"Smart" watches? I'm not getting the hype....

[RichB]

Foliage said:

Current phones are imho too big and they are getting bigger.

Indeed. I can't get over the fact that my current Blackberry is larger than my Nokia from 10 years ago. iPhones are even larger. I think the break through will be with fold out/flexible screens so you can make a small device with a fold out screen for when you want to read something.

[beanbag]

There's a pretty mixed opinion but I hazard a guess it's more a trend thing that will inevitably not be for mainstream consumers. I just can't see it exploding with popularity!

I do see how it could be useful for sports. Running, tracking movement, swimming, like a Garmin watch, but why not just buy a Garmin? They already exist and do the job well.

I'm still perplexed by the obsession and the point of these.

[BluePurpleRed]

It needs to discreet for me... I like this

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/7/5477768/gabor-bal...

Its obv a concept but something like this I could get on with.

[R6VED]

Craikeybaby said:

I've yet to see the point in a smart watch and can't see people with expensive watches suddenly stopping to wear them to replace it with a smart watch.

And this is the problem for me. I love watches and have a few mid range ones (£300-£400) but then i went and bought one at a lot more than that, I never wear any of my other watches as they just don't measure up.

I can't see myself swapping a Rolex for a £200ish digital nasty.

For people with less interest in watches than I (most people I expect) they will take off massively. All the kids will be wearing them within 12 months.

[Variomatic]

beanbag said:

I'm still perplexed by the obsession and the point of these.

That's the easy part.

Phones are so capable now that there's really not much development left in them. This is a little different to the invention of, say, the iPod, because a modern Android or similar phone can basically do everything you need in today's "connected" society. Even a cheap smartphone will give you facebook, twitter, email, GPS / satnav, music, photos, video and so on at a quality and speed that rivals or beats dedicated devices of a few years ago.

So the Marketing departments need something new for us to never know we needed, like having all that functionality without even getting your phone out of your pocket.

And enough people fall for it that it's worth their while.

[Podie]

schmunk said:

Hoofy said:

Problem is that many people have multiple watches and like to swap them around for whatever reason. I might only wear this watch for 2-3 days in a row then put it down for a week. Next time I pick it up, I'd have to charge it up before using it. That'd make it worse than a mechanical wind up.

My emphasis, of course.

How many? I'll wager not many at all.

And for those who do, how about a modern version of the Pop Swatch?

Re charging, inclusion of an induction coil in the watch will make it easy to just leave it charging on the nightstand until next use.

Random sample of 10 in my office:

1 doesn't wear a watch
2 people have one watch
7 people have more than one watch

[Snubs]

I didn't get the hype originally either. But the more i think about it, the more i conclude that....

I was thinking about it in terms of only wearing a smart watch from here on i.e. not wearing my mechanical watches again. But i wear the watches i have depending on what I'm doing. For example, if I'm playing sports after work I'll wear an £8 Casio, but if I'm going out to dinner I'll wear a dress watch.

Thinking about it in those terms, i think there are certainly days when having a smart watch would be useful and I'd have no reservations about using it. If they bundle them in with mobile phones (hopefully keeping the cost down) it would be a handy piece of kit from time to time.

[Variomatic]

Not forgetting, of course, that in strict terms "smart watch" s a complete misnomer for the current generation of them. In computing terms they're actually dumb terminals for a smart phone - little more than a teletyper connected to your mainframe in the old days.

But I guess even less people would buy a "dumb watch"

[schmunk]

Podie said:

schmunk said:

Hoofy said:

Problem is that many people have multiple watches and like to swap them around for whatever reason. I might only wear this watch for 2-3 days in a row then put it down for a week. Next time I pick it up, I'd have to charge it up before using it. That'd make it worse than a mechanical wind up.

My emphasis, of course.

How many? I'll wager not many at all.

And for those who do, how about a modern version of the Pop Swatch?

Re charging, inclusion of an induction coil in the watch will make it easy to just leave it charging on the nightstand until next use.

Random sample of 10 in my office:

1 doesn't wear a watch
2 people have one watch
7 people have more than one watch

Well, looking out of my window at a pseudo-random sample of around 200 'people who walked past my window just now', I'd estimate that about 60-70% of people aren't wearing watches. Then again, perhaps they're not the target market. (or perhaps they are!)

Edited by schmunk on Thursday 24th July 13:10

[sideways sid]

FWIW, I took the plunge and the novelty wore off after it rang the first time!

The idea of leaving a 5-inch screen in my jacket pocket, but having notification of text messages was appealing, along with various watch face options.

In practice, if you want to respond to a text you get the phone out anyway, the display is invisible in sunshine, and the watch rings when someone calls, rendering you shouting at your watch, and those around you hearing both sides of the conversation, which is just stupid.

I suspect once the manufacturers have ironed out the problems, &/or developers have built better apps, they'll be fun, but I also prefer having a 'proper' watch on my wrist.

[adaptive]

I joined the kickstart for this "smart" watch

http://momentsmartwatch.com/en/home-3/

[ali355]

I must admit I fell for the hype and had to have a pebble steel when it was released- and for a while, especially at work it really was useful- checking who was calling or the contents of a text discretely in a meeting really did come in handy, and 4/5 days for a charge was a lot better than I was expecting. But after a few weeks the novelty wore off, and now its been relegated to the watch box. It was fun for a while but it will probably be on Ebay soon enough to fund a nice Alpha Daytona- the functionality isn't enough to justify the compromises you have to make when compared to a proper watch, and until the build quality is improved drastically and it has a use above a handful of situations, I cant see me buying another one.

[deejuic]

Craikeybaby said:

I'm a bit of a geek, and like having the latest gadgets, but I still like a mechanical watch. I've yet to see the point in a smart watch and can't see people with expensive watches suddenly stopping to wear them to replace it with a smart watch.

I agree, but what about this? https://kairoswatches.com/

Good battery like, nice looking and mechanical. Not cheap, but a great idea I think.

[sneijder]

el stovey said:

Apple will make a smart watch and everyone (me included probably) will wonder how they ever got by without it.

I'm leaning towards one too. I don't even know what it looks like.

Like it or not, if you have the slightest interest in watches, this could be as big as the quartz revolution.

I'm really wondering how watch makers will view it, there are already some players who've been employed by Apple.

Omega etc. have had official apps for iOS and Android, surely they're looking at how much (or if they would) sell an official skin for a smart watch.

I haven't checked, but I'd imagine the Swatch group will have a killer SMART watch out at some point, they've got some brands to throw at it too, but at what cost to the brand ?

It's all well to throw up an 'I don't even have a Facebook' approach to this, but you'll be left behind.

As per the quartz onslaught a generation past, there will always be a place for a mechanical timepiece in a gentlemans sock drawer, as we all know it's the only permissible piece of jewellery to be worn.

[PJ S]

sneijder said:

el stovey said:

Apple will make a smart watch and everyone (me included probably) will wonder how they ever got by without it.

I'm leaning towards one too. I don't even know what it looks like.

Doesn't stop people from thinking it's fantastic and really liking some of its features……

http://youtu.be/v9JQsXPd41U?t=1m39s – headlights at 2:29. Not judging, just saying, but they seem to be well suited to each other!

[wombleh]

Podie said:

Not sure it will help phone battery, as they all appear to require bluetooth to be on.

They do yes, but Bluetooth has fairly low power needs even if it is running and connected all the time. Not sure on the figures but does sound like it outweighs the screen power usage as some of the smart-watch user reviews talk about better battery life.

Some interesting pieces posted above, I like the look of the Balogh design but not sure how well the controls would work with just the bezel and 3 buttons. Some kind of swype-style keyboard on the face would be good.

[272BHP]

Not worth commenting on this until Apple show their hand, people dismissed digital music players, touch screen phones and tablets before and how foolish does that look now.

As above though, Mechanical watches will always be here and will always be the aspirational choice.

[DUMBO100]

I think that we might see some partnership between Apple and the leading manufacturers of premium watches. Vertu phones seem to own that market maybe Rolex, Breitling or Omega will adopt a similar strategy

[anonymous-user]

I quite like some of the 'iwatch' mock ups google images throws up.

I've only ever really worn mechanical watches as an adult but I'd certainly get one if it looked as good as some of the designs I've seen.