September 9, 2014

Are you excited by "The Digital Crown"?

It's the Apple Watch.

ADDED: Up until about 30 years ago, I wore a watch all the time, except when sleeping or bathing. I liked a nice clunky big-faced watch that was easy to see the time on, and I also had — still have — one of those classic Tiffany "tank" watches. Then I got my first computer, a Macintosh, in 1985, and I started taking the watch off and leaving it on my desk most of the day, because I was using the keyboard all the time, with my forearms and wrists resting on the desk in a way that never happened when I typed on a typewriter, which I rarely did. Before that first Macintosh, I wrote with a fountain pen on legal pads and in spiral notebooks and in bound blank books and sketchbooks. When the iPhone finally came out, I bought one right away because I wanted to be able to get onto the internet wherever I went and because it was aesthetically pleasing, but a side advantage was, I had a clock. I never needed to wear a watch at all. And I'd really already transitioned to using a cell phone as my pocket watch. I was liberated from the thing strapped on my wrist.

So now, why would I want something on my wrist again, something that I'll want to take off whenever I type, which I do much of the day? I don't see it. And it's certainly not so aesthetically pleasing that I'd feel cool flaunting it as an accessory.

It's for men, isn't it?

Remember pocket protectors?

115 comments:

Original Mike said...

"Apple's first wearable gadget could beam messages, Facebook updates, simplified apps and Siri to our wrists, eliminating the all-too-common need to take out our devices to constantly check notifications."

Since this is a solution to a problem I don't have, I'm going with "No".

DanTheMan said...

It's a Apple fanboy ID badge.

PB said...

A knob is a knob.

Mark said...

Meh.

I'm Full of Soup said...

No.

It seems we Americans sure like to build them up then tear people / things down.

I suspect Apple will join the NFL. Facebook and a few others as companies with a bulls-eye on their back.

Peter said...

The killer app: Facebook updates. If you're someone who wants an easier and faster way to do that, this is your device. If not, no.

Rob said...

Looks big and clunky, but not big enough that selecting items on the touch-sensitive screen will be easy. Most of its functionality is more easily accomplished on the iPhone itself. In large part it seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

George M. Spencer said...

"'Why should the Tripods take people away and Cap them? What right have they?'

"'They do it for our good.'

"'But I don't see why it has to happen. I'd sooner stay as I am.'

"He smiled. 'You can't understand now, but you will understand when it happens. It's...' He shook his head. 'I can't describe it.'

"'Jack,' I said, 'I've been thinking.' He waited, without much interest. 'Of what you said - about the wonderful things that men made, before the Tripods.'

"'That was nonsense,' he said, and turned and walked on to the village. I watched him for a time and then, feeling very much alone, made my way to the den."

From "The White Mountains" by John Christopher

traditionalguy said...

If it's not Fearless Fosdick's wrist radio, what good is it.

Nonapod said...

Watches are dumb.

mccullough said...

I'm holding out for the Dick Tracy watch

MadisonMan said...

I don't even have a smart phone. Doubt I'll jump to a smart watch.

David said...

Watch Apple's Apple watch.

See Apple Watch.

See Apple watchers watch watches.

Watch'a watching?

Apple Watch!

Watch?

Witch watch?

Witches are watching?

Which witch will I watch?

Watch this witch?

Which?

Witch watch glitch!

Gaaaaaaaaah!

Mary Beth said...

You don't have permission to access "http://www.apple.com/live/2014-sept-event/" on this server.

Reference #18.7455434d.1410289177.15b345a

PB said...

No touchscreen. Have to use the knob.

Swing and a miss!

PB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...

The watch does have a touch screen as well as the ability to navigate from the crown.

It will be a great sports watch. My old Garmin gave up the ghost and I have been using my iPhone to measure miles and speed, etc on my runs. I prefer not to haul the iPhone on every run so I expect the apple watch may do the trick for me. Not sure if it has heart rate capability, probably does.

So, yes, I am as "excited" as can be over a new toy.

Michael said...

Mary Beth:

A Glitch!! Dear God, do not let our leader find out about this or we will be getting I told you sos from now until forever.

See. A website glitch. Just like obamacare

Original Mike said...

I don't have a smart phone, nor do I wear a watch.

I hope it costs a lot.

Brian said...

I want to like it, because it appears to combine a bunch of fitness features that I really have been wanting. But I don't have confidence that Apple will/can make a watch that's robust to the kind of workout I do. If you can't do hydro-burpees in it and occasionally crush it under a log without killing it, it's no good to me.

Perhaps Lifeproof or somebody will solve this problem, at which point I'd be likely to buy one.

David said...

I have not worn a watch since I stopped practicing law. It was like getting rid of an electric collar.

Original Mike said...

"It's for men, isn't it?"

I don't know. You're going to need pixie fingers to use it.

jr565 said...

SOme guys like those big watches. I'm more partial to navy diver watches, but it's not bad as far as digital watches go. I probably wont get it since I almost never use a watch.
I'd have to see how well integrated it is with the iphone

Beldar said...

Prof. Althouse, re your observation that you gave up wearing a watch in large part because you had "already transitioned to using a cell phone as my pocket watch [and had been] liberated from the thing strapped on my wrist":


The new Apple Watch "requires the iPhone to use and works with the new iPhones as well as older ones going back to iPhone 5."

Anonymous said...

What DanTheMan said, also what mccullough said.

jr565 said...

some of the cool little features on it. It basically gives you a tap when you get notifications. Also in the map app if you are following directions it taps you when you need to turn and which way to turn (ie left/right). That's kind of cool.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I'm holding off for the secret decoder ring Apple device.

madAsHell said...

The new Apple Watch "requires the iPhone to use and works with the new iPhones as well as older ones going back to iPhone 5."

Last I looked, Bluetooth security was a nightmare.

PB said...

I don't need another thing to have to charge up daily. I like wearing a watch. I have a dress watch and a sports watch for weekends.

I jettisoned the iPad when I got a 5.5" android phone (love it). Just the laptop and phone to charge up daily.

JoeNik said...

The announcement was missing the health sensors that were rumored. The promise of a smart watch is continuous monitoring of your medical signs. The rumors were that the watch would have ten senors that monitor things like pulse, blood pressure, glucose levels, and more. As a diabetic, I would gladly trade the inconvenience of a watch for never having to prick my finger. My test strips cost my insurance enough that they would save money buying me a new apple watch each year instead. Imagine a watch that could alert you and call an ambulance if you have a stroke. That was supposed to be the true market, but heart rate was the only thing mentioned.

I hope that it was a timing problem with FDA approval, and not that the rumored sensors don't work. With health sensors the watch will be a breakthrough product. Without them, it's a flop.

Brando said...

I got the idea that the most important innovation they were adding was the ability to use your credit card for point of sale purchases via the new iPhones. They already have that in other countries. Now if they can add an app where you can display your driver's license that could eliminate the need for a wallet entirely.

Mea Sententia said...

Like Althouse, I have given up wearing watches in favor of using my phone as a watch. I like my wrists naked. But lots of people still wear watches, and lots of men wear big watches, so there may be an attraction for this. Not for me, though. Happy with my phone and tablet.

Lauderdale Vet said...

I actually really like my Galaxy Gear, mostly because I get equipment alerts/warnings via texts and my family communicates by text a fair amount as we travel about.

Glancing at my wrist is much handier than digging the phone out of my pocket.

Quaestor said...

I am not excited. I am bored.

The only kind of watch that's really valuable today is the cutting edge watch of 1943 -- mechanical, self-winding, waterproof enough to resist an accidental dunking.

In a normally functioning world the time is one of the most available pieces of information. Look around you and you'll notice that nearly everything you see knows what time it is, and is just itching to tell you -- the computer, the tablet, the telephone on your desk, the telephone in your pocket, the thermostat on the wall, the TV, radio in your car, the engine in your car, the coffee maker, the oven, the goddamned refrigerator! Many of these thing are now or shortly will be connected to the web. Ergo they can use the NTP, which means that they not only know the time, they know it with an accuracy that puts James Bond's Rolex Oyster Perpetual to shame.

In an abnormally functioning world such as during a power black out or the collapse of a major ISP's backbone router, many of those "I know the time" smartypants devices go blank timewise. The longer the blackout persists the more devices become ignorant of the time until the only timepiece that works is your mechanical watch, if you're foresighted enough to own one.

The Crack Emcee said...

"Are you excited by "The Digital Crown"?

Nope - whites get excited by products.

Blacks are excited by justice.

Enjoy your bobbles of oppression,...

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I seem to remember somebody pretty excited by an Obamaphone. Guess they must have been white.

Michael K said...

"Nope - whites get excited by products.

Blacks are excited by justice.

Enjoy your bobbles of oppression,..."

No, blacks get excited by stuff they can steal.

The Newton is reborn !

The Crack Emcee said...

When was the last time you saw blacks lined up overnight for a single product? It's insane how little whites consider their inhumanity. Their obvious love for inanimate objects, which they'll crawl over dead bodies (they made) to receive.

Yes, a new watch is so much more fulfilling than seeing Americans healthy - or even eating. Spend that cash on your plastic trinkets so you can have a digitally-recorded record of your-selfie watching, but also ignoring, the homelessness through the Apple Store's (or Starbuck's) window near you. Write a meme to it, using "urban" slang, why don't cha?

You're on the cutting edge, yo!

CStanley said...

I always found analog watches aesthetically pleasing, like jewelry with an add-on function.

But since I got an IPhone I've mostly stopped wearing them, even forgetting now to put one on when I work. Since I need a timepiece to measure heart and respiratory rates at work, I end up taking out my IPhone to do it. The stopwatch function is convenient for this purpose, but it's rather clunky especially when dealing with an active patient.

But no, I'll pass on this device. It's ugly and expensive and not useful enough to make it worth overlooking the appearance and cost (the demographic targets seem to be fitness buffs and heavy Facebook users.)

The Crack Emcee said...

Michael K,

"No, blacks get excited by stuff they can steal."

Said the fat old sloppy white racist, standing on Indian land, while holding black's money from slavery hostage.

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Quaestor said...

Blacks are excited by justice.

We know this is true by observing the doings on the continent of Africa.

KLDAVIS said...

It's not for men (generally), it's for Asia.

But, that said, it's not a product that needs to exist. Apple seems to have made it because people expected Apple to make a watch. The tail is wagging the dog in a way that never happened when Jobs was around. Sell while you're ahead, folks.

Anonymous said...

A shackle of fanboy love

Rumpletweezer said...

Just a reminder: the iPad sounded like a feminine hygiene product. And now?

DanTheMan said...

Hi, Crack.
Goodbye, thread.

Will said...

In general I am a late adopter. I wear a 55 year old wristwatch (which runs like a top), ride a 32 year old bicycle (with tens of thousands of miles, from bike tours to Half Ironman races) and have a 13 year old car with 102k miles that also runs like a top.

I try to buy the best and then keep it a loooong time. I think these things get better with age.

I also, however, have Garmins and Fitbits and am an avid fan of Strava and Trainer Road and Garmin and wko Training Peaks.

I am sure I will buy one of these and be less likely to ever take my iPhone out of my backpack.

If you can sweat on it and get them to put Strava and a fitbit accelerometer on there to be at least passable for tracking time and distance or at least displaying them from the phone then I will wear it a lot. If it can pick up Ant+ from a power meter that would also be cool.

If a developer invents a game like the original Nike+ iPod had (before Nike+ imploded its leading position) to allow you to accomplish some defined point-to-point distance and do that in competition or cooperation with others then it will be super popular as the fitbit has not yet figured out that Community aspect except in very clunky ways. Maybe Apple should buy FitBit and do it right.

i do not care at all about the ePayments and will never use that

Will Cate said...

"Apple Watch requires iPhone. It works with iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus."

That's either incredibly brilliant, or incredibly stupid; I just haven't decided which.

rhhardin said...

I threw out the watch decades ago.

You can get places on time by leaving on time.

Otherwise it doesn't matter what time it is.

Titus said...

I am excited about the 6S

Bigger!

Yea!

I watched the role out at work, natch.

tits

jr565 said...

Crack Emcee wrote:
When was the last time you saw blacks lined up overnight for a single product? It's insane how little whites consider their inhumanity. Their obvious love for inanimate objects, which they'll crawl over dead bodies (they made) to receive.

Ive seen some blacks get pretty crazy about waiting for the latest sneaker that's hard to find.

jr565 said...

Crack Emcee wrote:
When was the last time you saw blacks lined up overnight for a single product? It's insane how little whites consider their inhumanity. Their obvious love for inanimate objects, which they'll crawl over dead bodies (they made) to receive.

Ive seen some blacks get pretty crazy about waiting for the latest sneaker that's hard to find.

lgv said...

No. I don't wear a watch. Watches are a waste. I carry an iphone. I hate wearing things on my wrist, hands, or fingers.

I have a cheap Casio for swimming and traveling to remote areas where the phone won't be in my pocket.

I have a nice dress watch somewhere. I don't even care where it is any more.

lgv said...

Reminds of the first TI digital watch.

Ann Althouse said...

"The new Apple Watch "requires the iPhone to use and works with the new iPhones as well as older ones going back to iPhone 5.""

What? You have to carry the iPhone too? I find that hard to believe. Maybe what is meant is that you have to have an iPhone account.

Michael K said...

"while holding black's money from slavery hostage."

Well, some of them get excited by myths and rumors.

Knockout game, too.

You poor dope.

Bob R said...

No. Before cell phones fit into a pocket, I would carry a pocket watch instead of wearing a wrist watch. I have no rings or jewelry on my hands. (My wedding ring made me break out into a rash. Fortunately this was not an omen. Still married after 35 years. I guess we could spring for a ring that wasn't allergenic, but I really don't like rings anyway, so this is a good excuse.)

lgv said...

"What? You have to carry the iPhone too? I find that hard to believe. Maybe what is meant is that you have to have an iPhone account."

That explains it. I was wondering where you connect the keyboard.

Soooo, what will it do that my iPhone 5 won't? Is there a list somewhere on Buzzfeed?

traditionalguy said...

The surprise is the price. It's been cut in half.

Bob R said...

The fact that I can't imagine using one doesn't mean it won't sell (of course.) I think Reynolds' split of laptop = production / tablet = consumption. Is based on the idea of production being sentences and paragraphs. There is a large segment of the population who consider 143 characters a novel. This might work for them.

Original Mike said...

"What? You have to carry the iPhone too? I find that hard to believe. Maybe what is meant is that you have to have an iPhone account."

"The Apple Watch pairs with the newer iPhones — including the iPhone 5, 5S, 5C and iPhone 6 — and pass information back and forth. If you don’t have your iPhone with you, basic watch functions like time and health and fitness tracking will work, but users will have limited functionality without their iPhones as far as messaging, music and other features."

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/answers-to-questions-about-apples-announcements-including-the-watch-and-iphone-6/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Beldar said...

Prof. Althouse, if you skim through the design and features page on the Apple website, you'll see that it makes frequent reference to using the Apple Watch with one's iPhone. For instance: "Apple Watch is perfect for quick interactions, but if you need to do something more involved, just pick up your iPhone. The message you were reading or app you were using on Apple Watch will be open and ready to go. Read new mail on Apple Watch, then respond on iPhone. See a sports score or news update on Apple Watch, and read more about it on iPhone."

I'm reasonably sure that the watch will tell time, even if you've left your iPhone at home. But I'll bet it won't make like a Dick Tracy watch-phone by itself, and I doubt it talks to the 'net by itself. It apparently has some limited touch-screen interface. It has some specialized apps that will let you dictate text.

But my expectation is that most of the features which arguably make this watch new and revolutionary do -- e.g., its fitness monitoring apps -- will indeed require you to have your iPhone at hand.

So the question returns: What can you do with this watch that you can't do as well or better on your iPhone — except wear it on your wrist?

khesanh0802 said...

@ Ignorance is Bliss

You mean the Fargo North Decoder Ring, right?

Carol said...

The futurist in me says, Apple will somehow make it so that everyone will want to be walking around with this large digital units strapped to their arms, with bigger screens and stuff. No one will think a thing of it.

This is way in the future.

Alex said...

Definitely not designed for young women in mind. Not fashionable at all. What was Apple thinking?

Alex said...

Carol - guess what I don't want any part of that hideous future.

Beldar said...

In the wee fine print footer at the bottom of every page on the Apple website about their new watch (e.g., here): "Features are subject to change and may not be available in all regions or all languages. Requires iPhone 5 or later."

So yeah, "requires" is the right word, even if it's not the word Apple prefers to highlight.

Re the NYT blog's suggestion that the fitness apps work without an iPhone: Not so much, actually:

"On the back of the case, a ceramic cover with sapphire lenses1 protects a specially designed sensor that uses infrared and visible-light LEDs and photodiodes to detect your heart rate. Apple Watch uses this sensor, along with an accelerometer and the GPS and Wi‑Fi in your iPhone, to measure all kinds of physical movement, from simply standing up to actively working out. This allows Apple Watch to provide a comprehensive picture of your daily activity, suggest customized goals, and reward you for reaching personal fitness milestones."

From which I deduce that the watch doesn't have a GPS. So the map apps aren't likely to work without an iPhone, either.

Smilin' Jack said...

When the iPhone finally came out, I bought one right away because I wanted to be able to get onto the internet wherever I went and because it was aesthetically pleasing, but a side advantage was, I had a clock. I never needed to wear a watch at all. And I'd really already transitioned to using a cell phone as my pocket watch. I was liberated from the thing strapped on my wrist.

So now, why would I want something on my wrist again, something that I'll want to take off whenever I type, which I do much of the day?


OK, that doesn't make any sense at all. If you felt the need for liberation, there were pocket watches long before there were iPhones. Wristwatches were in fact invented to liberate people from the need to fumble through their pockets to find out what time it is.

Beldar said...

(Sorry, botched that last link, re the fitness stuff.)

The Crack Emcee said...

Quaestor,

"We know this is true by observing the doings on the continent of Africa."

Like I said on the other thread, this repeated attempt to divert attention from American whites to Africa - a place American blacks have never been - is all you've got.

You poor ignorant thing,...

The Crack Emcee said...

"I have a dream today. That one day whites will get all excited, by paying vast sums for inanimate objects, while blacks die right in front of them. I have a dream today!"

Anonymous said...

So there's an Apple Iphone 6 and 6S. Both with some new kind of payment system built in. If Apple comes out with a third 6 phone the Bible prophecy networks will declare it the mark of the beast (6-6-6), as was predicted (nothing will be purchased without the mark of the beast), to take place in the end times. I can't wait to hear the chatter about this.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Using a phone to check the time is douchey. Grown-ups wear a good-quality unflashy wrist watch. And definitely not a digital.

richard mcenroe said...

"Crack Emcee wrote:
When was the last time you saw blacks lined up overnight for a single product? It's insane how little whites consider their inhumanity. Their obvious love for inanimate objects, which they'll crawl over dead bodies (they made) to receive."

¿Por qué la línea para comprar algo cuando se puede esperar a que alguien más para comprar y robar a sus pies muertos?

richard mcenroe said...

"I have a dream today. That one day whites will get all excited, by paying vast sums for inanimate objects, while blacks die right in front of them. I have a dream today!"

En verdad, usted se sorprenderá de la cantidad de personas que inspiran a ese sueño ...

sinz52 said...

"I have a dream today. That one day whites will get all excited, by paying vast sums for inanimate objects, while blacks die right in front of them. I have a dream today!"

Live by the sword,
die by the sword.

sinz52 said...

Some smartwatches are waterproof, which will make it easy to access the Internet, voicemail, etc., even while swimming or showering. (Even with the waterproof cases for smartphones, it's clumsy to have a smartphone in the shower with you.)


Freeman Hunt said...

You still have to have the phone? This makes no sense.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I don't see how the screen is big enough to use. Phones have been getting bigger, not smaller, for a reason.

Original Mike said...

"it's clumsy to have a smartphone in the shower with you.)"

Dude, you have a serious addiction. Get help.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

It looks juvenile.

Mrs. X said...

Don't care about the watch. Looked at the new iphone. Meh. If I want a Galaxy, I'll buy a Galaxy. Steve Jobs, wherever he is, is cringing. Or shouting and throwing things.

Mary Beth said...

Michael said...

Mary Beth:

A Glitch!! Dear God, do not let our leader find out about this or we will be getting I told you sos from now until forever.

See. A website glitch. Just like obamacare

9/9/14, 2:16 PM


I'm glad it was just a glitch. I thought it was singling me out for my pro-android anti-iOS opinions.

I saw android watches in product placement segments of my kdramas months ago. (None recently, but that was when everyone, even the poorest character had the newest Samsung phone. Now they all have LGs.) What makes this Apple accessory different?

Anonymous said...

I'll consider clambering aboard the smart phone carousel once some future model includes a scalable projection interface with HD resolution, improving upon the presently available laser keyboard. and after a European carrier arrives here to obliterate indentured cell servitude.

Oh, give me LAN, lots of LAN under starry skies above. Don't fence GUI in.

dwick said...

Perhaps Apple is feeling liberated to market stuff others might like even if some of the products don't appeal to Ann Althouse?

I know the concept may be sacrilege to you but give it a thought...

David said...

No, it's not for men. But it's for the young. This is a young person's product and this is pretty much an old person's blog. Very cool old people of course, but we are not the target.

I will say, however, that it's going to be very popular for phone and cyber sex. You can see videos or photos of the lust object (or your concept of the lust object) while actually feeling their heartbeat. That ought to generate a following.

And it won't just be "a" watch. It will be several watches. The quite varied watchbands are interchangeable. There are multiple (and eventually probably near infinite) digital watch faces. A lot of potential fashion statements in one product.

And when Melissa (or Chloe or Sybil or Charlie or Frankie) learns that they can raise your temperature in the middle of a meeting just by transmitting a sly photo, the heartbeat and perhaps a few telling whispers to your suddenly stiffening wrist, it may become an irresistible product.

Plus it's quite good looking on the youthful arm. So, fellow codgers, withholding judgment might be a good idea.

Alex said...

David - stop being a blind iSheep. Samsung released a watch that looks nearly the same as this and iSheep like you called it clunky and useless. Now all of a sudden Apple release the same clunky design and it's for the young? Moto 360 looks way nicer.

Ann Althouse said...

"I'm reasonably sure that the watch will tell time, even if you've left your iPhone at home. But I'll bet it won't make like a Dick Tracy watch-phone by itself, and I doubt it talks to the 'net by itself. It apparently has some limited touch-screen interface. It has some specialized apps that will let you dictate text."

Well, hell.

Why is it so fat then? It's not good-looking enough to justify not being a whole iPhone.

Alex said...

Ann - that's why it won't sell in really huge iPhone-type numbers. It's not visually appealing at all.

Ann Althouse said...

"Moto 360 looks way nicer."

It looks like this!

That's not nice. That's atrocious!

Alex said...

Moto 360 looks better on a larger arm for sure. But a round face is still more traditional.

Freeman Hunt said...

It's ugly, and you still have to have the phone. Again, it makes no sense.

The Crack Emcee said...

Freeman Hunt,

"It's ugly, and you still have to have the phone. Again, it makes no sense."

Culture beats politics.

It does make sense, culturally, Free. Take this quote on whites since slavery:

"No white person was reliable, because money drove their decisions."

All you have to do is see them clamoring for this - but not justice in this country - and you know their priorities haven't changed. They are who they are.

I can think of no better reason why white supremacy must die.

This "event" is, on so many levels, simply disgusting,...

J Lee said...

Any computer-based watch is going to have to be a stand-alone device and have some sort of voice active command feature -- including, most likely, the ability to pair it with a bluetooth earpiece microphone device so you don't have to keep holding your wrist up to your face -- for it to really catch on.

The Apple Watch and its Google-based counterpart give you no more freedom than you currently have because most of the functionality requires the phone also to be present. So at the moment, you're being asked to trade one device for two in order to get a pedometer and heart rate meter. That's not a deal that's going to have non fan-boys rushing to Apple Stores nationwide.

The Crack Emcee said...

Only 2% of Apple's workforce is black, so think of this as whites helping whites be "successful," if not competitive.

You know, like in the old days when they could keep blacks from competing in sports or whatever.

Now they can come out with ugly worthless products, and whites will moon over them like they're the second coming, when we have no idea what we're missing because only white geeks, nerds, and other emotionally-stunted assholes are allowed to make their un-intuitive products.

White supremacy's embers still burn brightly - even in death,...

Will Cate said...

Ann -- that was a direct quote from Apple's home page.

Will Cate said...

... but I don't know if you actually have to carry the phone while you wear the watch. That would indeed be dumb.

Roy Lofquist said...

For Christmas I go my son an iPad, my daughter an iPhone and my wife an iRon. That's when the fight started.

Hunter said...

The Crack Emcee said...
When was the last time you saw blacks lined up overnight for a single product?

does the phrase "limited-release Air Jordans" ring a bell?

Hunter said...

The watch isn't meant to replace the phone. Think of it as a remote display. It adds convenience, as you can keep the phone in a pocket or bag and have essential info and functions only a glance away, in addition to being able to do certain things with voice control. And it adds some functionality that is only practical with a device worn on the body, such as movement and heart-rate monitoring, and probably other things to come.

I can see the appeal. Whether it is worth the price is a different question. That will depend on how much you do on your smartphone, how tied to it you are, and whether to you $350 is an outrageous sum of money to spend on such a thing. I tend to not even be willing to drop that much on the phone itself.

Phil 314 said...

"I'm holding off for the secret decoder ring Apple device."

You mean this?

Tom said...

Althouse, I remember when you thought the name iPad wasn't a good name the iPad wouldn't be a useful product.

So maybe it's that same mental model rearing it's head again.

Alex said...

Tom - typical predictable iTard response. Of course from an iTard, everything Apple farts out is a revolutionary product that changes the game right?

David said...

Alex said...
David - stop being a blind iSheep. Samsung released a watch that looks nearly the same as this and iSheep like you called it clunky and useless.


There you go again, Alex.

Actually, I have an Android phone. And a Kindle Fire.

Alex said...

David - doesn't matter. You talk like an iSheep.

Anonymous said...

Crack, what dollar figure do you have in mind for your reparations payment? You have said you personally had a hard life growing up and that injustices did not stop with the end of slavery. How much are you owed?

Anonymous said...

Ann, I do remember pocket protectors. I used them off and on to keep my pen and mechanical pencil together. I had a summer job where I visited several stores a day, once each, for 8 or 10 weeks. The company gave us pocket protectors with their logo as a kind of identification the store managers recognized.

I am a guy who likes to wear a watch even though there are lots of clocks around. I prefer my watch to be very thin so it fits easily inside my shirt cuff. My favorite right now is a Casio analog watch I bought at Target for $20.

I have no intention of buying an Apple Watch for $350. I only have an iPhone because my employer wants me to have email access all day while I am away from the office. I may buy an iPhone if I lose that perk now that I am used to it.

Brando said...

As for the watch, I don't see what justifies it's over $300 cost--you need to keep your iPhone close by to use most of the functions (in which case, why not just use the iPhone?) and the remaining functions don't seem all that much more impressive than a normal watch. Maybe if they improved the range so you'd only have to be in the same city as your iPhone to use it...

The ApplePay feature on the new iPhones I think will be quite the advance--provided the security and usability are top shelf (I can imagine now having trouble making it swipe, and being unable to use it when I need it). Perhaps if there's a function where you can enter your card info and show a proof screen in the event that the swiping doesn't work, that might fix it.

But the main thing is the ability to eliminate the need for a wallet. If these things can store usable ID (like a drivers license) plus payment methods, the phone can replace the wallet and also be much more secure (if you need a PIN to use it, it becomes useless to a thief).

The next step after that I hope is a method to project a video image onto a blank wall so you can watch larger screen movies with just your iPhone and a wall.

Michael said...

The watch apparently does not have an antenna for GPS and thus must rely on the paired iPhone which makes it unnecessary for me after all. I use the iPhone running and riding and an app called RunKeeper which give me all the info I need. If the watch can't offer that independently I will opt for the latest version of Garmin's series.

Robert Cook said...

"This is a young person's product and this is pretty much an old person's blog. Very cool old people of course, but we are not the target."

Hahahaha! You flatter yourself...and us.

kjbe said...

Michael - I've used my iPhone to track my runs, as well. I've tried a Garmin and haven't had much luck with it (battery issues). If the fitness tracking features of this Apple watch get good reviews, I'd consider getting one - you have to link up the Garmin data, anyway, and I want a phone with me (just in case). I don't see how this 'family' of devices wouldn't make sense.

Robert Cook said...

Apple generated in me at least a minimal interest in a "smart watch," where previously no scintilla of interest existed.

I may never buy an AppleWatch; certainly, I will wait at least a generation or two (or three) to see how the product evolves and to what useful purposes it can be put, (or not).

Delayna said...

Alex said, "David - doesn't matter. You talk like an iSheep."

Forget it; he's trolling.

The Crack Emcee said...

Apple's brought back the calculator watch.

Whoo-hoo - innovation, my ass,...

The Crack Emcee said...

The calculator watch is so old, Apple could've brought back slavery and been more contemporary,...

Bad Lieutenant said...

No Crack, Apple only tries makes products the people want.

As for the appeal of this watch, one thing that you might do to understand is read the article by the horologist, which is a fancy name for a watch expert, who was given an example for release day to evaluate, as a watch and not as an IT node. He compares this favorably to Swiss and Japanese watches that cost a thousand and up. So one way to look at it is at its very nice watch, and also does IT things. So even if you never get any computational help out of it, at least it's a funky watch.

they will then evaluate and learn from this experience and make a better one next time. Meanwhile, it comes in two sizes, and apparently he thinks they have done a good job designing it for smaller and larger wrists.