Hello,

so, how about this iWatch thing? I mean, isn't this idea entirely useless? Maybe Apple has come to a point with Tim Cook where they simply introduce ideas to the public that will never be realized? What would this be good for?

We all know the facts: An iPhone in a curved space, not entirely expensive, but then "reasonably priced", whatever that is at Apple. For listening music... I still don't know about Bluetooth going through your body all the time. Other than this? This is sort of the strangest idea I have ever heard of...

Anyone?
Pete

[Spheric Harlot]

Fact 1: Everything everybody else has offered in the "smartwatch" space has been entiely useless.

Fact 2: Apple tends to NOT do what previously unsuccessful attempts have done, when they enter a new market.

Fact 3: At this point, nobody outside of a small team at Apple and a handful of industry people involved with making prototypes knows ANYTHING about the iWatch.

You write "We all know the facts", when in fact, none of us do.

Yes, yes...

The fact is that everything from fitness to music, from books to surfing the web, from emailing to the occasional alarm bell makes no sense at all. Even playing games would be useless.

Vision 1: A simple device sub-100$. You can listen to music via bluetooth, or even via a cable close to a body. You can watch and share photos, movies and other documents, and it's lots better than a USB stick.

Vision 2: A 300$ device to go with. Playing games? Forget it... Surfing the web and emails could get be great, think push notifications. Apps could he heavily modified and access for everyday stuff could be fun. It could be extremely useful in everything daily. So... A smartphone is sort of a hybrid device: It is way too expensive, the screen is way too tiny, it is a total high-tech device... An iWatch could solve many of the problems and it shouldn't be EXTREMELY expensive. However, the ultra-portability is not so bad with a smartphone, you can still even compile small texts, read books, modify presentations...

Vision 3: A device with totally new ideas. This is very strange. So... An iPad was useful to try out. And I think many people still don't understand what it really is for. In many cases, you can replace a notebook 100%

Hmm... Replacing iPods would be nice, two price points could be useful. Maybe it would simply be great, like a 13" or 15" iPad - to try around. And leave app developers doing their best.

Pete

[Bobbo]

For 35 years I have been a long distance runner with good success in training for events and placing/winning in many. For 25 years I have used a heart rate monitor for both training and racing that requires a chest strap sending unit. If Apple develops a stylish (every "smart" watch out there to date is just fugly as sin) smart watch with a strapless heart rate monitor, I am pretty sure half the serious runners out there who use HRMs would buy one. There have been attempts at strapless HRMs, but none have reported to work well. If it did other health monitoring functions, that would just be gravy. And I'm certain it would be elegant as hell if Apple did it!

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

Yes, yes...

The fact is that everything from fitness to music, from books to surfing the web, from emailing to the occasional alarm bell makes no sense at all. Even playing games would be useless.

How is this a fact ?

Methinks you are confusing the terms fact and opinion.

-t

The facts are there is unlikely any entirely new inventions being integrated... Right or wrong? Where are they coming from? I thought we could just play out fantasy a bit... No?

[Spheric Harlot]

Quit talking about "facts". Nobody has any "facts" at all beyond the things I listed above.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by PeterParker 

I thought we could just play out fantasy a bit... No?

Don't call your fantasies "facts".

-t

[andi*pandi]

round iwatch rumors!

[P]

Can be any shape it likes, but I wonder about the size. The face that Google et al have demoed is more than twice the size of my current wristwatch, and that is what I consider an average-size watch (for men). Admittedly you can wear a much bigger watch on the inside of your wrist, but I never got into the habit of twisting my arm like that to check the time.

[ajprice]

Originally Posted by P 

Can be any shape it likes, but I wonder about the size. The face that Google et al have demoed is more than twice the size of my current wristwatch, and that is what I consider an average-size watch (for men). Admittedly you can wear a much bigger watch on the inside of your wrist, but I never got into the habit of twisting my arm like that to check the time.

This. The Samsung Gear watch has a 1.6" screen. Of the Android Wear searches I've seen, the Moto360 has a 1.8" round face, the LG has a 1.6" square screen, plus a bezel that makes it look like a Borrower's iPad. The watch I'm wearing now has a 1.2" round face, plus a bit of bezel, and it's an ok size.

I like the idea of these watches, but they're still a bit big.

[ghporter]

The trend in "traditional" watches seems to be toward bigger and bigger cases. Jaeger, Breitling, Bell & Ross, to name a few, are all going to very large cases, with 40+mm case sizes not uncommon. And the lower-end brands are following suit. Not just with men's watches, either...I saw a professional woman a few days ago with a Tag watch that had a huge case (and it was most definitely a woman's watch). So "big iWatch" is probably not a major concern from the "watch" industry perspective.

What I'm more concerned about is how easy these devices will be to use, given their size. I have pretty large fingertips, so touchscreens are an issue with me at times, and having a very small screen (though "big" for a watch) may be difficult for me to manipulate easily.