How long have we been complaining smartwatches don't have any proper mapping apps? (Okay, since 9 September, 2013 precisely.) Well no more! Garmin has made one.
Shown to Wired.co.uk in a live demo at Mobile World Congress, the Garmin Xperia Edition app for Sony's Xperia Z2 smartphone will come with a tiny extension app for the phone's compatible SW2 smartwatch.
The concept needs little explanation: whatever map and plotted route a user has loaded onto the phone-based app appears on the smartwatch's display. Phone in pocket, one need only glance at the watch to check one is on course.
It works for walking and cycling navigation only (the full phone app supports driving directions), and it's not strictly real-time -- the simple interface displays your position, orientation and route on a detailed map, but a tap of an on-screen refresh button is required to force the watch to update your current location via Bluetooth from a connected phone. This is to preserve battery life.
But it means walkers who know they're on the correct pavement but need to check if they're right-hand turn is coming up soon need only glance at their wrist.
A Garmin spokesperson giving Wired.co.uk a demo confirmed the smartwatch app would be a free download, but would only be available for the Xperia Z2 phone at launch in March. Availability on other Xperia devices will appear at a later date but the spokesperson would not confirm when.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
