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Intel Acquires Basis Watch

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Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#11

Post by pisarzp »

blackdogie wrote: post #10

How does the Basis rank against the other smart watches out there ? I see it's priced higher, $199, where others come in at $100 - $150. The one difference I see is that it can do heart rate monitoring, and a lot of the competition can't (yet). It's nice to see that they have an API to export your data too.

It also measures your perspiration.

They focused on gamification and achievements you can unlock ("slept full 8 hours" etc). However it lacks any wireless connectivity, so you need to plug to your computer to download data every day.

I thought it's the most interesting of all smart devices, but I was looking for next gen which hopefully would be wireless and smaller.

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#12

Post by faulkner »

pisarzp wrote: post #11
blackdogie wrote: post #10

How does the Basis rank against the other smart watches out there ? I see it's priced higher, $199, where others come in at $100 - $150. The one difference I see is that it can do heart rate monitoring, and a lot of the competition can't (yet). It's nice to see that they have an API to export your data too.

It also measures your perspiration. They focused on gamification and achievements you can unlock ("slept full 8 hours" etc). However it lacks any wireless connectivity, so you need to plug to your computer to download data every day. I thought it's the most interesting of all smart devices, but I was looking for next gen which hopefully would be wireless and smaller.

If you're holding out for wireless connectivity you can buy the current model - it already has bluetooth.

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#13

Post by jey »

PhantomGremlin wrote: post #9

Intel's been in the watch business before [0]. It didn't end well then, it probably won't end well now. Hey, at least they didn't spend $19 billion for a texting app. [0] http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshb/320868833/?rb=1

FB didn't spend $19B for a texting app. They spent $19B for a huge userbase in parts of the world where FB doesn't have much market share. (And one with considerable network effects leading to significant switching costs.)

I expect there to be some kind of onboarding of the WhatsApp customer base onto FB as smartphones get adopted in those parts of the world.

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#15

Post by webwielder »

Can someone explain to me Intel's continued fascination with being a consumer company? From constant B2C advertising to their TV and wearable endeavors, they seem to be fixated on being something they're not. Is it corporate vanity? Is there a strategic motivation? If so, have any of their consumer endeavors ever actually borne fruit? I guess it's reminiscent of Microsoft, who don't seem to understand that Windows was not successful because consumers liked it, but because businesses bought it.

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#16

Post by wonnage »

blackdogie wrote: post #10

How does the Basis rank against the other smart watches out there ? I see it's priced higher, $199, where others come in at $100 - $150. The one difference I see is that it can do heart rate monitoring, and a lot of the competition can't (yet). It's nice to see that they have an API to export your data too.

FYI, there's no API.

Heart rate monitoring is a bit of a sham, if you're looking to use it during exercise. It's designed to gather more of an average rate throughout the day than give an accurate reading while you're exercising.

The Basis tracks sleep without you having to put it in sleep mode (e.g jawbone UP), which is pretty handy.

They recently added some features that attempt to recognize walking/running/biking automatically ("BodyIQ" is the marketing name). I found it oddly useful for seeing how long it took me to walk places.

Coolest feature: if you rotate your wrist quickly (as you would to look at a watch), the face lights up automatically.

Bluetooth sync works well with Android, pretty useless with iPhone (you have to keep the app open and phone awake or it tends to be flaky).

Basically I like the watch, but for weird reasons - the health tracking isn't really that much better than others, but there are little surprises here and there that make it useful for me. YMMV, and I really don't think seeing how many steps you took in a day will ever be life-changing for anyone.

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#17

Post by PhantomGremlin »

jey wrote: post #13
PhantomGremlin wrote: post #9

Intel's been in the watch business before [0]. It didn't end well then, it probably won't end well now. Hey, at least they didn't spend $19 billion for a texting app. [0] http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshb/320868833/?rb=1

FB didn't spend $19B for a texting app. They spent $19B for a huge userbase in parts of the world where FB doesn't have much market share. (And one with considerable network effects leading to significant switching costs.) I expect there to be some kind of onboarding of the WhatsApp customer base onto FB as smartphones get adopted in those parts of the world.

I know it was more than a texting app. Since this story was about Intel not Facebook I probably shouldn't have thrown that line in. But here's why I did:

I'm sure there are all kinds of arguments, explanations, justifications, rationalizations (call it what you will) for FB's purchase of WhatsApp. But my gut feel is that it's not worth paying 1000x TTM revenues for it. Admittedly a large part of the price was in stock not cash.

Same with Intel's purchase. My gut feel is they shouldn't be buying a watch company. Intel has an abysmal track record with acquisitions. I think it's a sign that they're desperately flailing around. I'd rather see them try to become a world class foundry. They certainly have the technology and expertise, and it's much closer to the CEO's background. I.e. "stick to the knitting".

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#18

Post by PhantomGremlin »

webwielder wrote: post #15

Can someone explain to me Intel's continued fascination with being a consumer company? From constant B2C advertising to their TV and wearable endeavors, they seem to be fixated on being something they're not. Is it corporate vanity? Is there a strategic motivation? If so, have any of their consumer endeavors ever actually borne fruit? I guess it's reminiscent of Microsoft, who don't seem to understand that Windows wa…

I think Intel's "strategic motivation" is simple. The US stock market demands ever increasing revenues and earnings from a company. In order to achieve that, often companies do something that the great Peter Lynch called "diworsification" [0]:

   The term was coined by legendary investor Peter Lynch in his book, "One Up Wall Street," where he suggested that a business that diversifies too widely, risks destroying their original business, because management time, energy and resources are diverted from the original investment.
Without continuing earnings and revenue growth, a company is "dead" to much of Wall Street.

I just posted another comment as to what IMO Intel should be doing instead. They should "stick to the knitting". E.g. they could try to become a world class foundry. They've got the fabs, they've got thousands of great engineers. I guess that's just not as sexy as a watch that also measures your perspiration.

[0] http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/diworsification.asp

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#19

Post by webwielder »

PhantomGremlin wrote: post #18
webwielder wrote: post #15

Can someone explain to me Intel's continued fascination with being a consumer company? From constant B2C advertising to their TV and wearable endeavors, they seem to be fixated on being something they're not. Is it corporate vanity? Is there a strategic motivation? If so, have any of their consumer endeavors ever actually borne fruit? I guess it's reminiscent of Microsoft, who don't seem to understand that Windows wa…

I think Intel's "strategic motivation" is simple. The US stock market demands ever increasing revenues and earnings from a company. In order to achieve that, often companies do something that the great Peter Lynch called "diworsification" [0]: The term was coined by legendary investor Peter Lynch in his book, "One Up Wall Street," where he suggested that a business that diversifies too widely, risks destroying their…

It's a shame that the one time event of going public dooms a company for perpetuity to being subject to the unreasonable demands of shareholders, so often ironically resulting in the downfall of the very value that was supposed to rise as a result of said demands.

Re: Intel Acquires Basis Watch

#20

Post by mahyarm »

I wonder if this will make an API less or more likely. #1 complaint with the watch. Simple stuff like wifi weight scale and runkeeper cardio integration would be pretty nice!

Otherwise congrats to the company!

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