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Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

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Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#111

Post by nilkn »

blainsmith wrote: post #5

And yet it is still square and ugly because of it.

To be completely honest, I think it's hands down the best looking smartwatch.

The Moto 360 is the only competitor in looks, and it does indeed look great in renders. The problem is that it actually looks horrible (IMHO) in person. It's huge -- really massive. Nobody with a small wrist can wear a Moto 360 without looking a bit dorky. The strap attaches to the watchface at the very bottom as well, and it's a very thick watch, so the thickness is just emphasized in a very bad way. It's a bug chunk of metal sitting on your wrist on an inelegant way.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#112

Post by dilap »

glenra wrote: post #81
dilap wrote: post #63

Here's a fun sport for Apple watchers, aficionados and detractors alike: has Apple jumped the shark yet in the post-Steve era? (The game's a bit Candyland-esque; we always arrive at "yes": if Apple's strategy is inflexible post-Steve, they're doomed, if they make any changes, they are also doomed.) Let's play anyway. The big, flashing, worrying sign of changed-for-the-worse Apple isn't any hullaboloo about Warhol and…

Secret-unveilings are worth many millions of dollars in free publicity. Apple gets front-page stories for all their product announcements because they're news . Without that, they'd have a much harder time. If that was at all at risk here, it was probably worth announcing early. Also, Gruber correctly points out that the Osborne Effect might help them here - if the product seems promising enough, some people will pos…

I don't know, the advance leaks of the last few iPhones doesn't seem to have hurt their publicity much. (And millions ain't much to Apple; they are rumored to have spent millions on the U2 debacle. But I do take your greater point about the massive interest in Apple's product announcements being very valuable...)

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#113

Post by mladenkovacevic »

manicdee wrote: post #98
mladenkovacevic wrote: post #39

I have no interest in the exclusive "I make more money than you" objects so let's talk about that digital crown instead. I think Apple messed up here. I might be proven wrong after millions of people are joyfully spinning their little digital crowns between their thumb and forefinger a couple of years from now, but I would wager a small sum that I'm not wrong. Would it not have been better to put a touch-sensitive pa…

A touch screen on the side of the object is just begging for false input as people steady their fingers by holding onto the sides of the face of the smart watch. Before you continue on your criticism of the digital crown as an input method, why not actually try it?

Of course, all opinions are subject to change. But even on old-timey mechanical watches, the crown is there because of a need not because it is the ideal input mechanism. I think we can do better now.

I don't buy the false input argument. Smartphones already handle that pretty well but in the case of a watch I can additionally see people using their thumb on the base or the other side of the watch as an anchor to steady their hand before committing to swipe or a press gesture.

As I said before, though: all my opinions are subject to change.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#114

Post by glenra »

dilap wrote: post #112
glenra wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Secret-unveilings are worth many millions of dollars in free publicity. Apple gets front-page stories for all their product announcements because they're news . Without that, they'd have a much harder time. If that was at all at risk here, it was probably worth announcing early. Also, Gruber correctly points out that the Osborne Effect might help them here - if the product seems promising enough, some people will pos…

I don't know, the advance leaks of the last few iPhones doesn't seem to have hurt their publicity much. (And millions ain't much to Apple; they are rumored to have spent millions on the U2 debacle. But I do take your greater point about the massive interest in Apple's product announcements being very valuable...)

I just looked it up - the usual estimate is that the original iPhone introduction generated $400 million worth of free publicity. Even to Apple, that's a lot.

(eg: http://gizmodo.com/243222/iphone-generated-400-million-in-fr... )

Although one might argue that Apple TODAY is so much of a market leader they don't need the surprise factor as much as they did in times past. Apple used to be a clear underdog that punched way above its weight class by using gimmicks and clever marketing for their signal to escape an over-crowded playing field. Now that Apple is the big dog, they might not need that so much.

Tim's clearly no Steve, but maybe he doesn't need to be.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#115

Post by DannyBee »

fpgeek wrote: post #83
notatoad wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other people might have secret plans (like Tag Heuer's rumoured smartwatch maybe), but i think it's fair to assume that the android wear manufacturers have shown their cards. Android Wear is a released product at this point. Samsung has released four (or more?) iterations of their smartwatch. LG has released two. Motorola took some extra time to release theirs - if they had a secret awesome plan and were rushing a pl…

> i think it's fair to assume that the android wear manufacturers have shown their cards. Um, the Android Wear manufacturers may not have any secret plans of their own, but... The Android Wear OS developer is practically jumping up and down in the corner saying "I have secret plans! I have secret plans!" See, for instance: http://www.cnet.com/news/google-says-android-wear-about-to-g... This shouldn't be surprising. T…

"I'd also note that the GP commenter works for the previously mentioned OS developer, and the comment seems entirely consistent with someone who knows more is coming, but can't do much beyond hinting at that."

Just to note: While it's true I work for Google, I don't speak for them on hacker news unless i explicitly say otherwise. Here, i'm just some guy. If everyone starts treating everyone otherwise, a lot of commenters would not be able to comment.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#117

Post by calciphus »

manicdee wrote: post #100
Kylekramer wrote: post #28

My impression of Android Wear is that it’s best thought of as a wrist-worn terminal for your Android phone and for Google’s cloud-based services. An extension for your phone, not a sibling device. Android Wear devices are almost useless other than for telling time when out of Bluetooth range from your phone. I don’t think that’s a device that many people want; it’s a solution in search of a problem. I don't see how t…

The iPod Nano was a product whose entire purpose was playing music. "The Runwell" is a $600 Shinola watch which only tells the time. The "nascent payment system" which is Apple Pay is better supported by the credit card companies than Google Wallet. It only remains to be seen how many retailers will switch to NFC. Just about everyone who does EFTPOS in Australia uses NFC now, I don't understand why the USA is such a…

You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding about the difference between Google Wallet and Apple Pay. Wallet does not need (or even function differently) with the "support" of credit card companies - it is a payment processor unto itself. If you have a Visa, Mastercard, AMEX or Discover logo on your card, it works with Google Wallet.

Put differently, Wallet supports 100% of credit and check cards in the US, whereas Apple supports "many".

Pay, because of the need to generate purchase tokens and "one-time-use" cards, requires integration effort on the side of both Apple and the issuing bank. Pay is not a payment processor, just a gateway.

Re: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations

#118

Post by calciphus »

comatose_kid wrote: post #116
tlb wrote: post #3

The combination of solid gold and the obsolescence period of wearable electronics is uncharted territory.

Older models become collectible, like other luxury watches?

Perhaps, though "check out my slow, non-functional slabs of Apple tech"...

Apple abandons devices from OS upgrades and compatibility, batteries lose their charge. It'll very quickly (in terms of "collectibles") become a gold bar with a black rectangle in the middle.

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