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Apple Watch: Who's getting one? (Page 3)
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Cap'n Tightpants
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Feb 17, 2015, 11:57 AM
 
It does what all the other Android Wear watches do, faces are fully interchangeable.
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osiris
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Feb 17, 2015, 02:38 PM
 
Is that a proper watch face or digital? I can't tell anymore.
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Feb 17, 2015, 02:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants View Post
It does what all the other Android Wear watches do, faces are fully interchangeable.
It'd be nice if they had featured in the articles I saw because I'm still at a loss.
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Feb 17, 2015, 04:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
Is that a proper watch face or digital? I can't tell anymore.
Digital, those OLED panels are very lifelike.
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Feb 17, 2015, 05:05 PM
 
Impressive.
     
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Feb 20, 2015, 04:25 PM
 
Daring Fireball: On the Pricing of Apple Watch

Do you guys agree with this "potential" pricing? 10k-20k for the edition? 1k for Steel?

It just seems like if the pricing is more based on color/bands it's gonna be super confusing once released.
     
starman
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Feb 20, 2015, 05:24 PM
 
$20k?

Does someone from Apple deliver it to you like the Anniversary Mac?

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ort888
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Feb 20, 2015, 05:35 PM
 
This move into true luxury goods is really a weird one. Apple stuff has always carried a price premium, but slapping gold on something and charging as much as a car for something really is a step in a whole new area for them... and I don;t like it honestly.

Spending 20k on a solid gold Apple Watch is just pure insanity. Imagine owning a solid gold iPhone from 2007 or a solid gold iPad 1 right now.

I hate to be a "this would never happen under steve jobs" guy, but I have a hard time imagining Steve Jobs' Apple putting out this many versions of the Apple Watch right out of the gate. There would be one version.

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starman
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Feb 20, 2015, 05:46 PM
 
I mostly agree with you, but perhaps there's something about the watch market we're not seeing.

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Cap'n Tightpants
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Feb 20, 2015, 06:18 PM
 
Yep, always thought they would be, the all-gold Edition variants (meaning gold bracelet as well) will be $20k+, my 18K IWC Da Vinci chrono was substantially more than that when it was new, and that's the segment Apple is pitching to.
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Feb 20, 2015, 06:20 PM
 
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Feb 20, 2015, 06:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
This move into true luxury goods is really a weird one. Apple stuff has always carried a price premium, but slapping gold on something and charging as much as a car for something really is a step in a whole new area for them... and I don;t like it honestly.

Spending 20k on a solid gold Apple Watch is just pure insanity. Imagine owning a solid gold iPhone from 2007 or a solid gold iPad 1 right now.
It's not really the same. I guarantee that, for a not-so-modest fee, you'll be able to have your Apple Watch's guts upgraded with the newest tech for years to come, postponing obsolescence for a long time.
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Feb 20, 2015, 06:48 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants View Post
It's not really the same. I guarantee that, for a not-so-modest fee, you'll be able to have your Apple Watch's guts upgraded with the newest tech for years to come, postponing obsolescence for a long time.
I honestly hope this is the case.
     
MacinTommy  (op)
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Feb 20, 2015, 06:49 PM
 
Or a "trade-in/up" program.
     
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Feb 20, 2015, 07:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by MacinTommy View Post
Daring Fireball: On the Pricing of Apple Watch

Do you guys agree with this "potential" pricing? 10k-20k for the edition? 1k for Steel?

It just seems like if the pricing is more based on color/bands it's gonna be super confusing once released.
I thought it was widely accepted that the steel one would retail for $1k, and only the price for the gold one wasn't quite decided. Some people have argued that the gold alone is worth north of $5k.
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Feb 20, 2015, 08:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
I thought it was widely accepted that the steel one would retail for $1k, and only the price for the gold one wasn't quite decided. Some people have argued that the gold alone is worth north of $5k.
At current prices, it wouldn't be possible.

Gold is at around $1,200 per Troy ounce, so the watch would weigh more than 130 grams.

-t
     
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Feb 20, 2015, 09:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
At current prices, it wouldn't be possible.

Gold is at around $1,200 per Troy ounce, so the watch would weigh more than 130 grams.
You have to keep in mind that gold is much denser than most other metals. Have a look at the 18 karat gold version of my fancy watch, an Omega Constellation Megaquartz in steel (which I find much more tasteful).



With bracelet, that 18k puppy weighs about 250 grams, although I have to say it is an exceptionally heavy watch, dwarfing the weight of my Stowa (~66 grams). I don't remember the exact weight of mine, but it is somewhat lower, not least because I have a leather band. When I weighed mine a while back, I think it was in the 170 g range.

I am aware that not all of the weight is due to gold, and I hope the Apple watch won't weigh as much, but I don't think it is out of the question that just the materials alone will be worth more then $5k. My Stowa which is a compact watch (39 mm in diameter) and round (round watches are lighter because they have less volume), and that thing weighs around 66 grams. Add to that that gold is denser than steel, and I don't think double the weight (~120 grams) is a preposterous proposition for the Apple Watch. Not all of it will be gold, true, but that's just the price for the unprocessed gold.
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turtle777
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Feb 21, 2015, 09:46 AM
 
Few people will buy / wear an Apple Watch that weighs more than an iPhone.

I might as well strap that to my wrist.

-t
     
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Feb 21, 2015, 11:14 AM
 
I don't think that you are in any way representative of the target market.

Relatively few people are going to buy a $20,000 gold watch, period. Those that do are not going to be deterred by the heft; on the contrary, they are going to ENJOY it.

Gruber's take feels about right:
Daring Fireball: On the Pricing of Apple Watch (a re-link from above)

The only thing that seems odd to me is that the Milanese loop is less expensive than the steel band. It seems more exquisite to me. Then again, the Apple home page does go into detail about how the steel links are hand-brushed. I dunno; I'm new to this.
     
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Feb 21, 2015, 11:49 AM
 
Precisely, the 18k gold watch is for brand identity, it's a statement piece for very well-heeled Apple fans. Practicality and utility aren't, in any way, part of the equation. Ever heft a solid gold Rolex Submariner w/ the matching oyster bracelet? There's no damned way anyone would go diving with one on (its intended purpose), it's so heavy that person would sink to the bottom of the ocean and you'd never see them again.
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Feb 21, 2015, 12:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Few people will buy / wear an Apple Watch that weighs more than an iPhone.
I think many people who like expensive watches already do, and the fact that smartphones may be as heavy as or lighter than a nice watch is just testament to how much we have advanced building smartphones. The difference between a 38 mm and a 42 mm Apple Watch is just taste, if Apple was just about small and light, they didn't need the 42 mm model. This is fashion, not technology.

@Captain Tightpants
A cold case is just a fashion statement and has zero to do with functionality. Personally, I find gold watches gaudy, but there are plenty of people out there who buy a Patek Philippe just to let the world know that they can afford one (or at least pretend to).
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Cap'n Tightpants
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Feb 21, 2015, 12:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
I think many people who like expensive watches already do, and the fact that smartphones may be as heavy as or lighter than a nice watch is just testament to how much we have advanced building smartphones. The difference between a 38 mm and a 42 mm Apple Watch is just taste, if Apple was just about small and light, they didn't need the 42 mm model. This is fashion, not technology.
It's not just about taste, it's about exclusivity and not letting people use lower end Apple Watches with their upscale bracelets.

@Captain Tightpants
A cold case is just a fashion statement and has zero to do with functionality. Personally, I find gold watches gaudy, but there are plenty of people out there who buy a Patek Philippe just to let the world know that they can afford one (or at least pretend to).
Yep, that's what I said. However, I think some gold watches can look very nice in certain situations (black tie events), Vacheron Constantin makes several (comparatively) understated gold timepieces. I have a vintage Classique that's extremely thin and rather light, the only reason I don't wear it more is because it gets scratched if you even look at it the wrong way.
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Feb 26, 2015, 01:23 PM
 
     
osiris
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Feb 26, 2015, 02:28 PM
 
I wonder how soon the watches will ship... if it's March 9 I'll be very impressed

(and down $350 or so, thanks to my better half hounding me night and day, for weeks and months and years on end, over and over again until I just can't take it anymore, this goddamn watch better save the world or I will be pissed....)
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Feb 26, 2015, 02:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants View Post
Yep, that's what I said. However, I think some gold watches can look very nice in certain situations (black tie events), Vacheron Constantin makes several (comparatively) understated gold timepieces. I have a vintage Classique that's extremely thin and rather light, the only reason I don't wear it more is because it gets scratched if you even look at it the wrong way.
Because it needs to be said:

White people shouldn't wear gold.
     
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Feb 26, 2015, 03:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
I wonder how soon the watches will ship... if it's March 9 I'll be very impressed
Tim Cook already said they would ship in April.

Event is on my 40th birthday...

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Feb 26, 2015, 08:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
Tim Cook already said they would ship in April.

Event is on my 40th birthday...
You just opened yourself up to any number of harassing GIFs on that day.

     
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Feb 28, 2015, 11:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by starman View Post
Have you priced analog watches lately? REAL ones? The price is not a problem.
Agreed. Watch sales have resurged in the last few years, and a good watch (whatever that means to someone) is not cheap! I doubt the price of an Apple Watch is going to be an issue.
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osiris
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Mar 4, 2015, 10:11 AM
 
That sounds desperate. It's not hyping any features or real world use.
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Mar 4, 2015, 01:42 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
That sounds desperate. It's not hyping any features or real world use.
Because there probably isn't any.

I don't have any resentment towards the product/company, but i see not use for it personally (irrespective of the price point).

To sum up my opinion:
-functionally vague
-quirky bonuses underwhelming
-aesthetically ugly
-no 'wow' factor
-expensive

I'm actually curious to see how many people will go out and buy one after the initial 'techie' crowd. Speaking for myself, if i was going to spend that amount on a watch, i'd get a better looking dedicated timepiece.

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Mar 4, 2015, 01:51 PM
 
Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a View Post
Because there probably isn't any.

I don't have any resentment towards the product/company, but i see not use for it personally (irrespective of the price point).

To sum up my opinion:
-functionally vague
-quirky bonuses underwhelming
-aesthetically ugly
-no 'wow' factor
-expensive

I'm actually curious to see how many people will go out and buy one after the initial 'techie' crowd. Speaking for myself, if i was going to spend that amount on a watch, i'd get a better looking dedicated timepiece.

Cheers
Curiously enough, my wife wants one. She desires a new watch, and well, she likes Apple and loves what she sees in the interface/design. But the supposed limitations of daily charging and required 'tethering' to her iPhone leaves her second guessing the aesthetics. Of course I'm paying for it, so there's the money aspect...

I really don't know what to say, this is the first time I've felt uncertain about a new product line from Apple.

Well, that and the Quicktake camera... 20 Years Ago, Apple and Kodak Launched the Digital Camera Revolution

hopefully I'll be singing a different tune in a few months.
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Mar 4, 2015, 02:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
That sounds desperate. It's not hyping any features or real world use.
Most of that article details how to work with customers who already want one.

The actual features, as listed there, are:

“Health and Fitness,” “New Ways to Connect” [with people] and “Timekeeping.” Apple notably spotlights Health and Fitness first, and discusses it the most, saying much less about the communication and timekeeping features.
That's not very detailed, and while I'm sure we'll get more details on that on the 9th, one of the things about the Watch that makes it interesting is that it' said blank slate. We don't know yet what will happen that will make it indispensable.

Remember how the original iPhone was laughable because it didn't have copy and paste, and couldn't do MMS or 3G? Yeah, nobody else remembers that, either.

Difference back then was, we all had cellphones and knew how much they sucked. Now imagine the iPhone coming out in, say, 1996.

I wear a watch that I really like, and I really don't know whether I'd need a smart watch. Yet.
     
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Mar 4, 2015, 02:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Most of that article details how to work with customers who already want one.

The actual features, as listed there, are:



That's not very detailed, and while I'm sure we'll get more details on that on the 9th, one of the things about the Watch that makes it interesting is that it' said blank slate. We don't know yet what will happen that will make it indispensable.

Remember how the original iPhone was laughable because it didn't have copy and paste, and couldn't do MMS or 3G? Yeah, nobody else remembers that, either.

Difference back then was, we all had cellphones and knew how much they sucked. Now imagine the iPhone coming out in, say, 1996.

I wear a watch that I really like, and I really don't know whether I'd need a smart watch. Yet.
Fair enough... but the last thing you said is what makes Apple successful these days: "Yet"

Apple has a remarkable way of making something that you will suddenly find indispensable.
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Mar 4, 2015, 02:30 PM
 
Indeed.
     
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Mar 4, 2015, 02:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
Apple has a remarkable way of making something that you will suddenly find indispensable.
Agreed.

I doubted the iPod purely based on it's launch price. In hindsight, it solved a very real problem with portable music and the market responded.

With the iPhone and iPad, the initial reveals were enough to convince me of their 'reason to be'. With the Apple Watch, i find myself struggling to see its purpose or what it would offer me or how it would fit into my life(and make it better).

I also wondered if my opinion(s) might have been shaped by the person doing the product introductions.

I also wonder if my opinion has to do with my view that a watch is more of a fashion/taste thing, as opposed to a piece of tech.

PS>> I have similar views of other smart watches as well.
     
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Mar 4, 2015, 03:11 PM
 
Okay, two more watches, SOLD!
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Mar 4, 2015, 03:56 PM
 
Cool site to see each combo of the watch - mixyourwatch

Another site to see how different apps will work - WatchApps | WatchAware
     
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ort888
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Mar 4, 2015, 04:35 PM
 
It's pretty sad, but looking through that list of the apps, the only one that even remotely interests me is Fartwatch.

That said, my 5 year old has a device that does the exact same thing, and it cost $10.

I'm open to the idea of a smart watch, I like the concept, but I still find them pretty underwhelming. I think I can safely say that someday, I will get an Apple Watch. But that day is probably a few years away.

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Mar 4, 2015, 04:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
I'm open to the idea of a smart watch, I like the concept, but I still find them pretty underwhelming. I think I can safely say that someday, I will get an Apple Watch. But that day is probably a few years away.
Think back to the original iPod: big, clunky, expensive, limited to Mac users, limited in capacity.

Then consider the original iPhone: slippery, missing key features like copy/paste, no App Store.

The exception seems to be the first iPad, but it was basically a larger iPhone, and many of the missteps with the iPhone were avoided. The only issue was resolution, which I didn't realize was a problem until the Retina version was released.

The Apple Watch doesn't yet know what it needs to be. The second and third revisions might feature an entirely different range of utilities, especially if Apple can include the health sensors and get past any problems with the FDA. If Apple's "three key features" are health (which we now realized is a gimped version of what Apple envisioned), new ways to connect (I'm sorry, but I refuse to send my wife my heartbeat), and timekeeping (which means it's a freaking watch), then they had better come back swinging in the next year with a much better concept.

But truthfully, can watches actually offer much additional value to what a phone already offers? Honestly, Google Glass seems to have more long-term potential. A watch must be small, light, and extremely energy-efficient. How is anyone, including Apple, going to offer significant value with a 1.5-inch screen on your wrist?
     
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Mar 4, 2015, 05:10 PM
 
The bottom line is that doing anything other than glancing at something on a 1.5" screen sucks, and will ALWAYS be worse than doing the exact same thing on your 4" phone.

I can see it being kind of useful as a way to screen your notifications as they come in, or as a small remote control for things you are doing on your phone or around your house, but beyond that? I don't know. I really just don't see it.

Smartphone screens are getting bigger for a reason. In a world where everyone already has a small compromised computing device in their pocket, are they going to need a much smaller and much more compromised computing device on their wrists? I just don't think most will.

As a nerd who finds things like this appealing, I think it would be fun to mess around with one. But my practical side just screams out , NO, YOU HAVE NO REAL USE FOR THIS! NO!

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Mar 4, 2015, 05:46 PM
 
The iPod and iPhone were standalone devices. The watch depends on the phone.

Also, the iPod was big, but it hardly mattered in the days of the Creative Nomad Jukebox. Are you seriously saying the iPod was big compared to that? No, it wasn't. It was tiny. Clunky? How so? It's funny how people that didn't use other pre-iPod products perceive the iPod and don't understand how truly revolutionary it really was.

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Mar 4, 2015, 05:52 PM
 
It's only big and clunky compared to what came after it.

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Mar 4, 2015, 06:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
As a nerd who finds things like this appealing, I think it would be fun to mess around with one. But my practical side just screams out , NO, YOU HAVE NO REAL USE FOR THIS! NO!
Well at least you're half way there. I'm not the least bit impressed with the tech/ui/functionality (nerd side), nor the look/price (non-nerd side).

As much as i wanted to like what was announced, i'd prefer a better looking dumb watch on my wrist. IMHO (incidentally i preferred the look of the Moto 360, but even that wasnt enough to get me 'excited' for the category)
     
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Mar 4, 2015, 06:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
Think back to the original iPod: big, clunky, expensive, limited to Mac users, limited in capacity.

Then consider the original iPhone: slippery, missing key features like copy/paste, no App Store.

The exception seems to be the first iPad, but it was basically a larger iPhone, and many of the missteps with the iPhone were avoided. The only issue was resolution, which I didn't realize was a problem until the Retina version was released.

The Apple Watch doesn't yet know what it needs to be.
It's funny that you mention iPad as not having had the same problem, but then list the EXACT problem the iPad had: Nobody knew yet what it was supposed to be.

Jobs and the Apple designers realized that they had something on their hands, and that it was important. But they were just guessing as to what it would become and mean. Jobs' best guess was a digital textbook library — and that may well still pan out in a decade or two.

But that it would completely transform stage musicians' jobs, become the de-facto standard for any sort of audio remote control, were probably not even on the radar. And that holds true for a dozen industries, I'm sure.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Mar 4, 2015, 06:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
The bottom line is that doing anything other than glancing at something on a 1.5" screen sucks, and will ALWAYS be worse than doing the exact same thing on your 4" phone.
Yes, you're probably right, but that's really the point: most of the stuff you pull out and handle your phone for is really best dealt with at a glance. But it MIGHT be important, so you pull out your phone. I fall into that trap every day, to the detriment of whatever I'm doing at the time.

I'm waiting to see how it will handle, and I probably won't go for the first generation (or even the second), but I suspect that this effect of allowing more discreet acknowledgement and better focus will be what justifies the purchase, especially as other apps get added to its interface.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Mar 4, 2015, 07:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by MacinTommy View Post
Cool site to see each combo of the watch - mixyourwatch
Only a small fraction of those combinations will be actually available.

It makes zero sense to combine the dark steel band with the aluminum Watch, for example, and Apple isn't going to give you that option. (Quite apart from the band possibly costing considerably more than the watch itself in that case.)
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Mar 5, 2015, 04:04 AM
 
I have to admit I'm only getting one because of the Tesla app(s), those had better be pretty damned amazing.
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Mar 5, 2015, 11:56 AM
 
Originally Posted by starman View Post
Also, the iPod was big, but it hardly mattered in the days of the Creative Nomad Jukebox. Are you seriously saying the iPod was big compared to that? No, it wasn't. It was tiny. Clunky? How so? It's funny how people that didn't use other pre-iPod products perceive the iPod and don't understand how truly revolutionary it really was.
I used some Sony MP3 player before my iPod. It held something like 50 songs. It was terrible.

I think my recollection is possibly/maybe skewed by what ort888 says...

Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
It's only big and clunky compared to what came after it.
This.

I remember thinking the iPod was a step up, but I didn't like the original 4-button and scroll wheel combination. I really only thought it had reached another level when the buttons were integrated into the wheel and the capacity was increased. Then it felt truly revolutionary.

Which is kind of my point. The Apple Watch might be an improvement on Android Wear, but in retrospect it's going to seem like a half-hearted effort that didn't know what it needed to be.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
It's funny that you mention iPad as not having had the same problem, but then list the EXACT problem the iPad had: Nobody knew yet what it was supposed to be.
This is actually true. I have a bit of egg on my face in that regard.

I do remember release day for the original iPad. I hadn't purchased one because I didn't know how I would use it. Then a friend stopped by the office to show me his, and three of us immediately went to Best Buy to pick one up for ourselves. It was a "had to use it" kind of experience.

Maybe the Apple Watch will have a similar effect, but I think it has a lot more work to do to accomplish it.
     
 
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