... when I have an iPhone?

I see a lot of "fun" features. This seems to translate to "toy".

---

JoeM

Wow precious photos on my watch...

---

JoeM

I have always loved watches, but I had no idea I would want this, but I do.
I think there are so many cool things that it looks like it will do.

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

iNteresting. iCan't justify it, but it's teh coolness...

I think the 3rd party apps will bring value. Obviously, people who work out will like it.

---

JoeM

Not too crazy about an app that will open my hotel door though. Can you imagine getting mugged while traveling?

---

JoeM

AHA! Requires the iPhone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

---

JoeM

Starts at $349?!?!?!? Uh, yeah, I won't be getting one.

iDon't know.......

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Quote
JoeM
Not too crazy about an app that will open my hotel door though. Can you imagine getting mugged while traveling?

i'm imagining a lot of broken wrists in nyc.

---

If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

I dislike the overall look, especially of the "crown" knob interface and the charger. I don't think the stock market will like it either, at that price. This thing is such a niche device with so few features that I strongly suspect it will soon sit beside the boom box as one of the few Apple products that totally bombed.

---

Le poète doit vivre beaucoup, vivre dans tous les sens. - Verlaine

I liked just about everything about it.

Except: why no inductive charging yet?

---

---

My first idea for a new app. "Find my amputated iHand."

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

I'll wait for version 2.0.

I expect lots of bugs in this version. Not to mention that the thing looks thick and bulky as hell.

I haven't worn a watch since I got my first cell phone. Why have two devices that tell me the time? But I suppose I'm not the target audience.

This seems to translate to "toy".

Not in my language.


I have always loved watches, but I had no idea I would want this, but I do.
I think there are so many cool things that it looks like it will do.

I pretty much knew I'd want it.

The more people whined that they had no idea why anybody would want this, the more I hoped that Apple would make a product that was anything but "me too".

And they did.

As far as I'm concerned, and really, I'm the only one that counts, they knocked it out of the park.

$349? Chicken feed, for what it is. I get that a lot of people won't want or need the AppleWatch. What I don't get is how so many people fail to appreciate just what it can do and that there are people who will really, really, like this watch.

And I won't be embarrassed to wear the a year from now.

I can't wait for it to ship!

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

The 'Phones don't.

That's too bad, but I can live with that.

Maybe in the 6s.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Yea, $349, ouch. I think $149 would have been awesome and $199 would have been an acceptable "Apple" price.

why does it have to magnetically attach to charge?

it should have a pad you can lay it on.

---

---

More than I can justify... but I still want one.

Maybe by V3.0 the price will have crept down a bit and it'll have enough added features for me to consider one.

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

i'm curious about the accuracy of the heart rate sensor. but i doubt its very good.

---

1998: "iMac - why do I want this…"
2001: "iPod - why do I want this…"
2010: "iPad - why do I want this…"

I just bought & returned a heart rate monitor watch. Made by Bowflex, sold by Staples. Poor operation. I'll definitely look at the AppleWatch.

Quote
decay
I liked just about everything about it.

Except: why no inductive charging yet?

It IS.

[www.apple.com]

I expect the need for a 'magsafe' solution was to enable them to have a smaller antenna on the iWatch. The case back is a pulse sensor gizmo with IR LED's and such. I wonder if early adopters will end up with weird little 'dot suntans' on their wrists.

Pairing with the GPS in an iPhone or iPad tucked safely away, and displaying this on your wrist:




...Without worrying about water, or Duffers, or Icebergs, has a certain appeal.
The Electronic Charts are already free from NOAA...

Eustace

Quote
RAMd®d
And I won't be embarrassed to wear the a year from now.

OK bro, we are gonna hold you to it now:

---

JoeM

I appreciate the cool retro styling

It does everything that I want from the next FitBit device (replacement for the recalled Force), but at 3x the price. Hopefully, it will help FitBit and the other, similar device makers to step up their game.

I use RunKeeper on my iPhone with an armband. However, while exercising, I don't have an easy way to find out speed, distance, pace, etc. I'm sure this will allow me to do that. I'd also like to be able to control my music while I run. Again, I bet that will be part of the new RunKeeper app.

I'll probably get a Version 2 of this next year, though.

Quote
DavidS
I use RunKeeper on my iPhone with an armband. However, while exercising, I don't have an easy way to find out speed, distance, pace, etc. I'm sure this will allow me to do that. I'd also like to be able to control my music while I run. Again, I bet that will be part of the new RunKeeper app.

RunKeeper announces my running meager exercise info every five minutes which is often enough for me. I suppose it could do a continuous readout but that could get tedious quickly.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2014 02:23PM by Speedy.

Do you have to have the phone with you whenever you want to use the watch?
If I want to use the watch as a walking tracker, I don't necessarily want to be carrying my phone with me, too.

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

iTouch, iWatch

two non-existent Apple products.

---

---

Steve is spinning in his grave.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
DavidS
It does everything that I want from the next FitBit device (replacement for the recalled Force), but at 3x the price. Hopefully, it will help FitBit and the other, similar device makers to step up their game.

I use RunKeeper on my iPhone with an armband. However, while exercising, I don't have an easy way to find out speed, distance, pace, etc. I'm sure this will allow me to do that. I'd also like to be able to control my music while I run. Again, I bet that will be part of the new RunKeeper app.

I'll probably get a Version 2 of this next year, though.

I use RunKeeper too. I keep the phone in my left hand (wrapped in a baggie). So a watch might be the ticket.

Tim said you need the 'Phone with the Watch.

But I'd like to think that it would at least tell time without the 'Phone.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Good luck with that.

Quote
RAMd®d
Tim said you need the 'Phone with the Watch.

But I'd like to think that it would at least tell time without the 'Phone.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
rgG
Do you have to have the phone with you whenever you want to use the watch?
If I want to use the watch as a walking tracker, I don't necessarily want to be carrying my phone with me, too.

i was wondering this myself. does it need bluetooth like proximity to an iphone to function? hope not.

interesting. i want one and the fact that it works with a IP5 makes it all the more tempting. yet, my eyes would also like a larger screen so why do i lust for a smaller faced watch. we are fickle creatures, aren't we...

---

If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

I'm trying to figure this out. When Steve introduced the iPhone, he spent most of the keynote playing with it, demonstrating uses that blew me (and many others) away and expressing delight at all these cool and surprising tricks he was showing us. There were soooo many killer apps, like integrated maps, contacts, phone, mail, calendar, etc, etc. I had to have one, just as the first person I showed my new iPhone to instantly had to have one when I showed him what it could do.

The Watch certainly seems like an interesting device, but what does it do? Is it really anything more than a remote display and crude controller for the iPhone? Where is the killer app that makes this thing indispensable? How would Steve sell it to us? I'm definitely not getting any clues from this keynote. The keynote seemed to focus much more on what it is, rather than what it can do for someone.

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

thanks all (especially Joe!) for proving RAM right

---

Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

I love watches - analog watches, specifically. I don't own an unreasonable number of watches, but I probably own more than the average Joe does.

One nice thing about watches: Assuming one purchases high-quality watches, they last for years. Decades, even. And they perform exactly as well on the last day you own them as on the first day.

Which brings me to my primary issue with the AppleWatch (really? Steve really is spinning in his grave): I don't want to buy a watch that will become obsolete in a few short years.

It is unclear from today's presentation whether the software that runs this device is upgradable; whether it is or it isn't, however, obsolescence is guaranteed:

• If the software is upgradable, than eventually the computing power required to run the upgraded software will outstrip the ability of the hardware built into the watch to run the software, just as it has with every PC, Mac, iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad ever sold
• If the software is not upgradable, than eventually the watch will be rendered obsolete as advances in technology and standards leave the watch and its capabilities behind

EIther way, this translates into the purchase of a new AppleWatch every few years if you want to use it for anything more than telling time - good for Apple's bottom line, expensive for the collective bottom line of its customers. Obsolescence may even be "hard-coded" into the device, depending on whether its battery is replacable. Given Apple's historical tendency to not provide its mobile devices with user-replacable batteries, I believe it is likely this device will share that trait.

Beyond that, I share davester's concerns regarding the device's functionality. To wit, it's not clear to me based on today's presentation why I need or even want this device.

I will admit that I held exactly the same opinion about the iPad as I do about the AppleWatch, yet I have gone on to own three iPads in four years. In other words, I've been wrong before and am willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt on this for now. But from where I sit, I'm not seeing it.

---

It is what it is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2014 04:44PM by N-OS X-tasy!.

I don't understand why some people have problems accepting that the knob on the side of the watch is called the crown. Not a dial, not the adjusto-thingy. It's called a crown.

For a watch enthusiast, $350 isn't a lot, even if it's "disposable."

Apple has obviously carefully studied the market before entering it, so hopefully it will have adapted to a life cycle different than the rest of their products.

> Re: iWatch - why do I want this...

It does the same stuff as the popular Android watches, but has the advantages of:

A strong sapphire screen;

A popular app store;

An Apple interface; And...

A seemingly secure NFC purchasing ecosystem to replace all of the credit cards in your wallet.

The last one is the most interesting to me. Pulling out my iPhone to make a purchase is hardly any better than pulling out a credit card, but waving my wrist over a terminal to invoke to Apple Pay system is an intriguing option.

As a life long left handed person, I always wore wristwatches on my right wrist. Whenever I wore them on my left wrist, I would inadvertently scratch the surface of the watch, if not breaking it outright. With the digital crown positioned as it is, I wouldn't be able to wear it on my right wrist without difficulty using my left hand to control it.

*Sigh*

This is why I couldn't play catcher in little league when I was a kid.

---

Mr. Lahey: A lot of people, don’t know how to drink. They drink against the grain of the liquor. And when you drink against the grain of the liquor? You lose.

Randy: What the @#$%& are you talking about?

Quote
N-OS X-tasy!
It is unclear from today's presentation whether the software that runs this device is upgradable; whether it is or it isn't, however, obsolescence is guaranteed:

• If the software is upgradable, than eventually the computing power required to run the upgraded software will outstrip the ability of the hardware built into the watch to run the software, just as it has with every PC, Mac, iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad ever sold
• If the software is not upgradable, than eventually the watch will be rendered obsolete as advances in technology and standards leave the watch and its capabilities behind

EIther way, this translates into the purchase of a new AppleWatch every few years if you want to use it for anything more than telling time - good for Apple's bottom line, expensive for the collective bottom line of its customers.

The Apple Watch is not a watch, the Apple iPhone is not a phone. They are computers.

If they were watches or phones, they would tell time and make calls, respectively. That's it.

These things are computers and as such have built in obsolescence as they are hideously complicated and part of a sector of rapid technological improvement. They just happen to fit in your pocket and on your wrist where those other one-use devices also can live. They build in those basic functions (to eliminate redundancy) into the computer, whose computing functions you're really buying.

If you don't need a computer and it's associated drawbacks in your pocket or on your wrist, then don't buy these things.

Quote
Lew Zealand

Quote
N-OS X-tasy!
It is unclear from today's presentation whether the software that runs this device is upgradable; whether it is or it isn't, however, obsolescence is guaranteed:

• If the software is upgradable, than eventually the computing power required to run the upgraded software will outstrip the ability of the hardware built into the watch to run the software, just as it has with every PC, Mac, iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad ever sold
• If the software is not upgradable, than eventually the watch will be rendered obsolete as advances in technology and standards leave the watch and its capabilities behind

EIther way, this translates into the purchase of a new AppleWatch every few years if you want to use it for anything more than telling time - good for Apple's bottom line, expensive for the collective bottom line of its customers.

The Apple Watch is not a watch, the Apple iPhone is not a phone. They are computers.

If they were watches or phones, they would tell time and make calls, respectively. That's it.

i concur. Apple did not set out to make a masterpiece watch any more than it makes a phone that lasts forever. if that's what you expect from a watch or phone the smartphone/smart watch is not for you. if you want a computer in your pocket and/or on your person - game on.

---

If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Quote
Lew Zealand
The Apple Watch is not a watch, the Apple iPhone is not a phone. They are computers.

If they were watches or phones, they would tell time and make calls, respectively. That's it.

These things are computers and as such have built in obsolescence as they are hideously complicated and part of a sector of rapid technological improvement. They just happen to fit in your pocket and on your wrist where those other one-use devices also can live. They build in those basic functions (to eliminate redundancy) into the computer, whose computing functions you're really buying.

If you don't need a computer and it's associated drawbacks in your pocket or on your wrist, then don't buy these things.

This sums it up very well. I just watched the Apple video, with Jony Ives silkily leading us through futuristic images of this device. I must say, it is pretty cool. First of all, it is a watch, maybe more accurate than my radio-atomic Maximilian, with your favorite display style. But it is also a computer, like the iPhone is.

The main question is: Can replace the iPhone? If so, I might well get one when my iPhone contract is up. If not, then I'm not sure of the point.

Note: Mr Ives says, in his presentation, that for exercise monitoring, the AW will need to connect with your iPhone for some data. So that says it is not independent. Will it make calls without the iPhone?

Corallary question: Will this leave all us old folks with aging eyes out in the cold?

/Mr Lynn

---

"Hillbilly at Harvard"
Honky-tonk Country and Bluegrass
Founded in 1948 by Pappy Ben Minnich
Saturdays 9am - 11am Eastern
WHRB-FM, Cambridge, MA
Streaming at [www.WHRB.org]
Be there!
The HAH weblog: [hillbillyatharvard.wordpress.com]

Topical weblog: [walkingcreekworld.wordpress.com]

On the river in Saxonville.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2014 07:18PM by mrlynn.

Quote
Lew Zealand
The Apple Watch is not a watch, the Apple iPhone is not a phone. They are computers.

That's not the point we were making. The watch seems to be dependent upon the iPhone, and so appears to be largely an extension of the iPhone, without any obvious functions other than a heartbeat monitor that distinguish it from or make it better than the phone. To me, it appears to be a very small iPhone with an added heartrate monitor but without the phone, wifi, gps, and other stuff. I get that it is not currently possible to get this stuff into such a small package, but without that stuff, what exactly is the point? The few things the watch can do are not compelling.

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2014 07:27PM by davester.

here you go, non-Apple smart watch
[www.amazon.com]

no reviews? really?

---

---

Does this thing have to be tethered to the iPhone by Bluetooth for time, calendar, phone, etc.? BT's range is limited to—what, 15' or something? So if you go out without your iPhone, the AW will be useless.

Unless. . .

/Mr Lynn

Quote
mrlynn
Does this thing have to be tethered to the iPhone by Bluetooth for time, calendar, phone, etc.? BT's range is limited to—what, 15' or something? So if you go out without your iPhone, the AW will be useless.

You got it! It won't be completely useless as it'll have some functions (timekeeping for example) that can work without the phone, but it can't communicate and it doesn't know where it is (i.e. no maps, no phone, no internet, etc).

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

I have no reason to believe the software is not upgradeable and won't be upgraded.

The Keynote clearly mentioned developers making apps for this watch.

It makes perfect sense that the 'Phone would absolutely be required for the watches many features.

But I hope that, if not now, at some point the watch will be able to do the same functions as the Gen6 nano, without a 'Phone.

Obviously Apple wants to use the watch to sell 'Phones and vice versa. But I'd like just a teeny, tiny bit of autonomy.


Can replace the iPhone?

No.

Not now, maybe down the road. The Watch would be HUGE. Probably ok of you were a hip-hopper.

I love watches. Always have.

My first pricey watch was an Omega Speed Master Professional, the watch that "went to the moon". I've got a few digitals mainly because I needed quickly note times of events and digitally displayed time was easier to remember until I could write it down. But analogs have always been my favorite. For me, it's about the graceful blend of style and substance. That it's possible to make something with so many very small moving parts to work so precisely… It still amazes me after all these years.

I don't begrudge people for preferring the cheapest Casio or Timex (I have a few that aren't quite entry level) but I don't abide the shallow, arrogant idiot who looks at one of my watches and says "I've got a $20 Timex that works just fine!" as though it's the utmost of temerity and consumerism to wear a nice watch.

So it's still a bit of a shock and a lot of disappointment when somebody can't look at a new product, especially in the tech category, and say "Not for me, but nice tech."

<whew>

There is a major disconnect in dealing with this particular paradigm. The wristwatch has historically been a standalone tool or fashion statement, or a combination of both. It's obsolescence is limited to wear or falling out of fashion. Or changing the number of hours in a night/day cycle.

In this case the Watch is more a peripheral than a wristwatch. It's an extension of the 'Phone, not a replacement. So we have to change our way of thinking to accept that in a few years this could become obsolete (as in non-functional) where a wristwatch would not.

And that's the problem. It is *not* a watch, but a peripheral, like a VCR, DVD player, or external optical drive. Since they didn't have standalone functionality, becoming obsolete is merely a fact of life/tech. It's inevitable. We don't want that, but we accept it.

It's not so easy to accept this in something that hasn't previously been tethered to another device. I'm hoping that at some point, this *can* have some limited functionality without a 'Phone, something like using an old iPhone as an iPod, when replaced by shiny new iron.

As one might guess, I am not dissuaded.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.