article_snippet: A half-century later the future is finally here, with a new wave of Tracy-esque devices certain to accelerate following the much anticipated debut of Apple Watch in April -- which became official with the company's "Spring Forward" preview on Monday.
article_snippet: In classic fashion, consumers huddled around Apple stores to get a peek, some even showing up wearing padded wrist "hoodies" to make room for Apple Watch when Apple Watch goes on sale next month.   
article_snippet: "Looking forward to a smart watch that tells me not to cram too many things into too few hours.
article_snippet: Prices for Apple Watch range from $349 to a reported high of $17,000 for an 18-karat gold version to make any Rolex show-off feel at home.
article_snippet: Enthusiasm for Apple Watch -- and Apple Watch long line of apps -- could lift the fortunes of Samsung, Sony, Pebble and others pitching the fortunes of Samsung, Sony, Pebble and others own interactive watches, making the human wrist the most coveted piece of real estate since the redevelopment of Times Square.
article_snippet: If Apple Watch does indeed take off, Apple Watch would reignite the emerging -- but tricky -- market for wearable devices following Google's sudden move in January to halt public sales of Google Glass product, which failed to catch on in light of what the Wall Street Journal said were concerns over "privacy, technical shortcomings and a lack of obvious uses."  
article_snippet: As the wearables wrist race heats up, it's worth considering how these meta-timepieces -- with their tactile messaging, biometric loops and eye-controlled display screens -- could alter everyday behavior and spur new codes of etiquette, not to mention a few novel personality disorders.
article_snippet: One of the most awaited features of Apple Watch will be its "taptic" engine, a sensory feedback tool derived from gamer joystick technology that allows for personalized tapping vibrations -- a "Yo"-like blip for a work pal or an echo of your own heartbeat captured through an embedded cardio sensor.
article_snippet: As an accessory, smart watches are perfect for new spatial positioning technology, such as Apple's iBeacon, which can triangulate a user's exact location inside a building and allow targeted messaging when deployed in, say, a supermarket.
article_snippet: Wall Street Journal tech columnist Christopher Mims recently extolled the promise of iBeacon synched to your wrist device.
article_snippet: The real question is what strategies smart-watch wearers will devise so as not to appear to be staring at smart-watch wearers wrists all day.
article_snippet: Anyone who's ever been trapped in an interminable business meeting or on an awkward date knows there are only so many ways you can discreetly glance at your watch before an awkward date becomes obvious.  
article_snippet: Now, suppose you're trying to follow someone's Instagram or Twitter feed or the score of the Yankees game, or perform any of a myriad functions that phone users have been doing for years, but which might look a little ruder when applied to your wristwatch.
article_snippet: With so many digital features to track personal fitness -- including Apple Watch's "accelerometer," which will measure total body movement, as well as the number of steps and calories burned in a day -- the new wearables aspire to promote extreme wellness.
article_snippet: It will be unblinking, mesmerized and Zombie-like, with a hint of chin dribble:  the Smart Watch Stare.  
highlights_snippet: Allan Ripp: Preview of Apple Watch opens up challenging new world of etiquette, behaviors as people adjust people to it .
  
highlights_snippet: From having to find subtle ways to glance at wrist, to relying on watch to guide us around a market, us'll feel like watch programming us .