Digital watches have been available since 1972

According to "Connected" report, next Monday, Apple is expected to announce more details about Apple Watch, the product is expected to bring wearable computing into the mainstream areas. However, prior to it, there were similar products on the market that had just been forgotten in the long river of history.

In 1972, Hamilton Watch announced the launch of a product called Pulsar Time Computer, which is essentially the first digital watch. The company’s vision for the development of the future watch can still be seen in advertisements of the year.

Of course, the so-called "time computer" is just a gimmick. The product does not even have the function of a calculator or address book, it can only be used to display time. However, given the size of the computer at the time, any idea of ​​wearing anything related to it on the wrist would only appear in the sci-fi plot. Similar to smart watches now equipped with various sensors, the "Pulsar" was said to be equipped with a brightness sensor that can adjust the LED according to the ambient light so that the user can always see the time in any situation.

The price of the product was as high as $2,100 that year, the same price as a Ford Zebra. The "Pulsar" even appeared on the wrist of Agent 007 in the 1973 Bond movie Life and Death.

However, it was not long before other technology companies flocked in. Formerly known as the Commodore 64 and the Amiga Computer, Kangda Computer Co. launched its own LED watch in 1975.

Other computer makers are not far behind. Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Sinclair have also launched similar products. "At the time, the watch market in the 1970s was like the rehearsal of the PC market in the 1980s," observed reporter Harry McCracken. "Suddenly, a large number of companies that previously focused on specialized scientific research and commercial equipment have entered the consumer electronics market."

The addition of a large number of competitors has reduced the price of digital watches from the original thousands of dollars to a few dollars in the late 1970s. Kansei, Hewlett-Packard and other companies have subsequently moved to the more lucrative PC market. Time flies, such as day and night, today's computer industry has once again focused attention on the watch.