Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Apple Watch

apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

771–780 of 863 posts

Re: The Apple Watch

#771

Post by personZ »

moogleii wrote: post #746
personZ wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's hard for me not to recall Commander Taco's (in)famous dismissal of the original iPod when I browse these comments You should also remember that he was hardly in the majority with those comments. Further he was technically correct, and the iPod succeeded because of a synergy with other parts of Apple's empire (notably iTunes). But what's really interesting to me is that Apple has clearly put a lot more thought in…

I'm curious what your defense is to their success with the non-Apple faithful, though. That always seems to be left unsaid. The good ol' common "marketing" play from the Android diehards may have accounted for some of its success, but I think it's immensely dense to attribute a large proportion of Apple's current (and recent past) success to it (you might get to fortune 500 with that, but getting to #1 wealthiest com…

I'm curious what your defense is to their success with the non-Apple faithful

Defense? Why do I have to defend or explain anything? Are we waving flags? Why do I have to defend the things other people say?

I was specifically replying to the defensive notion that criticisms of Apple have been proven wrong (though they weren't wrong, and this is zero revisionism: The first iPod was a general market failure, and took off two years later), thus they will always be wrong, which is a bit of logical nonsense. The other bit was the "Apple is doing what no one else is doing", but other people are doing it and have been doing it. Here in Canada we've enjoyed extremely prolific NFC use without Apple's involvement.

Apple makes a lot of great products. They yield a lot of success. That does not mean that they are not prone to making mistakes, for proclaiming truths that are self-serving nonsense, and for getting the market wrong. It's worth noting that at the height of Microsoft's success the same "can do no wrong" arguments appeared everywhere.

Outside of that, some people seem to identify their personality with Apple, and they truly seem to project a persecution complex (yes, this is seen on /r/technology. I marvel that you hold it as an example, as it is one place where any criticism of Apple, however deserved and accurate, brings out droves and droves of defenders. It is a cesspool of a sub for that reason). Apple is an enormous company, and is enormously successful, so this "woe are us" bit just grows tiring.

Re: The Apple Watch

#772

Post by mikestew »

syncsynchalt wrote: post #761
mikestew wrote: post #529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"$350!? And it can't even do the things my highly specialized device can do." It's funny you should mention the Forerunner 910, because you know what the 910 can't do? Be a watch. But that's okay because you didn't buy it to be a watch. Besides, I'm the only runner I know that doesn't bring a phone with me when I run.

It's ironic if the 910 can't tell you the time, since one of the necessary components of a GPS device is a ridiculously accurate clock.

The 910 is capable of displaying the time of day, but it should be glaringly obvious to anyone that owns one that telling you the time is a peripheral feature that comes for free because of the nature of GPS devices. Combine that with a 20 hour battery life (probably far less if you're in an office and the GPS receiver is cranked all day), huge size, and questionable aesthetics, and it's obvious that Garmin did not intend for you to wear it to work. Not that it keeps people from trying if the Garmin forums are indicative of anything.

And Captain Pedantic has swooped in to inform us that the ridiculously accurate clocks live on the GPS satellites not on the device.

Re: The Apple Watch

#773

Post by tcc2161 »

jawr wrote: post #626
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…

^ This. I was actually quite disturbed with the Apple unveiling of the watch, I know it has been expected and what not. But a device that is literally monitoring my heart rate constantly all day, guiding me down a street with "gentle taps like a person" to tell me which direction to go. I feel like a small part of humanity is being optimised away. It's an incredibly scary thought.

The taps guiding someone down the street struck me as being useful to blind people. Imagine if white canes became museum pieces in our lifetime because the blind become equipped with GPS enabled wearables.

Re: The Apple Watch

#774

Post by josefresco »

xienze wrote: post #23
agscala wrote: post #11

The watch looks very nice indeed but starting at $350 is ominously steep especially since it requires an iPhone

This is why you don't buy v1 of Apple products. Guaranteed that the next version will be at least $50 cheaper... which still makes it too expensive.

iPad? First gen was awesome, and they kept the price the same even to this day.

Price generally doesn't go down with Apple devices, but they'll gladly sell you an older gen device for a discount.

Re: The Apple Watch

#775

Post by bduerst »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #522
personZ wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's hard for me not to recall Commander Taco's (in)famous dismissal of the original iPod when I browse these comments You should also remember that he was hardly in the majority with those comments. Further he was technically correct, and the iPod succeeded because of a synergy with other parts of Apple's empire (notably iTunes). But what's really interesting to me is that Apple has clearly put a lot more thought in…

“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.

You are wrong.

iTunes was such a monumental hit that it carried iPods with it - there's even a business case on the matter:

http://hbr.org/product/apple-inc-ipods-and-itunes/an/905M46-...

Re: The Apple Watch

#776

Post by gfodor »

n09n wrote: post #716
eitally wrote: post #694

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ding ding ding. Apple is going to sell a shitload of these, because they are not only going to be something that does stuff you couldn't do before (since it's a smartwatch) but because they are going to look nice, be visible, and make a fashion statement.

Apple is approaching this just as much as a piece of jewelry as they are a piece of technology. It should be pretty revealing when it comes out to see it spread through the consumer market. My guess is that once it is out there you can expect people to crave these things more than they did the original iPhone, not due to the technical abilities or feature set but because they want to be the envy of their friends. If the thing is ugly, then it will bomb, but if it takes on the perception of an expensive, luxury watch then expect to see them everywhere.

If the thing looks good I can't even imagine how many of these things they are going to sell next christmas.

Re: The Apple Watch

#777

Post by drblast »

alttab wrote: post #530
UrMomReadsHN wrote: post #519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walking celebrity? I saw someone wearing Google Glass (on the east coast) and I had a very negative reaction. Just felt not at ease with this stranger around me.

What personal reactions do you have with Google Glass that are untainted by what you've read? It's fear dude. I've had old ladies, young children who read about it and are amazed, and technology enthusiasts who would have nothing more than to try it on and give it a go. I know people theorize about the mark of the beast and cyborgs and privacy but I simply haven't seen it. It's a cool gadget and I have fun wearing it…

Imagine if I took out my phone in a restaurant, said "I'm filming this," and pointed it at you while you ate for the duration of your meal.

That's weird, and initially I thought glass was cool. It's not.

I had this experience sitting across a restaurant from someone wearing Google glass, and it made me realize what a horrible idea it is.

Re: The Apple Watch

#779

Post by berberous »

n09n wrote: post #716
eitally wrote: post #694

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Smartwatches are unpopular because they suck. Nobody wants to carry and charge an extra device, that adds very little to their life. The Apple Watch will live or die based upon its perceived utility, not based upon its design.
Post reply on HN