Tim Cook Announcing The Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is out and there’s already comparisons being run against other products of a similar vein such as Galaxy Gear S, Sony Smartwatch 3, and the ASUS ZenWatch. It’s certainly been a few years of wearable watches—but how does the Apple Watch compare to its fictional precursors? Science fiction writers have had a love affair with the idea of wearable technology for quite some time, in fact, one particular policeman had a two-way TV radio in the 1960, long before the first smartwatch ever hit the market.

Read below for a feature list for the Apple Watch and see how it stacks up against the Pip-Boy 3000 from Vault-Tec, Dick Tracy’s two-way TV wristwatch, the wrist communicator from The Jetsons, and Penny’s video watch from Inspector Gadget.

The Apple Watch (circa 2015 C.E.)

The Apple Watch is a glittering piece of technology that fashions all the comforts of a mobile devices into a very small screen, able to be worn on the wrist and designed to connect with other smart devices, such as the iPhone 6 in order to extend its capabilities.

This mobile device will be available early 2015, but here’s what we know about its specifications so far. It comes in two sizes 38mm and 42mm in height—approximately 1.5” and 1.7” perfect for wearing on the wrist. High resolution screen with a pressure sensitive face capable of discerning between a tap, press, and a sweep. Haptic feedback is available via the Taptic Engine, delivering a pulse, thump, or other sensation to the wrist and finger.

It also comes with a suite of sensors such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, a heartbeat monitor, and a barometer. The device is also capable of connecting with your iPhone 6 and sharing information from its sensors, as well as other Apple devices, allowing it to extend the reach of its knowledge of the environment and you.

The battery is expected to last about 11 hours (or around a full day of use, depending on source). It can connect to other devices via BlueTooth or NFC and with wireless networks via Wi-Fi a/b/g protocols.

The watch has an expected price tag starting at $349 after its release in 2015.

You can’t buy any of the devices listed below and some of them obviously outperform the Apple Watch, although (especially in the case of the Pip-Boy 3000) the Apple Watch does seem considerably more comfortable than many of its fictional predecessors.

The Pip-Boy 3000 (Fallout series)

The Pip-Boy 3000 is part of the Vault Dweller experience and is given to every young adult upon their coming of age. A piece of technology developed to make comfort and entertainment during the apocalypse that makes the best of the Vault-Tec ensemble of devices. You can get to know more about the Pip-Boy and its series by playing the Fallout series of video games.

The Vault-Tec Corporation prides itself in the best possible technology and garuntees the long-term functioning of all equipment and clothing produced in its lines. Below is a short list of the features a citizen of a Vault-Tec vault can expect from the Pip-Boy 3000.

The screen on the Pip-Boy is a cathode-ray tube in the style of the Ultra-Modern Super-Deluxe weighing in at 8” as to keep its weight down but visibility up. With the Vault-Tec patented low-emission radioactive isotope battery, the PB3000 has a near infinite battery life and can be expected to last through the generations.

The Pip-Boy features a panoalpy of sensors useful to any citizen living within a vault deep below the Earth’s surface or wandering the nuclear wastelands including a Geiger counter,  a complete health monitor (with medical application capabilities), a dosimeter, compass, and a karma meter.

Users of the Pip-Boy stay connected through a two-way radio and an adaptive wireless system that can connect to virtually any modern WiFi network.

As for features, the Pip-Boy can provide all the comforts of home away from home with a full intelligence suite. Wearers can take advantage of GPS, a local mapping system, a flashlight-mode, daily planner, automatic task tracker, log book, text messenger, enough storage capacity to store the entire 2077 Library of Congress contents (twice), read holotapes, a life diary, and a biometric lock.

Dick Tracy video watch (Dick Tracy comic strip)

“Calling, Dick Tracy! Come in, Dick Tracy!”

The two-way wrist TV is the newest application in 1960’s technology to better inform and connect our police forces. While this little gem of tech is not available to the public yet—patents pending for military and police use only—we can still speak to the power and durability of this mobile device. For those not familiar, the TV wristwatch is a staple of the Dick Tracy comic strip series that started in 1931, created by Chester Gould.

The two-way television wristwatch is the next obvious evolution from the two-way radio wristwatch previously worn by our boys in blue that was used with great panache. The original wristwatch, forged by such brands as Rolex and Casio, was developed in 1946, had prototypes that were unworldly and heavy. Only recently have vacuum tube companies miniaturized a television CRT for use in the current model, which is police-issue only (civilian versions are expected to hit the market in the late 1950s.)

The two-way TV watch sports a small, 2.5” screen barely larger than the average adult man’s wrist and uses the usual police radio band in order to keep the good Coppers of the United States in touch and on the heels of crime. The unit can contact other two-way receivers or connect to the main police station with dispatchers standing by or connect to the regular telephone network so that our boys in blue are never more than a click away.

This particular device (although fictional) has informed expectations of smartwatches and wearable devices all the way into the 21st century. And (although nobody has gotten it quite right yet) we’re still waiting for the technology to come of age for consumer use—meanwhile, you can get the specs by reading the police blotter or catching up on the adventures of Dick Tracy.

Wrist video communicator (The Jetsons cartoon)

In the free-wheeling 21st century where videophones, household robots, and apartments that can be lifted above the clouds there is no better way to stay in touch with loved-ones than a wearable video communicator. This communicator developed in concert with Spaceley’s Space Sprokets provides all the strengths of a full size video communicator that can be worn on your wrist!

Little is known about this device, as seen in the American animated sitcom The Jetsons produced by Hanna-Barbera, except for what we’ve seen on screen through a lens into the future: the amazing 21st century.

It appears to be a transforming mobile device capable of shrinking itself down to a mere band on the wrist when not in use. When in use, the screen pops up to around 5” and can provide two-way video communication. It appears to support a high gain multi-ring antenna and is capable of providing coverage almost anywhere in the world. Similar devices that use “ultrafrequency” still pending with cooperation with Cogswell’s Cosmic Cogs.

Penny’s video wristwatch (Inspector Gadget cartoon)

Every youngster is envious of the ability to connect with friends without adults finding out, but one particularly genius little girl invented her own communication set that allows her to talk to her…dog? Popularized in the French-Canadian-American animated comedy Inspector Gadget, Penny Brown apparently developed her own set of spy gear—including a video communicator worn on her wrist.

Since this technology is not available to the public it’s hard to say what went into its development. However, from what we’ve seen it uses an early form of flat-screen CRT technology, fits snugly but comfortably on the wrist, and provides enough bandwidth to provide a crisp image and voice. The radio in this communicator is strong enough even to send and receive from the bottom of the sea.

Image credit: Apple, Inc. https://www.apple.com/watch/features/; Bethesda Softworks LLC, Fallout 3, http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Pip-Boy_3000; Sony Wonder (Video), 2006 DVD cover for Dick Tracy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dicktracy1961cartoon.jpg; DIC Entertainment, Penny from Inspector Gadget, http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/D/DiC_Entertainment/