Happy 2014! There is no better day to launch a new website than January 1st, so we're doing just that. Today we welcome Smartwatch Fans to the Mobile Nations family!!
We're incredibly excited to launch SmartwatchFans.com. We actually entered 2013 thinking it was the year we needed to go beyond phones and build a new "connected accessories" community to join the ranks of Android Central, CrackBerry, iMore and Windows Phone Central. As we discussed throughout Talk Mobile 2013, mobile is about so much more than just phones these days. The problem is, with the "internet of things" growing so big, so fast and penetrating into every area of life, it's really hard to define the scope of where a new community like that would begin and end. As we've learned over the years, a successful tech community needs a focus.
Just as Mobile Nations was there at the beginning of the smartphone era over a decade ago, we've been part of the modern smartwatch era since its earliest beginnings too
With 2013 winding down and no new site launched yet, it was actually CrackBerry's Managing Editor Adam Zeis who lost patience with the indecisiveness and took the initiative and got the ball rolling with Smartwatch Fans. Thinking on it now, it was really a no brainer that our next community be focused on smartwatches. It just makes so much sense.
Just as Mobile Nations was there at the beginning of the smartphone era over a decade ago, we've been part of the modern smartwatch era since its earliest beginnings too. Most pundits look at Pebble's amazing Kickstarter debut in 2012 as the starting shot that set off the smartwatch race we're witnessing now. In reality, Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble, was working on a version years earlier called the inPulse Smartwatch. And it was back on CrackBerry in 2009 that we worked with Eric to bring the first photos of the inPulse smartwatch to the world. Like I said, we've been thinking about smartwatches at Mobile Nations since the beginning. And even more important, we already have a bunch of watch fanatics on the team across our existing sites. We just needed a place to all get together.
Adam Zeis gets the honors of being Chief Smartwatch Fan and will be managing the daily beat on the blogs. With a lot of smartwatch fans on the team, you can also expect to see regular contributions from your other favorite Mobile Nations personalities. Expect to see many new faces too!
The site is already off to a great start and the forums are buzzing, so be sure to drop by SmartwatchFans.com and say hello!
Grand Opening Contest - Win a FREE Smartwatch of your choice from Smartwatch Fans!
In true Mobile Nations fashion, to celebrate the launch of Smartwatch Fans we're kicking things off proper by holding a contest to win a free smartwatch of your choice. To enter, all you need to do is visit the contest post at the link below and tell us which smartwatch you'd like to win!
Take note, if you're already a member of Android Central, CrackBerry, iMore or Windows Phone Central, you can login to Smartwatch Fans with your existing username and info. If you're already logged in to one of our other sites, just jump over and click Login and you'll be registered on the fly. It's that easy.
