Have you ever seen those spy movies where 007 can easily deploy a poison-tipped dart from his watch, call headquarters with the flick of his wrist, or snap a photo with his shiny little timepiece?
Glide brings your dreams of being a spy a little bit closer to reality with CMRA, the very first dual-camera HD watch band that incorporates a front and rear camera.
"Life's spontaneous moments happen fast and are easy to miss. Having a camera instantly accessible on the wrist makes capturing and sharing incredibly simple and convenient." – Ari Roisman, CEO of Glide
The CMRA's front-facing camera is located just above the top portion of your Apple Watch's screen, while the other camera faces outward for simple video and photo capture, and while the idea behind the CMRA is kind of cool, my mind can't help but race in regards to all the things that would go terribly wrong if I had a camera constantly attached to my wrist.
Watching Bond movies made me envious of his gadgets, but what if I accidentally deployed an explosive dart in my pants? What if I shot a grappling hook into someone's eye while checking the time for the next bus? (Side note: Do you think Bond takes the bus?)
Here are a couple of reasons why the CMRA is an incredibly cool little gadget… and a number of reasons why it gives me anxiety.
Five reasons why I would use this product every day
1. Creeps–B–Gone!
Ever been walking home alone at night and pretended to talk on your iPhone to avoid weirdos? Ever taken a shortcut through a back alley and thought, "Oh yeah, this is totally where I'm going to die"?
With the CMRA, you can now turn on your camera and start recording video straight from your watch. This is great for a number of reasons, one being that you can pretend you're chatting to someone as you walk so people won't mess with you, and two: if someone does drag you by your ankles into a sewer grate, your final moments will be captured on film and will hopefully help lead the police to arrest your murderer!
(Cella: 1. Killer sewer clowns: also 1, because they dragged me into the sewers and killed me).
2. Perfect pet portraits
Let's face it: pets have gotten smarter over the years. Some pets even know that when you aim your iPhone at them, it means you're taking a picture, and pets hate doing anything that requires them to stand still and look adorable like they just were for the past 30 minutes.
The CMRA is a great tool for sneakily snapping photos and videos of your pet without sticking a camera in their face. Plus, you can get some pretty great candid and up-close shots, taking your pet photography to the next level!
3. Social media game changer
Facebook Live streaming, Snapchat, Periscope… The number of potential BFFs the CMRA has when it comes to social media is pretty vast and super exciting!
You can use the CMRA to instantly capture photos and videos and share them to Twitter, Youtube, and Glide's visual messenger, direct from the Apple Watch app, which is a pretty huge game-changer for social media addicts.
Plus, by shooting your Snaps and Live feed from your Apple Watch, you're instantly 10 times sneakier than you would be with your phone, taking your sneak-level over 9,000.
4. See the world from a whole new perspective
To hop on the tail end of the previous point, shooting video and photos from your wrist is a lot different than sticking your iPhone in someone's face to capture your footage.
On a more serious note, being able to capture polarizing or even controversial images can be difficult and almost impossible nowadays, as people with cellphones are normally targeted first for attempting to record whatever event that may be taking place.
The CMRA allows users to discreetly capture the world around them, shifting the perspective of the people who later look at the footage. No longer is everyone focused on the person with the camera or the iPhone; they're simply reacting and being recorded on a device they don't even know is there.
5. Hang 'n' snap
Not to be confused with the Bend 'n' Snap from Legally Blonde, the Hang 'n' Snap is the ultimate alternative to the selfie-stick and the iPhone camera timer.
Simply hang your Apple Watch from any hook, nail, or vantage point, turn on the timer and capture your HD group shot from your watch band's 8-megapixel outward-facing camera or 2-megapixel self-facing camera.
RIP to bulky, space-wasting selfie sticks; hello to the CMRA!
(PS, it's unclear if the CMRA is waterproof or not, but with the new waterproof Series 2, how great would this thing be for underwater pictures?!)
Five reasons where using the CMRA could go terribly, terribly wrong
1. RIP my privacy: I didn't mean to take a photo of that
I can only imagine the amount of accidental, inappropriate photos that could be taken with the CMRA, and then if your iCloud account is linked with any other device besides your iPhone… Well, that might have the potential for a big fat mess.
Think of all the scandalous possibilities while you're in the washroom. All of the drunken nights at the club. Accidentally live-streaming in the middle of an argument with your significant other.
All of your intimate details are now captured with the help of your handy, dandy CMRA! Hooray for up-close and personal shots of your junk while you pee!
2. My arm is, like, really tired
One of the things CMRA is being pitched as being great for is the band's ability to make video calls and chatting easy, but what if your arm gets tired?
The front-facing camera is just above the Apple Watch's face, meaning that unless your wrist is completely twisted and facing you, there's no way to get a flattering angle for your video calls (the photo they have depicting a video call has a girl looking super pretty & head-on and not 31-chin-y, despite the woman's wrist clearly being angled lower).
If you have to hold your arm up the entire time during a video call, then, like, my arm is going to get sore. I know this for a fact. Plus, it has to be close to my face or they can't hear me, right?
So it's either get nice and close to chat at the proper volume and look like a human but have your arm cramp and fall off, or be comfy, but have your whole chat be muffled and have your face resemble that of those Slurm slugs from Futurama.
3. Here a creep, there a creep, everywhere a creep creep
Creeps are everywhere, and when things like upskirt photos and people snapping pictures of strangers are daily occurences, making something like CMRA can seem a bit… devious to some.
While the iPhone makes it sorta easy for people to snap pictures of unsuspecting bystanders, having something tiny like CMRA – that comes equipped with two cameras so you don't even need to move your wrist to change angles – can make creeps all the creepier.
Like most innovative new ideas, it only takes a few people to ruin it for absolutely everybody, right?
4. I can take pictures with my iPhone... so who cares?
Honestly, you can probably take some pretty sneaky and secretive pictures with your iPhone already: turn off the sound, disable the flash, and don't stick your phone in front of your face like you're a paparazzo clamouring for a piece of Kylie's butt.
Which makes the CMRA kind of, well, useless?
Sure, being able to shoot discreetly from your wrist is cool and everything, but how is it any different than using one hand to shoot a video with your iPhone? At least with your iPhone, you're only using one hand – with your CMRA, you have to use your wrist (which is attached to your hand, btw) and another hand to physically snap the photo, which isn't always the most inconspicuous.
5. Front-camera slug-lookin' blues
Have you ever opened up the webcam on your Mac or the front camera on your iPhone, and you see a slug monster staring back at you? Well that slug monster is actually (believe it or not) you, and that low angle snippet is now forever burned into your mind.
I can only imagine the unattractive angles CMRA will produce, especially since the front camera is in the perfect line of sight to shoot directly up your nostril to capture your 31 chins and slack-jawed face, you repugnant beast.
(Jk. Ur beautiful.)
So what do you think of the CMRA?
Whether you think the CMRA is the coolest Apple Watch accessory ever or the dumbest piece of wrist flare on the planet, you have to admit that the concept is kind of cool. Being able to snap a photo of almost anything you want so discretely is cool enough, but being able to do it in HD is a whole 'nother story.
Are you a fan of the CMRA? Do you think pairing something like this with your Apple Watch may compel you to pick up either piece of tech? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
