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Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

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Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#41

Post by VLM »

hfsktr wrote: post #17

I agree with most of the people that commented already. I have though about getting a watch (novelty/binary). Then I realize that my phone is always on me and the time is right there. The only watches I've seen appear to be to signal status. Smart phones do that just as well too. There are probably special occasions that a watch would be better than a phone but I can't even think of any decent ones. Best I can do is…

"I have though about getting a watch (novelty/binary)."

I had one of those a decade ago. Generally the marketing people have no idea what the difference is between binary and BCD, and binary is a little too fiddly to read comfortably at a glance (was that 4 0s in the middle or 3?) so examine the pictures carefully...

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#42

Post by 1337biz »

ignostic wrote: post #30

> Google Glass takes wearable computing a step beyond the basic wrist watch. However, the rate of adoption will almost certainly be lower... Nonsense. Everyone I've talked to about Glass has suggested a new use that I haven't thought of yet, and I've only met one person who wasn't excited about the project. Everyone I've talked to about smartwatches, on the other hand, doesn't understand. "Why? What can it do that my…

Absolutely! It is a lot easier to introduce a new, innovative product that everyone can visually and conceptually understand as something new. But trying to reinvent a (more or less dead) market is a lot more difficult.

I could see the chances as slightly better for Apple, as they are already in the high priced segment on the verge to a lifestyle/design product. This should connect better to the existing (male) watch market which looks to the outside as having become completely a luxury/accessories market.

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#43

Post by jfb »

joezydeco wrote: post #36
wklauss wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be even funnier if competitions tart working on it and suddenly create a market for the device, even if it's small.

Well there's no doubt that people want some kind of wearable extension of their phones. The Pebble kickstarter showed that.

Which is all well and good; there's a market for hideous stuffed animals with human teeth [1], but that's not an argument for Apple (or Samsung, or Google) to get into it. Basically, it seems really out of character for Apple to do this sort of thing. To be honest, I would expect a Google Glass sort of ubiquitous computer before a "smartwatch"; at least the former has the potential to turn into another pillar for Apple.

[1] http://www.etsy.com/shop/cathairandteeth -- I have one and it's awesome

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#44

Post by joezydeco »

jfb wrote: post #43
joezydeco wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well there's no doubt that people want some kind of wearable extension of their phones. The Pebble kickstarter showed that.

Which is all well and good; there's a market for hideous stuffed animals with human teeth [1], but that's not an argument for Apple (or Samsung, or Google) to get into it. Basically, it seems really out of character for Apple to do this sort of thing. To be honest, I would expect a Google Glass sort of ubiquitous computer before a "smartwatch"; at least the former has the potential to turn into another pillar for App…

Yes, that was the second sentence I forgot to type. There's some need, but probably not one that Apple deems large enough to necessitate a new product category.

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#45

Post by hfsktr »

VLM wrote: post #41
hfsktr wrote: post #17

I agree with most of the people that commented already. I have though about getting a watch (novelty/binary). Then I realize that my phone is always on me and the time is right there. The only watches I've seen appear to be to signal status. Smart phones do that just as well too. There are probably special occasions that a watch would be better than a phone but I can't even think of any decent ones. Best I can do is…

"I have though about getting a watch (novelty/binary)." I had one of those a decade ago. Generally the marketing people have no idea what the difference is between binary and BCD, and binary is a little too fiddly to read comfortably at a glance (was that 4 0s in the middle or 3?) so examine the pictures carefully...

I think I thought binary because that was the label but now that I looked it up it was BCD. Still the price combined with already having the clock on the phone (and everything else that is/has a computer now) made it seem like a waste of money.

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#46

Post by jws »

goldfeld wrote: post #38
jws wrote: post #28

The name "Watch" misleads. No one¹ needs a dedicated device to tell time anymore. What may work in the market is one more tier of information interface. cloud > desktop > tablet > phone > ???. I keep my phone in a front trouser pocket. I find that the overwhelming majority of the "dig out the phone"² events during the day are to observe a bit of recently arrived information, or, less frequently, to issue a temporally…

No one needs an iPhone as a dedicated cellphone either (surely you can get any other low end device, and Androids sync to Google out of the box.) Moreover, the name 'watch' isn't misleading in that it's kept highly relevant to all you described. You have a little device "on watch" for all the info you need, at a glance's notice. By itself, "watch" doesn't imply time, so I don't see your point in as much as usage of w…

Ah, a little blindspot on my part from that word. I don't associate the verb form of "watch" with the timekeeping noun form "watch" in any way.¹ Wikipedia guesses at the origin of the timekeeping device "watch" name as a corruption of an Old English word for watchman, or inherited from the concept of a naval duty shift, "watch".

I have no intention of "watching" my device. If we are going to repurpose an existing word, let's call it a "glance", though that ignores the command giving aspect. I propose we call these little information tabs "glance-and-pokes"².

␄

¹ I feel sorry for anyone learning English, who will come to visit, be met at the airport after a long flight, stressed to finally try his English in America, and be asked by his new American counterpart: "Djeetchet?"

² There is a long standing corporate policy preventing me, explicitly me, from naming any customer facing entity which I create. I admit it is well founded. I've learned to ensure my project names can be easily replaced without renaming files and too many internal variables.

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#47

Post by hfsktr »

jfb wrote: post #19
hfsktr wrote: post #17

I agree with most of the people that commented already. I have though about getting a watch (novelty/binary). Then I realize that my phone is always on me and the time is right there. The only watches I've seen appear to be to signal status. Smart phones do that just as well too. There are probably special occasions that a watch would be better than a phone but I can't even think of any decent ones. Best I can do is…

And really, does a $99 Apple/Samsung/Google &c. watch act as a social signal? I don't think so.

Maybe not to you or me but we might not be the right audience. A phone doesn't signal much to me (or lots of people I'm sure) but there is no shortage of people letting you know what kind of phone they have now.

There are many things that cost less than $99 that act as social signals (there are brands for just about everything).

As someone said above about tablets seeming useless. Maybe there will be a use that nobody is thinking of and it will explode.

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#48

Post by Someone »

VLM wrote: post #39
jws wrote: post #28

The name "Watch" misleads. No one¹ needs a dedicated device to tell time anymore. What may work in the market is one more tier of information interface. cloud > desktop > tablet > phone > ???. I keep my phone in a front trouser pocket. I find that the overwhelming majority of the "dig out the phone"² events during the day are to observe a bit of recently arrived information, or, less frequently, to issue a temporally…

"I might prefer it clipped to my sleeve or in a shirt pocket." COTS "Sony Ericsson liveview bluetooth phone remote". $25 from amazon, eligible for free prime shipping too. Comes with a clip holder and a watch holder. UI is a fail, also charging. Oh and its buggy and the battery life is supposedly dismal. Aside from the 99 other things it can do when its actually working, which is why the UI fails, it can act as a mus…

In this case, it is not just a matter of good execution. The first successful product also must solve the 'why put something on your arm again' problem.

If I had to direct designers, I would send them away with something like 'display that communicates wirelessly with a master device, as thick and as durable as a tattoo, one month battery life, input device desirable, but optional'.

Nobody would meet those requirements, but it helps setting the goalposts. It definitely would direct them away from the one cm or so thick design in the article being discussed.

Re: Google Rumored To Be Making A Smartwatch, Too

#49

Post by maxerickson »

xoail wrote: post #35
jws wrote: post #28

The name "Watch" misleads. No one¹ needs a dedicated device to tell time anymore. What may work in the market is one more tier of information interface. cloud > desktop > tablet > phone > ???. I keep my phone in a front trouser pocket. I find that the overwhelming majority of the "dig out the phone"² events during the day are to observe a bit of recently arrived information, or, less frequently, to issue a temporally…

Also slap in a pedometer and sleep monitor and that itself creates a whole new market opportunity. I cant wait for these watches.

Motorola basically already shipped one in 2011:

https://motoactv.com/ http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/8GB-or-16GB-MOTOACTV/79...

Given the bulk of it, the positioning as a fitness device makes sense.

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