Apple watch who's getting one?

[qube_TA]

I can't think of a single application for it however after seeing the promotional film for it I thought it could be a fascinating and clever piece of technology so will probably get one.

Maybe by the time it arrives I'd have found a use for my iPad too.

[clonmult]

Yamahadivvyrider said:

I don't think it has a SIM card.it links up to the phone.my main reason for wanting one is it'll makeva decent hands free for the car. And bike..

Well that's what I told her beloved

Edited by Yamahadivvyrider on Tuesday 30th September 13:55

Some people will believe anything .... the watch as a handsfree? She believed that? Blimey, she's a keeper!

[qube_TA]

That's how it works, it's not a phone, just an iPhone extender.

It has functionality without the phone but needs to be in range of your phone to work fully

[vescaegg]

Yamahadivvyrider said:

£400 is my limit if I do get one.just seen the rrp on the edition £2500 ouch

Ridiculous money for the higher ones.

Especially as itll require updates which will slow it down to the point of being unusable; one thing which doesnt happen with a normal watch.

Id want a fairly water tight guarantee that wouldnt happen; if I was buying one, which im not, becuase they are fk ugly.

[Esseesse]

FourWheelDrift said:

First public appearance of the iWatch - http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/30/apple-watch-fi...

Is this the market they are aiming it at?

Yes, it's not a smart watch (it's not an iWatch either). The iPhone has never been referred to as a smart phone by Apple either.

[Esseesse]

vescaegg said:

Yamahadivvyrider said:

£400 is my limit if I do get one.just seen the rrp on the edition £2500 ouch

Ridiculous money for the higher ones.

Especially as itll require updates which will slow it down to the point of being unusable; one thing which doesnt happen with a normal watch.

Id want a fairly water tight guarantee that wouldnt happen; if I was buying one, which im not, becuase they are fk ugly.

Perhaps the internals are upgradeable? Perhaps Apple will offer a trade in? The Gold one is not Gold plated.

[Esseesse]

[redacted]

[ZesPak]

Esseesse said:

The Apple Watch is not a 'smart watch' is one of the more important things about it.

Wow. Hold the press... What?
Do you mind explaining what that means and if it's not a 'smart watch', what is it?
I know it's an extension of the iPhone, but nearly all so called "smart watches" we have now are just that, extensions of a "smart phone".

Or am I missing a trick here as to how the Apple watch is, as much as we know now, different to for example the Moto 360?

Smart watches aren't for me I guess, the Galaxy Gear is imho an overly complicated thing that's confused to what it is (having a camera, mic, speaker,...). The Moto 360 on the other hand seems a lot better thought out and I think the Apple Watch will be closer to that concept, I'll be curious to see when either comes out.
Any word on compatibility with what phone? Will it work with my 4S?

[Esseesse]

ZesPak said:

Any word on compatibility with what phone? Will it work with my 4S?

iPhone 5 and up IIRC.

[XJSJohn]

Debaser said:

XJSJohn said:

why can't they make a kinetic generator into the watch that could at least provide trickle charge to the battery ??

© XJSJOHN 2014

Seiko have had watches on sale for years with that technology (well, almost - I think they use a capacitor rather than a battery).

Exactly, and a capacitor could charge a battery .....

Vanya, what image, i dont even have an iPhone ????

Morningside, indeed an iwk .....

[Esseesse]

ZesPak said:

Wow. Hold the press... What?
Do you mind explaining what that means and if it's not a 'smart watch', what is it?
I know it's an extension of the iPhone, but nearly all so called "smart watches" we have now are just that, extensions of a "smart phone".

Gruber said:

In short, Apple is taking on the entire hundred-dollar-and-up watch industry at once, with a range of models and prices that span the gamut from $349 to $10,000 or more. They never even mentioned the word “smartwatch” last week, just “watch”, and never once even acknowledged any competition from the tech industry. (Nor does the word “smartwatch” appear anywhere on Apple’s website.) The only comparisons Apple is making are to the traditional watch industry, and their prices are going to reflect that, I believe.

When the prices of the steel and (especially) gold Apple Watches are announced, I expect the tech press to have the biggest collective st-fit in the history of Apple-versus-the-standard-tech-industry st-fits. The utilitarian mindset that asks “Why would anyone waste money on a gold watch?” isn’t going to be able to come to grips with what Apple is doing here. They’re going to say that Jony Ive and Tim Cook have lost their minds. They’re going to wear out their keyboards typing “This never would have happened if Steve Jobs were alive.” They’re going to predict utter and humiliating failure. In short, they’re going to mistake Apple for Vertu.

http://daringfireball.net/2014/09/apple_watch

[ZesPak]

[redacted]

[vescaegg]

Charging a phone every night is one thing. Charging a watch though?

And no GPS is a massive balls up. Means you can't go running / do exercise without taking your phone for it to be paired up to. What's the point of the sports straps/angle if you need your phone on you?

It doesn't do anything useful that I can work out.

As usual with Apple, version 2 or 10 may address these things.

[ManFromDelmonte]

It's a stupid gadget for stupid people. Even less useful than an iPad and that is saying something.

[vescaegg]

ManFromDelmonte said:

It's a stupid gadget for stupid people. Even less useful than an iPad and that is saying something.

I haven't used my laptop more than a handful of times in the 2 years since I got my iPad.

[qube_TA]

vescaegg said:

ManFromDelmonte said:

It's a stupid gadget for stupid people. Even less useful than an iPad and that is saying something.

I haven't used my laptop more than a handful of times in the 2 years since I got my iPad.

I bought the Missus an iPad, she used it daily until I got a Macbook. Now the iPad only gets used if I'm on the laptop and she wants to check something. She usually moaned about it hurrying me up so she could use a 'proper computer' so bought another Macbook and the iPad just sits in a drawer. She loves her iPhone though, always fiddling with it.

An iPad for me is all the limitations of a smart phone without it being a phone or a computer. With a laptop it'll happily sit on your lap enabling you to type with both hands, on a tablet you have to hold it to stop it dropping on the floor, then you're operating and typing on it with one hand. I find it a pointless compromise and I still need a computer to have all my stuff on so it doesn't really work on its own. A bit like the new Apple Watch.

[ManFromDelmonte]

vescaegg said:

I haven't used my laptop more than a handful of times in the 2 years since I got my iPad.

Without getting this horribly off topic, the things that kill the iPad and other tablets for me is that firstly, they don't actually replace a laptop for all tasks so you do still need one and secondly, a lot of the stuff people do on them can be done just as well on an iPhone or other smartphone which almost everyone who has one seems to own already.

For almost everyone a Macbook Air would be a far better (admittedly more expensive) device.

Anyway, back to the useless watches.

[Foliage]

vescaegg said:

Charging a phone every night is one thing. Charging a watch though?

And no GPS is a massive balls up. Means you can't go running / do exercise without taking your phone for it to be paired up to. What's the point of the sports straps/angle if you need your phone on you?

It doesn't do anything useful that I can work out.

As usual with Apple, version 2 or 10 may address these things.

I agree completely, it should be a phone substitute (note i didnt say replacement) so should have gps & sim card

[Esseesse]

ZesPak said:

Esseesse said:

http://daringfireball.net/2014/09/apple_watch

I'm still confused, because Apple doesn't call it a "smart watch", it's not a smart watch?
If it shows up notifications from your phone, can run a small app or two, it's a smart watch, is it not?

Well it fits your definition of what a smart watch does. Think about what the average persons perception of a smart watch is... perhaps something like a watch with some fiddly computer like functions, worn by teenagers and nerdy people who like the idea of having something to fiddle with.

It matters because Apple is not positioning this as a smart watch in terms of most peoples perception, even if it ticks your smart watch attributes list. This is fashion accessory first, computer-watch second. Apple is a lifestyle company, not a tech company. They're just good at the tech required to create a good experience. Good industrial design is about creating usability and desirability.

[andy-xr]

Esseesse said:

This is fashion accessory first, computer-watch second. Apple is a lifestyle company, not a tech company. They're just good at the tech required to create a good experience. Good industrial design is about creating usability and desirability.

Theregister caught the mood of this perfectly for me with the Paris Fashion Show watch launch




http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/30/piss_off_f...