Apple Watch

[Chocaholic]

Agree. Unless it's got about 250 intricate mechanical parts that winds while you move...all to simply tell you the time and date...no thanks.

I work for one of the companies that makes these (not Apple) and passed on the free one they gave employees. I see people in the office with one of these ridiculous things one one wrist, and their traditional watch on the other with an oversized phone in their hand. How many toys do people really need?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

It's a $1000 watch, at least for me. The 3rd iteration will be what I would need to make wearing a watch worthwhile and I think I'd prefer a pocket watch version, clip on belt loop, store in your pocket, retractable wire cable tether.

Should probably start making those now, Brooklyn hipsters would love it.

[jyl]

I am terrible at hacking photos, but . . .

[motion]

Originally Posted by on2wheels52

Why not just wait a bit more and get the implant?

If Apple makes one, I'm sure I'll get that, too. I've owned every product Apple has made since 1984, so I really have no choice but to buy a Watch.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

The watch is very cool to me in terms of the multitude of things they brought together. From rethinking the watch bands to how they use the crown. Pressure sensitive screen – really clever. The taptic engine I also like – the sensors are good for the fitness functions, but so clever to share a heartbeat. This is an innate personal connection delivered through technology. They way they interweave the device into your life is an approach that is very unique for a tech firm. It’s not speeds and feeds, it’s functionality -> expressed as desire. From the opening very cool video to the end, you want one. Then as you digest the limitations, size, etc. and try to be clinical about why it’s no big deal, somewhere inside you want one. That’s the magic that Samsung or Microsoft will never get.

LOL.

So tell us what don't you like about it With that single post Don has knocked Richard off the Apple Fan boy #1 perch

Originally Posted by nostatic

Zero interest at this point. If anything I want less digital intrusion in my life. ... The apple watch - just another screen.

+1 Since I started carrying around a mobile phone the traditional watch lost all value to me...but then it was strictly a function accessory to me.

I get how many folks are interested in logging their daily activities and uploading to the web how many miles they walked, calories burned, and their max heart BPM achieved. I must be in the minority but the last thing I need in my life is another device alerting me to the fact that I'm not achieving maximum output. YMMV.

[Z-man]

In the not-so-distant past, Apple brought to market things that people didn't even know they needed or wanted, such as the smartphone and the tablet. Steve Jobs would whip out a new Apple product, describe the product, and people would say "Wow - why didn't I think of that? I want that! I need that!!"

Love it or hate it, Apple had the knack of creating products and entire markets of products before consumers even thought about needing or wanting them.

While the smart watch (Samsung Gear / Pebble, Apple Watch) is a natural progression of technology, it is neither revolutionary, nor necesary. Sure, the techies and the first adopters will flock it it -- but I believe it will not have the same impact that the previous Apple products had. For example: my 80 year old mom loves her iPad, and uses it all the time. Before that, she never had any desire to learn/use/engage in any computer related things -- not even an ATM machine! Will she want a smartwatch? I seriously doubt it.

Apple brought the smartwatch to market because they need to have a product in that emerging market - and in typical Apple fashion, they seem to have made a better product than the competition. However, they did not invent a new market or technology, and the Apple watch certainly does not have the same "I need one! I want one!" buzz that used to be associated with Apple stuff.

Maybe the Apple watch and all other smartwatches will evolve and become the next big tech thing. Or maybe it will go the way of the 3-D HDTV's. My bet is on the latter.

Has Apple lost its vision for the future? Or maybe has this technology evolved to a point where it has reached the law of diminishing returns? Personally, I think it will take some time before a tech company (Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, ??) brings to market the next big tech thing. Until then, enjoy your smartwatch.


-Z-man.

[motion]

Or, it might be their new gateway product. Apparently, the iPod is nearly dead.

[bivenator]

I couldn't tolerate having that giant thing on my wrist. After not having worn a watch in over a decade they feel more like handcuffs when I have put them on recently.

[jyl]

Think of the progression of computer and communication technology.

Computers and telephones used to be tied to your desk: you went to a fixed place in your home or office, and sat down to use them.

In the 1980s and 1990s they moved to your briefcase: you carried them around on your shoulder, found a place to sit down and used them.

In the 1990s and 2000s they merged into one device and moved to your pocket: you carry it in your purse or pocket, take it out and hold it in one or both hands to use.

The step being taken in the 2010s is to move to something you wear on your wrist (or your forehead i.e. glasses): you don't need a pocket to hold them, and don't need to hold anything in your hands to use them.

The limitations of technology mean this transition will take time, just as it took time to go from laptop and briefcase phone to smartphone. There were intermediate steps along the way - brick phone, flip phone, palmtop, etc.

The current smartwatches are an intermediate step, because they can't fit all the tech into such a small package, the watches are still a peripheral to a main unit (the smartphone). Google Glass is trying a bigger leap, being a standalone unit, but the technology may not be quite ready for that.

In 10 years, we may no longer carry smartphones in our pockets.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by jyl

I am terrible at hacking photos, but . . .

At the expected resolution, 350x350, I guarantee it will not look that good.

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

LOL.

So tell us what don't you like about it With that single post Don has knocked Richard off the Apple Fan boy #1 perch

I used to sell IBM PC XT/AT in the mid 80's; For my day job, Microsoft is our largest customer; Our production platform is all Microsoft and we just migrated the platform to the Azure cloud. So I'm not a blind fan-boy.

I use Apple products where I touch the technology and how I use it in my daily life. I'm big on surrounding myself with products that are pleasing to my eye and touch - like my 993, Cayenne, Japanese art, etc.

To answer your question, since the details are sparse I really don't know what I don't like about it yet. I fear it is too large for my skinny wrist; daily charging is a bit of a hassle. I'm sure there are other shortcomings - like my first 512K Fat Mac compared with my MacBook Pro/iPad/iPhone. So (aside from the personal aging it implies), I can't wait to see the Apple Watch in 2035.

I stand behind my original point: Apple makes products that people somehow innately want. Clearly, not everybody. But enough people to make it the most valuable company on the planet today. Capitalism tends to trump emotion, wouldn't you say.

[Chocaholic]

But the charismatic aura provided by it's leader is no more. That aura remains in an ever-diminishing fashion as many expected. So will go Apple.

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

But the charismatic aura provided by it's leader is no more. That aura remains in an ever-diminishing fashion as many expected. So will go Apple.

I agree that Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs. His excitement feels contrived/forced. I'm sure he's proud, but I doubt it burns in him like Mr. Jobs.

What Cook did with Apple supply chain logistics and manufacturing is where the real rubber meets the road in terms of running a company. But category-changing, visionary products come from a real visionary leader, and without knowing the details behind the curtain, I'm also left uncertain.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

LOL.

So tell us what don't you like about it With that single post Don has knocked Richard off the Apple Fan boy #1 perch

ROFL, no kidding.

I see nothing revolutionary here. Evolutionary, yes. But frankly I'm more impressed by -- not interested in -- the Moto 360.

This thing will not sell more iPhones.

And not every iPhone owner will buy one.

Further prognostication is left as an exercise for the reader.

[flipper35]

The battery life kills it for me.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/apple-watch-will-last-about-a-day-be-water-resistant/

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by jyl

In the 1990s and 2000s they merged into one device and moved to your pocket: you carry it in your purse or pocket, take it out and hold it in one or both hands to use.

The step being taken in the 2010s is to move to something you wear on your wrist (or your forehead i.e. glasses): you don't need a pocket to hold them, and don't need to hold anything in your hands to use them.

Counterpoint: Pockets and purses are not going away anytime soon. So the need to eliminate the 'shortcomings' of a product that requires a pocket or purse (or armband for the atheletes out there) isn't a big selling point.

You can argue that you free up pocket space with the smartwatch - but for what purpose?
- To put money in there instead? No - you will be using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or some other NFC technology.
- To put your keys in your pocket? No - your smartphone will have the ability to unlock your house and car doors, and start your car.
- To put notes in your pocket? No - all smartphones have digital notepads.

So a smartwatch will eliminate the need for a pocket - but unless you are part of a nudist colony, your pocket won't be going anywhere soon... So to me, this argument holds no lint (but my pocket does!!)

-Z-man.

[herr_oberst]

As a cyclist, I see a market for something like this...I don't even own a smartphone, or a cycling-specific garmin but scads of cyclists do... and to be able to wear your gps and download the results to the tether later that day is going to be big for a lot of people. Will cycling sustain the market for this product? Who knows, probably not, but I never would have predicted the success of the ipod, the iphone, (the Nike Fuelband and it's copycat products)- I hope it finds success, I think the concept is tres cool.

And frankly, to compare the esthetic of this to the Samsung is ridiculous. The Samsung looks comical. The apple just looks like a modern watch - 43mm is not that large at all for a wristwatch in this day and age.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by flipper35

The battery life kills it for me.

Apple Watch will last

OK, so it is IP54. They SAY you can run in rain with it. But the iPhone is also IP54, and people working out can activate the moisture indicator ~ voided warranty.

IP Code - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You really want a WORKOUT watch which you can't get wet? Deal breaker.

[enzo1]

2 sizes: 38 & 42, water "resistant"....

[red-beard]

Here is another shot: