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The Apple Watch

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Re: The Apple Watch

#711

Post by PopsiclePete »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #546
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“the iPod succeeded because of a synergy with other parts of Apple's empire” That is absolute crap. iTunes had no foothold to speak of in the marketplace. The notion of Apple having an "empire" at the time of the iPod’s release (or even at the time of the iPod’s mainstream success) was laughable.

It absolutely did. You may have forgotten, but the early success of iTunes/iPod was in being able to organize your music and get it on your device. iTunes/iPod was the first to really get this right on any kind of scale. And, compared to the competition of the time, they really nailed it. So, a phone that had that integrated was a really big deal, even if it couldn't run any apps (as the first iPhone did and couldn't…

That's not how I remember it. iTunes was released before OS X. It was a time when Apple was more or less a joke of a company, surviving because of the hard-core few who refused to abandon it. Somewhat of an oddity.

The iPod did not work on Windows (which was, what, 99% market-share in those days?) and required this insane thing called Firewire. Firewire. Even the name was funny to me.

I was a Linux fan-boy, patiently waiting for The Year Of The Linux Desktop, and was quite dismissive of that bulky little device, much like everyone else who was a techie. The Rio or whatever is what people were sporting.

And yet it basically destroyed the entire Taiwanese MP3 player market in the US in what, 2 years? Nokia should have seen it coming 7 years later...

Re: The Apple Watch

#712

Post by realo »

theon144 wrote: post #622
prawn wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised that the Apple Watch looks so much like a watch. I was keen to see how they might break that concept apart and create something really novel.

I'm sorry? I don't really want to sound like I'm bashing Apple, but I'd never see something round, rectangular and bulky and think "watch" up until the recent advent of smartwatches. Apple Watch is as un-watchy as any of the competing smartwatches, in my opinion.

Here you go... Big, rectangular bulky watch. They cost 2.5 _million_ dollars each, but have no Bluetooth... sigh

http://www.independentjewellers.com/blog/2012/04/the-most-co...

Re: The Apple Watch

#713

Post by 51Cards »

vishnugupta wrote: post #661
kingkawn wrote: post #594

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment has given me my first quantifiable measured sensation of feeling old. if you go out every Tuesday, you will learn the traffic patterns, and will naturally develop a series of contingency routes that you could take in the event of traffic. The watch is novelty more than useful. It will make you forget how you used to do things and in turn feel dependent on it, when in fact it is simply a novelty that dist…

I couldn't up-vote this more! I just don't have a compelling reason to use such a device. Weather, traffic, map and such data is just novelty for me. If I question myself what can I do with watch that isn't possible otherwise there's just one or two (heart rate monitor and perhaps chat). Even those aren't really necessities as much as novelty. Perhaps app developers will come up with good problems to solve but I can'…

Search for and read my reply elsewhere in this topic for my use case. I admit this isn't a device for everyone, but some of us find it to be incredibly useful.

Re: The Apple Watch

#714

Post by n09n »

pmontra wrote: post #597
n09n wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlock screen. Inactivity timer. Lockscreen alert message. Wifi configuration. Notification center.

Maybe I'm blind to evidence but why should they be different?

Phones are single-user, tablets can support multiple. Tablets are more often out when unused, phones are typically in your pocket. Phones are always with you, tablets are more likely to be left at home.

Re: The Apple Watch

#715

Post by n09n »

brongondwana wrote: post #589
n09n wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlock screen. Inactivity timer. Lockscreen alert message. Wifi configuration. Notification center.

Yes, those are OS elements. Not so much app widgets...

They are part of the UI. That's all the question asked.

Re: The Apple Watch

#716

Post by n09n »

eitally wrote: post #694
n09n wrote: post #503

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reality distortion field and the ability to spin those negatives as positives are features, though. A watch is primarily a piece of jewelry. How well it tells the time or does other things is much less important than how fashionable it is. Branding is one of Apple's strong suits, and you can't take that away by adding features as if consumer purchasing decisions are based on some kind of checklist-like RFPs like…

I would argue with you on this point. A smartwatch is absolutely not jewelry first. There is literally no compelling reason to wear a smart watch unless you intend to use it for the "smart" purposes (information, navigation, communication, reminders, appointments, music, health). Otherwise, pick a "dumb" watch. Even I, who haven't worn a watch regularly since college (about 15 years ago), have grown accustomed to my…

That's only because smartwatches up until now have not been fashionable. That's also why they are so unpopular.

Re: The Apple Watch

#717

Post by bottled_poe »

kingkawn wrote: post #594
2xlbuds wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree, having watched this year's Google I/O panel on smartwatch interaction design, it is very obvious that Google has put an enormous amount of thought into their watch platform. They came to a fundamentally different conclusion for what a smartwatch should do, and I really enjoy the experience. The contextual information from Google Now is incredibly useful and it feels like my watch tells me not only…

Your comment has given me my first quantifiable measured sensation of feeling old. if you go out every Tuesday, you will learn the traffic patterns, and will naturally develop a series of contingency routes that you could take in the event of traffic. The watch is novelty more than useful. It will make you forget how you used to do things and in turn feel dependent on it, when in fact it is simply a novelty that dist…

But learning those things doesn't add as much value to the economy. Technology has an unintended consequence of squeezing every last drop of market-lusting value out of you.

Re: The Apple Watch

#718

Post by JohnTHaller »

PopsiclePete wrote: post #711
JohnTHaller wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely did. You may have forgotten, but the early success of iTunes/iPod was in being able to organize your music and get it on your device. iTunes/iPod was the first to really get this right on any kind of scale. And, compared to the competition of the time, they really nailed it. So, a phone that had that integrated was a really big deal, even if it couldn't run any apps (as the first iPhone did and couldn't…

That's not how I remember it. iTunes was released before OS X. It was a time when Apple was more or less a joke of a company, surviving because of the hard-core few who refused to abandon it. Somewhat of an oddity. The iPod did not work on Windows (which was, what, 99% market-share in those days?) and required this insane thing called Firewire. Firewire. Even the name was funny to me. I was a Linux fan-boy, patiently…

I didn't mean first gen. But later. The iPod + iTunes was the first setup that worked well on Windows that I ever used. And I was coming from a NOMAD Jukebox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_NOMAD#NOMAD_Jukebox_Ze...

Re: The Apple Watch

#719

Post by n09n »

angryasian wrote: post #585
n09n wrote: post #503

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reality distortion field and the ability to spin those negatives as positives are features, though. A watch is primarily a piece of jewelry. How well it tells the time or does other things is much less important than how fashionable it is. Branding is one of Apple's strong suits, and you can't take that away by adding features as if consumer purchasing decisions are based on some kind of checklist-like RFPs like…

>A watch is primarily a piece of jewelry. or saying a watch is for time keeping is not very forward thinking IMO. Its like saying 10 years ago, a smart phone is just a phone. Less and less people actually use it to make calls and use it more for many of other functionality it provides.

That would be a valid point if people actually wore unfashionable smartwatches for their usefulness. Their lack of mainstream adoption up until now says that's not the case.

Re: The Apple Watch

#720

Post by JohnTHaller »

beedogs wrote: post #576
JohnTHaller wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely did. You may have forgotten, but the early success of iTunes/iPod was in being able to organize your music and get it on your device. iTunes/iPod was the first to really get this right on any kind of scale. And, compared to the competition of the time, they really nailed it. So, a phone that had that integrated was a really big deal, even if it couldn't run any apps (as the first iPhone did and couldn't…

There was no "early success" for the iPod. It was a failure until the third generation, when it finally got PC support.

That's still quite early in its life. And before the iPhone. The iPhone then capitalized on iTunes' success.
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