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The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

lunduke.substack.com

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Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#41

Post by Const-me »

Saint_Genet wrote: post #39
blenderdt wrote: post #14

When I read articles like this one I always have to think about companies like Apple and Tesla. Apple didn't invent smartphones or touchscreens but they started the revolution. Tesla didn't invent EVs but started the revolution. What they have in common is that they pick the best of existing technologies and combine that into a product that is ahead of the competition. They don't invent new things but invent better t…

It's largely about timing. the iPhone didn't come out until wifi and cellular data had become widely available. Even today, a modern smartphone is a pretty boring device if you put it in airplane mode.

Cellular data was technically widely available for years before iPhones (see e.g. GPRS for the tech, adopted in 2000), albeit very expensive.

Apple changed that. They negotiated a special contract with AT&T and for a year or so the first iPhone was the only phone in the US with unlimited data plan.

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#42

Post by opencl »

pqs wrote: post #35
Markoff wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazfit Bip lasts 4-6 weeks on single charge with always on transreflective display with readability improving with more sunlight (opposite of useless OLED power hungry displays) and I use it exactly just to check time and read notifications, I also use it to track my sleep, step counts and heart rate, plus one of the most used features in my night apartment is using display backlight (necessary only in dark) as flas…

Do you trust Amazfit with your data? I can't trust such a Chinese entity with so much personal data.

I have a Bip and absolutely do not trust Amazfit with my data, which is fine because I don't use their app.

I use the open source Gadgetbridge app instead and it works well: https://gadgetbridge.org/

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#43

Post by Deganta »

Saint_Genet wrote: post #39
blenderdt wrote: post #14

When I read articles like this one I always have to think about companies like Apple and Tesla. Apple didn't invent smartphones or touchscreens but they started the revolution. Tesla didn't invent EVs but started the revolution. What they have in common is that they pick the best of existing technologies and combine that into a product that is ahead of the competition. They don't invent new things but invent better t…

It's largely about timing. the iPhone didn't come out until wifi and cellular data had become widely available. Even today, a modern smartphone is a pretty boring device if you put it in airplane mode.

Also capacitive touchscreens. The resitive ones of older Smartphones wouldn't have worked for the revolutinary UI

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#44

Post by jhbadger »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #15
blenderdt wrote: post #14

When I read articles like this one I always have to think about companies like Apple and Tesla. Apple didn't invent smartphones or touchscreens but they started the revolution. Tesla didn't invent EVs but started the revolution. What they have in common is that they pick the best of existing technologies and combine that into a product that is ahead of the competition. They don't invent new things but invent better t…

IMO, the original Nintendo DS made the concept of touch truly mainstream, but wasn't multitouch.

I'd say the Apple Newton in 1993 made touch screens mainstream quite a bit earlier. And things like PalmOS were clearly based on the excitement that came from the Newton. The Newton itself wasn't that successful due to its reliance on writing recognition that didn't work that well (at least in the initial versions of NewtonOS) but that ironically added to its place in pop culture. Like in The Simpsons where one of the school bullies has a Newton and is trying to take a note reminding him to beat up the annoying teacher's pet Martin, only for the system to interpret "Beat up Martin" as "Eat up Martha".

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#45

Post by HeckFeck »

fsflover wrote: post #36
Ir0nMan wrote: post #2

Pebble shutdown almost 8 years ago now and there does still not to be a replacement or alternative that can: last up to a week of battery life, do basic things like allow you to get and read notifications, and be a watch.

Here you go: https://pine64.org/pinetime .

The specs of the device linked in OP aren't that far off the PineTime. Maybe if we ask very nicely we can get the source code and begin work on a PalmOS port!

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#48

Post by ghaff »

Saint_Genet wrote: post #39
blenderdt wrote: post #14

When I read articles like this one I always have to think about companies like Apple and Tesla. Apple didn't invent smartphones or touchscreens but they started the revolution. Tesla didn't invent EVs but started the revolution. What they have in common is that they pick the best of existing technologies and combine that into a product that is ahead of the competition. They don't invent new things but invent better t…

It's largely about timing. the iPhone didn't come out until wifi and cellular data had become widely available. Even today, a modern smartphone is a pretty boring device if you put it in airplane mode.

I had a Palm Pilot when they were the cool thing and connectivity was the biggest issue. Syncing had to be a deliberate process, which meant it didn't necessarily happen frequently, which meant that things like calendaring and even news weren't really all that useful.

The iPhone came out just as WiFi had become pretty ubiquitous and a reasonable data plan was something that could be negotiated. And, even so, you could argue that the iPhone didn't really take off for a few more years.

(The iPod before it had a somewhat similar trajectory. It wasn't obviously a game-changing device from day one.)

ADDED: Connectivity was an issue with the iPod too. It didn't matter that much for music. But anything that required timely updates, such as podcasts, didn't work as well.

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#49

Post by masklinn »

mateuszf wrote: post #30
Ir0nMan wrote: post #2

Pebble shutdown almost 8 years ago now and there does still not to be a replacement or alternative that can: last up to a week of battery life, do basic things like allow you to get and read notifications, and be a watch.

> last up to a week of battery life, do basic things like allow you to get and read notifications, and be a watch. Actually there is something that does that, my favorite watch: https://www.withings.com/us/en/steel-hr The battery lasts a month. The only thing which would improve it would be NFC payments, but one can't have it all. Also looks good IMO.

Dang that is an attractive watch, how open is the communication protocol and how much does it report to home? I'm not a watch-wearer but it could make for a nice gift, especially with such a reasonable price.

Re: The PalmOS powered wristwatch from Fossil

#50

Post by scarface74 »

Const-me wrote: post #41
Saint_Genet wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's largely about timing. the iPhone didn't come out until wifi and cellular data had become widely available. Even today, a modern smartphone is a pretty boring device if you put it in airplane mode.

Cellular data was technically widely available for years before iPhones (see e.g. GPRS for the tech, adopted in 2000), albeit very expensive. Apple changed that. They negotiated a special contract with AT&T and for a year or so the first iPhone was the only phone in the US with unlimited data plan.

Sprint had unlimited 2G “Vision” data as far back as 2001. You could “stream” live video from 10-12 cable channels at 1fps. By 2005 you could stream video at 15fps.

https://www.sprint.com/business/program/newsletter/march05/p...

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