, they all boast different capabilities, with the exception of one - a time function.

Nike's version of the smart watch measures how much energy the watch wearer exerts each day - connecting the information with the owner's phone.

The Motorola MotoACTV is the must-have watch for running enthusiasts, featuring a GPS to track routes, and calculating the amount of calories burned in a workout. The information is then uploaded, or connected to a smartphone through cloud technology.

Pebble has been tipped as a frontrunner in the emerging market, with the ability to play music, display weather and other information linked from a phone.

Hosain Rahman, of headset manufacturing company Jawbone, said the new wrist device was likely to resonate with consumers, balancing aesthetics with technology.

However, Mr Rahman said to become successful with the public the smart watches would have to be both functional and an expression of fashion.